DIY Bean Bags

Truthfully, these bean bags were inspired by my indecisiveness - I didn't decide whether or not I was going to a birthday party until the last minute, then realized I wanted to take along a gift! I found an idea similar to this one online, and altered the pattern to fit my needs. 

Part I: Decoration
The decoration for on these bean bags could be anything - animals, trucks, different colors, printed fabric... Here, I used letters to spell our friend's name. 
1. Cut 3x3-inch pieces of fabric for the letters; you'll need one piece per bean bag. I used muslin, then tie-dyed letters using sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol (full how-to here). 

Part II: Making the bean bags
1. Cut 6x6-inch pieces of fabric for the bean bags (shown here, purple); you'll need two pieces for each bean bag. 
2. Using a decorative zig-zag stitch, attach the decorative fabric to the center of a 6x6 square. 

3. With right sides together, sew one blank 6x6 square to one decorated 6x6 square, leaving a 2-inch opening. 

4. Flip right side out, and iron the edges flat. 

5. Fill The bean bag. I used a combination of dry pinto, black, and garbanzo beans. 
6. Topstitch around the edge. 

The finished bean bags! This one was for a sweet friend of ours in Taos, who was turning 2 years old.