I Spy Items – The Last Olympians and The Lost Heros

I have wanted to make some I Spy bags for my children for quite a while. However, I don’t have enough little things around my house already, discounting LEGOs, which we have in plentiful amounts, and purchasing single items is cost-prohibitive. After a failed attempt to get a swap going with others in order to take advantage of bulk buying, I decided to make my items for our I Spy bags.

I purchased a set of clay from JoAnn’s. The set contained 8 different colors and cost around $16-17. I used a 40% coupon, bringing the price down around $10. As of this date, I’ve already made items for 5 seperate I Spy bags around various themes and have a bit more clay left.

This first set is based off of Rick Riordan’s young adult/children’s series loosely based on Greek Mythology. I thought my bibliophillic children would love book-themed I Spy bags. The bags aren’t made yet (I’ll be posting a tutorial later this Spring on a new way to make I Spy bags), but if enthusiasm for the items that will go in them are any gauge, the I Spy bags will be loved. Greek heroes and heroines, children of the gods known as demi-gods in the books,  fit in well with this month’s theme for the Families Create Challenge.

Here are the the items for our Last Olympians/Lost Heroes bags:

1. a crown – all gods and goddesses love to be acknowledged, prayed to, and crowned. Zeus, the king of the gods and father to Thalia and Jason, is no exception.
2. a wave – Poseidon, one of the big three, is a favorite for my kids. Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon. The ocean holds so many mysteries, most of which we have yet to uncover.
3. a snake – Medeusa anyone? She’s a formidable enemy and not one to be triffled with, or looked at.
4. an eye – representing cyclopes, both the friendly and unfriendly kinds. A little insight gives range to different perspectives.
5. an orange T-shirt – sure, it doesn’t have the Camp Half-Blood emblem on it, but these are minature pieces of clay.
6. a winged shoe – stolen from Hermes, messenger of the gods.
7. a lightning bolt – a symbol of Zeus’s anger, pride, and any other emotion. Gods are flightly and temperamental at the best of times.
8. a skull – a little cryptic, but what better way to present Hades, god of the dead?
9. a lotus flower – mentioned in the first book and symbolizing knowledge.
10. a sun – important if you happen to be Apollo.
11. grapes – what camp or story would be complete without a crotchety old person with a chip on his shoulder? Cheers to you, Dionysis!
12. the yellow sheep – it’s a golden fleece. Read the books. You’ll enjoy them, and learn or remember a little mythology while you are at it.
13. golden drachma – flip one of these babies into a fountain and send an Iris message to one you love.
14. a shield – it pays to have a little protection.
15. horseshoe – symbolizing all of the wonderful hooved friends in the series – the pegasi (I admit BlackJack reminds me of Joey from Friends, and I tend to read him that way.), the satyrs (Grover and Coach Hedge, we love you guys and life wouldn’t be the same without you), and to the wonderful Party Ponies (sage centaurs making the most out of life).
16. a bow and arrow – for Artemis. She’s a wonderfully strong role model with her tribe of immortal girls, racing across thy sky and battling monsters to save mankind. Sure, some of her companions have taken the male disgust a bit far, but she’s pretty grounded in who she is and doesn’t seem to feel quite the same distain.
17. trident – Poseidon was my son’s first favorite god and the first series (ah, yes, the fun continues in the second series) revolved a great deal around Poseidon’s son, Percy.
18. a hammer – a tribute to Leo and Haphaestus. Leo, you’ll never be a third wheel to us.
19. a sword – what monster fighting hero or heroine would be without his or her sword?
20. an owl – for those Athena fans. Don’t tell her, but she just couldn’t compete with Artemis for my daughter.

February brought many heroic crafts to Our Family Creates! Check out some of the wonderful posts from last month’s participants:

• The Artsy Mama made a personalized birthday hat for her son’s first birthday. Learn how to make a Hero’s Birthday Hat for your hero or heroine with very few sewing skills.
• Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children found inspiration in books for some I-Spy items in her post, I Spy Items – The Last Olympians and The Lost Heroes.
• Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias found out how one random act of kindness can shower the world in kindness in the book Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed.
• It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Super Kieran! Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares the Superhero Capes she made to celebrate her son’s heroic qualities.
• At Z Everyday Things, Mama G made easy and quick Super Zs!, personalized superhero appliques on shirts, for her children. Easy and quick!
• Lauren at Hobo Mama has a son who loves to dream up stories and one heroic imaginary friend. Read her post about Space-Alien Hot-Dog Monster & Silly Guy .
• Heroes are often everyday people. Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children was inspired by the gift of a sock in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, prompting her to make Dobby’s Sock as part of her Harry Potter ornaments.
• Galit Breen at Three Little Waves used the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes as a springboard for a sensitive discussion and a fun origami project for her whole family in her post Families Create: Heroes and Heroines.
• Need a creative gift idea for a toddler or preschooler? Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares a simple Tutorial for a Two-Sided Felt Playmat (one side is outer space, one side is a jungle scene).
• Literature and adventure inspired Mandy @ Living Peacefully with Children to make these Treasure Bags for Imbolc.

Visit Code Name: Mama and Living Peacefully with Children to find out how you can participate in the next Families, Create! Carnival. Our March theme is “Animals” – what animals are your favorites and why? Get creative and share with us how animals are a part of your and your children’s lives.