Bean Bag Toss {Tutorial}

Last week we guest blogged over at Sawdust and Paperscraps for Handmade Christmas in July. In case you missed our post over there we wanted to make sure you would see it here! This was an awesome project to work on. We called it a "Bean Bag Toss" for appropriate reasons; however, in the south we call it "cornhole". This project incorporated both sewing and wood working and because of that was the perfect project for us to make. I will preface that this is not an inexpensive project to make. In the end I want to say we spent roughly $40 (and that's with scrap wood we had on hand). Granted a few of the supplies we had to buy in "bulk", so now we have them for future bean bag toss projects. 

Materials Needed for Bean Bag Toss Tables:

Two pieces of ½ inch thick plywood cut to 2-foot x 4-foot

Four, 8-foot 2x4’s

Four, 4½ - inch long, 3/8-inch long carriage bolts

Four, 3/8-inch flat washers

Four, 3/8-inch wing nuts

1 box of 2½-inch wood screws wood filler

1-quart polycrylic

Cut the 2x4’s. You will need 4 pieces at 21-inches each and 4 pieces at 4-feet each. Using the 4-foot and 21-inch pieces, construct the tables’ frames with wood screws.

Measure 9-inches from the top of the plywood pieces and 12-inches from the sides and mark a center point for the hole. Use a compass to draw a circle 6-inches in diameter. Cut the hole with a jigsaw.

Place the plywood surface on the frame and screw in place.

Using the remaining 2x4 pieces cut 4 pieces for the legs of your tables. They will need to be 11-5/8 inches long with one end cut to a 99-degree angle. You want to round the opposite ends of the legs, so you can fold them away for storage.

Drill a hole in the frame.

Attach the rounded edge of the leg with the carriage bolts.

*Screw the flat washer and wing nut onto the carriage bolt.

Mr. Woodsy hard at work putting on the legs!

Fill all holes and blemishes with the wood filler, allow time to dry and sand your tables smooth. *Remember to sand along with the edges, too.

If keeping the natural look, dust your tables then paint with polycrylic. *If painting dust and prime them. Allow time to dry before painting with a semi or high-gloss latex paint.

Materials for the Bean Bags:

Sixteen, 7-inch by 7-inch squares of duck or outdoor cloth (2 colors, 8 per color)

Thread, Scissors, Straight pins

8 pounds of feed corn

Place two squares of cloth together face-to-face and sew a double-stitch with a ½-inch in-seam. Only sew three of the four sides.

Once your squares are sewn, turn each bag inside out (poke the corners out with a pencil). The bag will be 6-inches square.

Fill bag with 2 cups of feed corn. (Hence why this game is called Cornhole in the south) Bag should weigh approximately 1-pound when finished.

Fold the open ends of fabric inward 1/2 –inch, pin in place to keep corn in while you sew and double-stitch the seam.

Here is what it will look like when it’s on the machine. I bent 2 needles while sewing 8 bean bags. Make sure you are using a heavy-duty needle, and sewing slowly. It is extremely important that no corn go near the presser foot and needle! I wanted to top stitch around the entire bean bag, but after bending multiple needles I decided to not chance any more fatalities and just top stitch what needed to be stitch up (and move on)!

Repeat with remaining bags, until all 8 bags are completed.

Here is what the finished beanbags looked like.

Here is Mr. Woodsy testing out our new game!

Mr. Woodsy posing with his latest woodworking creation-- demonstrating how easy it is to store (the legs fold in).

We hope you enjoyed reading about creating your very own bean bag toss. Last weekend while scalloping in North-West Florida we brought this set to our friends. They love it! We even personalized it with some vinyl cut from the cricut. Stay tuned for a vinyl 101 tutorial!

What's Up Wednesday's {Link Party}

This past weekend we didn't do any crafting/home DIY/ wood working projects. Instead we spent some much needed time with close friends out in the middle of no where! We go to Keaton Beach at least once a year to go scalloping. We coast along the bay in a boat, stop at several locations with snorkel gear, mesh bags, and gloves, and look for scallops. If you want to learn more about scalloping you can visit my cooking blog, Katie's Cucina, where I wrote a post on our trip last year.

In the mean time we are slowly getting back to the grind. I'm currently working on an editorial calendar for the next few months. With Halloween quickly approaching I need a game plan! If you would like to guest post about a Halloween project you are planning to make please feel free to email us your idea. 


Yesterday, we featured 6 wonderful projects that were linked up last week. If you haven't done so already go check out these 6 projects, and if you are new to our blog, please grab a party button and display it somewhere on your blog! Now, let's party!

Rules for the link party:

-We would like it if you followed us on the blog (whether it's through blogger or via email subscription) !

