Beanbags from Fabric Scraps

The links in the post below may be affiliate links that support our current homesteading wants checklist. Read the full disclosure to learn more and find out what your purchases are supporting.

Can she have a birthday gift, Billy boy, Billy boy? Can she have it fun, zero-waste and plastic-free, charming Billy?

UG1, UG3, and me all have Spring birthdays. UG2's miscarriage was a year to the day before UG3's birth as well, so we are busy in Spring! This year UG1 will receive some upcycled wool play food from Etsy as a (reading!) preschooler and UG3 will receive a fully homemade birthday for her first birthday. (Read about UG3's zero-waste and plastic-free homebirth here.)

I had a hard time figuring out what gift to give UG3 for her birthday that would be a durable, plastic-free, and fun for her to play with now and later. I looked up wooden and natural toys for babies and toddlers on Etsy and just couldn't find anything that actually looked like she would play with it for long. Then I found a bean bag set for about $15, which is ridiculous for a one year old's gift in my opinion. So, I looked in my scrap box and found a worn out pair of Mr. Greenie's jeans and the bottoms of some onesies I converted into baby T's. Jackpot!

I also found this tutorial and adapted it for my own laziness. Here are my adaptations:

1. I didn't cut my fabric into squares, I just cut the jeans to match the onesie bottom, as seen below-

2. I didn't mark or pin my fabric, just lined it up and eyeballed it, as seen below-

3. I didn't measure the beans or put it in a ziploc bag first, just poured them in the fourth side after turning my "pita pocket" right side out.

4. I sewed completely by hand, as we're still saving up for my treadle machine.

I just sewed it shut and now I'm on my fourth beanbag (pictured above). Voila, a perfectly fun, free, zero-waste, and plastic-free gift for our soon-to-be toddler (1 year old) UG3.

She can have a birthday gift, fun, zero-waste, and plastic-free. She's a young thing and can not leave her mother. (Adapted from Billy Boy song)

Little Urban Greenie

Shared at: Bouquet of Talent Party, Home Design Inspirations Party, Inspiration Galore Party Project, Nifty Thrifty Party, Inspiration Monday, Makers Make Party, Mix It Up Monday, Creative Corner, Creative Gallery, A Round Tuit, Block Party, The Scoop Link Party, Create Link Inspire Party, Clever Chicks Bloghop, Lou Lou Girls' Fabulous Party, Project Inspire, Totally Terrific Tuesday Link Party, Home Away From Home Party, Inspire Me Tuesday, Share It Tuesday, Creative Muster Party, Urban Naturale Blog Hop, Homestead Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Homesteader Blog Hop, Wonderful Wednesday Blop Hop, Wednesday AIM Link Party, Wise Woman Linkup, Wine'd Down Wednesdays, Wildly Original Link Party, Be Clean Be Green With Kids Linkup, Waste Less Wednesdays Wow Me Wednesdays, Artsy Fartsy Link Party, Think Tank Thursday Link Up, This is How We Roll Thursday, Simple Homestead Bloghop, Foodie Friends Friday Link Up Party, What to Do Weekends Party, Pretty Pintastic Party, Pinworthy Projects Party, Home Matters Party, Friday Feature Linky Party, Friendship Friday, Frenzy Friday, Dear Creatives Linkup, Simple Saturdays Bloghop, Dare to Share Linkup, Saturday Sharefest, Share One More Time Party, Create Bake Make Party