a-MAZ-ing!

Are you wondering what's so a-MAZ-ing about this post? Q found this wooden maze game at a thrift store for only 99 cents! It's not broken--just had a spot of red paint on it. It also didn't have the marbles with it. But, how could you pass up a great deal like this for only 99 cents (okay, it's actually a little over a dollar with tax!)? AMAZING!

It's a classic game that we just couldn't pass up. It's too big to fit in one of our toy baskets in the living room, so it's being stored in the spare bedroom. We've already tried playing this game ourselves and found it to be quite challenging! I think the next time we have kids or teens over, it will keep them occupied for a while. 

After purchasing this game, we headed over to a craft store to find marbles for it. Regular-sized marbles are too large for the holes in this game. So, we found hematite beads (8mm). They have two tiny holes, but they are weighty and roll pretty well. The goal of this game is to go from start to finish without the marble falling inside. If you don't make it to the finish line, the number next to the hole where your marble fell through indicates the points you receive for that round. Knobs on the two sides of the game box help you move the marble around the maze.

I made a pouch for the beads using scrap fabric. A while back, I received some sample fabric, and I just loved this one the best! All I did was make a casing at the top; put the rope through the casing; then, stitched up the sides. To close the top, you just have to pull the two ends of the rope and tie it. This is also a great way to keep small pieces from other games in, or even tiny doll accessories! Basically, if it's small things you're trying to keep track of, making a pouch like this would be ideal.

The package of beads that we bought contained more than 60! I did put all of them in the bag, and I think that we have plenty of extras if some get lost (or in case I decide to make some jewelry out of them, too!) :)