Make an I Spy Game for Kids!

Right around Christmas time my kids spotted a "Find It" Game at Target they were begging for.



I saw on opportunity for a fun project! We began by having a scavenger hunt for lots of tiny, random toys.

Next, we dyed rice three colors for the filler. (If I could give any advice, it would be to make this from Acini de Pepe pasta rather than rice as the little balls would be more like the actual game. I didn't think of this until after the game was constructed and the dying process for pasta is exactly the same.)



Simply place white rice or pasta into a jar and cover with ordinary rubbing alcohol. Add food coloring and shake. Leave overnight or to desired tint. Strain the rice and lay out to dry on a paper towel. (laugh when your kids start crying because it smells "like a shot at the doctor's office!")

Mix dried rice and little toys in a bowl.



Add the whole mixture to some kind of clear tube. We used an empty ornament container, but a tennis ball tube would work as well. (And, I'm pretty sure someone linked up an idea like this on Tutorial Tuesday on time using a ziploc baggie.)



To make it more like a game, keep track of all the objects in the tube and type up and cut out cards on the computer. They can draw a card and look for that object!



Come on back tomorrow on Tutorial Tuesday to link up your own tutorials!

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Purse "I Spy" Game OR Strange Things You Might Find In a Woman's Purse

There is nothing scarier to a man than the inside of a woman's purse. It's, literally, "no man's land". Really, anyplace that a man might encounter a tampon shares the same title. You know, growing up they were always called "pocketbooks", no one says that any more.

My husband breaks into a sweat when he asks for something and I tell him to "just get it out of my purse". He marches that purse, stiff armed, across the room and hands it to me to rifle through rather than brave the depths alone.

Any hoo, it was time for my quarterly purse clean and I decided to bring you along. Really, there is nothing too mundane for this blog. I'm up for anything. Sorry.

Okay, here it is. Looks harmless enough and it's not even big...

When I dump it out, you begin to see what I'm talkin' 'bout...

Okay, now it's time for the game. I've thrown away all the paper (shopping lists, old receipts, post-its). As an aside, most of these pieces of paper had a wad of gum squeezed into them. hmmmmm...gross.

So, most of the paper is gone and I will list the miscellaneous items below. You can click on the picture to search or to just scratch you head. Hey, I'm realistic here, there's some weird stuff in there! Feel free to judge me.


1. A letter to my kids from my Dad (he has the coolest printing, I think)
2. A mini tape measure (endlessly useful and entertaining)
3. One magnet to a set (no idea where the other one is)
4. A fake rock with the word "grow" on it (yeah, I don't know)
5. An empty bottle of hand sanitizer (it's the thought that counts)
6. 1 random cuff link (hmmmmm....)
7. Earrings I took out when I got my hair cut and have been looking everywhere for
8. 1 petrified, green gummy bear (I might save this for a craft project)
9. Movie stubs to all the movies we've seen in the last year
10. A tiny, gold mask of C3PO, from Star Wars (Okay, now that's weird)
11. The book mark I made for this tutorial and have only used once.
12. Dental floss in a tooth-shaped container
13. My inhaler (in case I'm abducted by cats)
14. Helper Munchkin's Emergency Room wrist band (that will go into the photo album, I'm morbid that way)
15. The lid to a tide stain stick...I haven't had one of those in years...
16. A punch card for every area ice cream stand (it's a problem, I'm dealing with it!)
17. Lots of crayons stolen from Red Robin Restaurant
18. 1 blue paperclip
19. Sudafed that expired in 2006 (how can that be???)
20. A book for my kids to follow along in church
21. 5 paper doilies (you know what? shut up.)
22. The lid to a Baby Bottle Pop candy that is licked clean.
23. About 3,000 lip glosses (each one is either, too light, too dark, too sticky...)
24. Some strange orange and black thing with a round part that slides on the straight part I can't identify but am afraid to throw away in case it is vital
25. A string necklace with a dragon charm.
26. A Nintendo DS charger (that has saved my life on many occasions)
27. A St. Hubert medal (patron saint of hunters...no, I don't hunt)
28. Many half sticks of gum (it's a gum conservation thing I have)
29. My husband's old wallet (full of Helper Munchkin's allowance).
30. My camera, ALWAYS!

Okay, so maybe claiming that I clean out my purse quarterly was a stretch. What is the strangest thing I could find in your purse? Come on, humor me so I don't feel like such a slob.

Need some organization in the purse area? Let's shop!

And Sew Much More


J Pat Purses


Downstairs Designs