Scrapbuster No. 24: Orzo Filled Chick "Beanbags"

I generally do not buy magazines or have a running subscription to any ... but last year when my niece asked me to buy something from her school fundraiser, I opted to forego yet another roll or wrapping paper and ribbon for an annual subscription to Martha Stewart! I've enjoyed getting the magazine so far (I love any "real" mail in these electronic days) but the April 2011 issue is my favorite so far! There are recipes in there that I would actually make; and, there is a spread on some spring spritzer drinks that look delicious. Anyway, back to scrapbusting...



I like how you can stand 'em up!


As I was flipping through, my eyes landed on these adorable chick bean bags. They are your basic bean bags adorned with felt scraps. An ideal scrapbuster in my opinion.

my bag of felt scraps ... teeny tiny pieces, yes. most are leftovers from the boy toy challenge (go fish!)

I generally followed the instructions provided; I used the template for the chick and its "features" from the Martha Stewart website. I made a few modifications ... first, the MS instructions call for using a screw punch (??) to make the eyes; whereas the beak & wings are cut from felt. I do not have a screw punch, but I do have black felt scraps ... so I used my regular single hole puncher (for paper) to cut out two black eyes. Second, the pattern calls for LINING the chick beanbag... I didn't see a need as my scrap fabric of choice is thick enough to conceal the contents! Finally, I used Fabri-Tac fabric glue and that is worth nothing because it's phenomenal stuff! (I used it to make my submission for our first challenge - fabric padded paper maiche letters that you can see here). I'm curious to see if Fabri-Tac can hold up to toddler yanking or not!

I thought the order you sew these was cool ... you save on cutting time by ... instead of cutting out the exact chick shape, you cut around it, top stitch front and back together and then use pinking shears to make the "finished" outside. Clever! I would have first thought to sew wrong sides together and flip, but this was fast and the pinked edges are cute.



This is what I mean about not cutting the exact chick shape until you're finished sewing.


Oh, and I called this post "orzo filled chick 'beanbags'" because I used orzo to fill them in lieu of the recommended "yellow split peas." I had orzo on hand, it is cheaper, and it's so light in color it will not show through the fabric (since I did not line it). I wish I had thought to use dried pasta when I was on a prior beanbag kick - like when I made these!

Finished these chicks are about 3.5" wide by 5" tall - much bigger than I thought they would be. They are really cute and I cannot wait to put them in the girls' Easter baskets. Of course, until then I will have to hide them so their little hands do not snag them - like what happened here!