-PLEASE display our party button somewhere on your blog.

-Make sure your link is to your specific post and not your main URL & add a short description.

-Please try to view and/or follow at least two other participants. That's what makes link parties work! 

-You can enter as many craft projects as you'd like. (No recipes!)

-No advertising please (that means Etsy). 
-Entering into this party gives us the rights to blog about and feature your blog post. 

Features from Last Week's Link Party

Thank you to everyone who linked up projects last week. We spent last weekend on a weekend getaway, but got to give our Bean Bag Toss we made to our good friends (and they loved it)! We hope to start working on some more projects this week. Here are our favorite five projects plus the reader's choice from last week. 

Button Wall Plaque for Sewing Room from At Home by the Baye

These are super cute! I can't get over how cute these are... and creative! 

Fabric Wrap Belt from Craft Buds

I absolutely LOVE this fabric belt... I can't wait to make one! 

Plywood Outdoor Chalk Board from Acessroize and Organize

If I had kids I would be all over this! What an awesome chalk board!

The Early Bird and the Night Owl from Cookie and Claire

How adorable are these onesies!!?! All cut free hand and used some freezer paper to stencil on the details! Great job!

Salvage a Melted/Damaged Lamp Shade from Gardners to Bergers 

Love this lampshade revamp! Everyone is doing them and somehow I've yet to make one! 

Reader's Choice

The Starboard Skirt from Suburbs Mama

I love this skirt and the fact that she was able to make a skirt for both her and her daughter and a pair of pants for her son (all out of a $3.99 thrifted sheet)! 

Dual Heat-N-Bond {Cricut Cut} Onesie

One of my first post on Sew Woodsy was about cutting fabric with the cricut and using Heat-N-Bond to adhere the fabric to clothing. I got a new cartridge recently, and was working on some baby gifts and made my first ever layered heat-n-bond fabric project. I love how the additional color brings out the rest of the cut phrase and image. 

If your interested in doing a dual-layered cut out using heat-n-bond you'll want to adhere the first layer onto the clothing, and once the surface has cooled, carefully place the second layer of fabric on to the surface where you'd like to adhere it too. Follow the directions of the heat-n-bond, and voila! You'll have a dual-layer heat-n-bond cut out! 

Sewn Homemade Business Cards {& CFL Blog Con recap}

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the Central Florida Bloggers Conference at Park Maitland School, in Maitland, Florida. I was excited to see some of my blogger friends in real life, finally put a face to a name with those I chat with on Twitter, meet new bloggers, and of course learn new blogging techniques. The number one rule when going to any type of networking event is to have a business card. Let's face it you will be talking with many people and you aren't  going to remember each and every person you speak with. It's great to hand a business card to that person, so that they can check out your blog once they are away from the chaos and in the comforts of their own home. I'll be the first to admit I procrastinated and originally wanted to have professional cards printed; however, I know deep down inside my "West Elm taste on a WalMart budget" was kicking into full gear. I just didn't want to spend the money! Plus with our impending blog re-design right around the corner I knew I would just need to print new cards once again. I opted to make a homemade business card after doing some extensive research. Actually, this card, was part inspiration to the cards I created. 

I spent all of last Friday evening cutting paper, aligning paper with the printer, and in the end they were a huge success. My only regret is that I didn't make 20+ more! I gave away 48 cards in no time, and each time I handed my card to someone the receiver would get giddy, exclaiming "you're the one with the unique homemade business cards"! I thought it was pretty cool that people were talking about my business cards! I had multiple blogging professionals tell me to keep up with the homemade cards, since they match our niche so well. So I guess once the blog is redesigned we will not be getting professionally printed business cards. Instead, we will be making our own... card by card. 

Here is a quick tutorial on how I created my own sewn homemade business cards. 

I put my logo in a word document along with a text box that had my name, web address (in bold), telephone number, email address, and twitter handler. I moved around the logo and text box until I was happy with how it was printing out. I wanted the paper to wrap around the card, so that I could sew the ends. I think I got the positioning of the logo and text on the third try. After I printed out a few sheets of my logo and information I then started cutting scrap cardstock I had on hand. *The pink and beige metallic are actually leftover cardstock from our wedding invitations I made over three years ago! You will want to cut the card stock, 3.5 inches long by 2 inches wide (standard business card size).  

Next, I used a boning tool, to make a crease in the paper which makes it easier to fold a heavier card stock. Once the card stock is folded I then placed one glue zot near the side where the logo is to secure the logo/information to the business card. 

Next, you'll run the cards, individually, through your sewing machine. I choose to use some decorative stitches, along with basic straight stitches and zig zag stitches. As pictured above, this is how your cards will look prior to being trimmed. I ran the cards through the paper cutter, and then trimmed the loose thread from each card. 

