Count to 100 Friendship Beans Craft

What you'll need:

• 100 light-colored dried beans (pinto, Lima, etc.)
• Fine tipped markers
• fabric (11 inch square)
• Scissors
• Ribbon, yarn, or string
• 2 beads
• Hole punch
• 1 large bowl (11 inches in diameter) (optional)

1. Decorate each of your beans to look like a person.  Since you are creating one hundred of them, simply give the beans eyes, nose, smile, and a shirt.  Feel free to get more creative if you have the time or make this a classroom-wide activity, where everybody decorates a few beans to add to one collective bag of one hundred beans.  (see photos)
2. To make your fabric bag, round the edges of the fabric square so that it forms a circle, or trace a large bowl.  (see photos)
3. Carefully punch holes in the fabric with the hole punch, one half inch from the edge of the circle.  (see photos)
4. Wrap tape around the end of the yarn.  Thread one end of the ribbon, string, or yarn through the holes in the fabric bag, weaving in and out, until you have weaved half way around the circle.  Cut the end, make sure that there is excess yarn, ribbon, or string on either side.  Thread another piece of ribbon, yarn, or string through the other half of the bag until all of the holes have been filled.  Make sure that when you end, your string is face out, with the pattern side up.  entire piece of felt.  Pull both ends of the ribbon so that they are even.  Thread one of the pony beads onto both ribbons and push it as far as it will go.  Tie a knot on the end.  Repeat with the other side of the bag.  (see photos)
5. To open your bag, simply slid the beads along the ribbon and pull the fabric bag open.  To close the fabric bag, push the beads along the ribbon until they will not go any further.  Store your friendship beans inside when you are not using them.  (see photos)