THE TOADS are back at Michaels!! Which means I finally decided to make the backpack I’ve been planning on. A while back I realized that since these are flexible and stuffed with fiberfill they could be used as FABRIC. like, for a BAG. Lol
I later on saw a website that’s selling handbags that are definitely of this same idea but for like $150. 
I already have one of the toads from years back but I didn’t want to make him into a backpack. He needs to stay as he is. And while they had my particular toad I was planning on, they also had a new more derpy toad!!! Ok yes. New derpy toad will be my backpack.
Here he is:
As you can see, I am highly amused with myself.
The stitching isn’t perfect but I didn’t feel like it needed to be. I felt like I was going to have a lot of problems if I tried to attach everything with glue. Sewing makes it less permenant if I mess up. It was very difficult sewing through the rubber. 
I was eventually so sore I was just using pliers to pull the needle through. Despite that it was a quick craft!!
The inner fabric is dragonflies since toads eat bugs, obviously.
To make this guy into a backpack I just slit him right down the middle with an exacto knife and pulled out about half the stuffing. I had to keep cutting until I was sure I could easily fit my phone in there. That was important as I started sewing the lining in only to realize my phone wouldn’t fit.
I didn’t make the straps adjustable since it’s just for me, hence, I don’t need to adjust them.
It was a very me-craft, as in, no measuring. Lmao. I just barely even made a sort of pattern for the lining. It’s just two ovals roughly the size of the toad, attached to a long canoe -shaped strip. I hand-sewed everything because I didn’t feel like using my machine. Hopefully it will hold up but I would have had to hand-sew the parts attached to the toad anyway. Sometimes despite it being faster, I feel like it’s overcomplicating it to use the sewing machine. I know that doesn’t really make any sense. Lol
Also, everything except the toad I already had in my stash! Yay!!!
I might make another one of these as a cross-body purse and paint him kinda campy or something. I seriously wish I could buy like 50 of these toads. The idea of a giant toad just makes me super happy. I smile every time I look at them.
Yes, the setting up and putting away is for sure a huge part of it for me as well (regardless of actual difficulty, the fact that it needs to be done at all is a deterrent). Honestly I a impressed you sewed through that all by hand. I re-made my daughter’s pleather bag by hand a year or two ago and still remember how sore my fingers were. Sewing through rubber, or pleather, or the like is not for the faint of heart!