Here is how the final product will look! 

You'll notice I used a variety of different cardstocks I had on hand, along with stitching styles. I absolutely LOVE how they came out. When I go to work on a new batch after the blog revamp is completed I plan to use all recycled paper (pictured on the left). 

They are relatively thick, so make sure if you have a carrying case you'll have enough room to store them in! 

----Central Florida Bloggers Conference Recap----

I love going to conferences, and highly suggest if you've never been to one and want to learn some new techniques and network to find the closest one to your house and go! It is the best motivator and if you want to ever turn your blog into more than a blog or if you just want to improve your blog they help. 

Upon checking in to the conference we were asked to sign up on the "blog" wall! Since there were not a lot of other craft blogs at the conference Sew Woodsy was placed under "other". 

Our conference started off with Keynote speaker, Marc Middleton from Growing Bolder. He was an amazing motivational speaker. Pretty much reminding each of us that if we put our minds to it that we can succeed. His show is in 171 markets and 550 stations. They began in 2009 with only 1 station! 

Here are a few of Marc's Tips:

- "Don't spend a penny you don't have to"

- "Future proof your work product"

-"The power of repurposing"

- "Simplify in every way possible"

Ben, from Adventures with Ben, spoke about taking your blog beyond the guest post. As Ben stated "Potential blog readers are everywhere... and that's exactly where I want to be."

Here are the points that Ben touched on during his presentation: 

-Find writing partnerships, repurpose your content, get featured in the paper, write for a paper, write for a business, participate in speaking engagements, engage in your niche community, and engage in your local community. 

The last session I'd like to share was with Rachelle of the Travel bite. Rachelle, spoke about building a media kit. Something I've been wanting to do for Sew Woodsy for a while now, and am currently working on! 


A few items you should including in your Media Kit? 
-Biography, who are you?
-Why do you write? 
-What experience do you have?
-Real life examples
-Photos of yourself, both candid and professional headshot
-Work, what other services do you provide? 


With all of Rachelle's examples I can't wait to start building my Media Kit! 

There were so many other great sessions throughout the day, and two tracks to follow along with, which meant 2 topics every 30-45 minutes to choose from. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to attend this conference. I gained so much more knowledge and by the end of the day my brain was on mental overload! I can't wait to start implementing a few of the new techniques and tips I learned in the coming weeks!

What's Up Wednesday's {Link Party}

We were pretty busy this past weekend and we really haven't slowed down! I worked diligently on some homemade business cards for a blog conference I attended on Saturday (blog post to come), and we  finished up our super secret guest post project for Sawdust and Paper Scraps. I also worked on a dress that was a HUGE fail. But that's besides the point. I'm excited to see what crafts everyone else has been working on!

Remember, yesterday, we featured 6 wonderful projects that were linked up last week. If you are new to our blog, please grab a party button and display it somewhere on your blog! Now, let's party!


Rules for the link party:

-We would like it if you followed us on the blog (whether it's through blogger or via email subscription) !

-PLEASE display our party button somewhere on your blog.

-Make sure your link is to your specific post and not your main URL & add a short description.

-Please try to view and/or follow at least two other participants. That's what makes link parties work! 

-You can enter as many craft projects as you'd like. (No recipes!)

-No advertising please (that means Etsy). 
-Entering into this party gives us the rights to blog about and feature your blog post. 

Features from Last Week's Link Party

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week. We had 72 amazing projects linked up, and over 200+ clicks on the links! (Don't forget to come back tomorrow and link up!) 

As I stated last week, we'll now be featuring projects on Tuesdays from last week's link party. Here are a few of our favorites from last week's link party! If this is your first time being featured, don't forget to grab the featured button! 

Stenciled Wall from Dream Home DIY

Words can not express how much I love this stenciled wall. Mr. Woodsy and I have been talking about stenciling our largest wall in our bedroom for a while now... this has inspired us to take the leap! 

Beach Tote Tutorial from vixenMade

I love this beach bag and the fact that they used terrycloth for the interior! 

Playhouse from Creative Raisins

I found this amazing playhouse in blog-land and invited them to come link up. I LOVE what they've made, and wish I was a kid again to play in something so awesome!

Lunch Bags from Kitchen Funk

I never thought to make my own lunch bag. Love the tutorial and fabrics used! 

Funky Chunky Ribbon Necklace from Wayward Girls Crafts 

I've never made any necklaces, and I think this one is a great one to start with! It looks simple, and all I need to do is go out and buy some large chunky beads! 

Reader's Choice: 

Convertible Dress from Sew Many Dreams

I've never made a convertible dress and have always wanted to make one. Great job!