The Shelterrific toddler party project yesterday was a blast! We not only had a great time during the bash, but also beforehand pulling it all together. One of the best ideas? Homemade goody bags by my mom. She caught me about to spend money on some and quickly jumped up: “I can make those!” Actually, what she made was much better than anything I saw in stores. I asked her to share the how-tos. Here are some tips from guest expert Betsie Johnson, long-time crafter extraodinaire and all-around creative genius — plus, one incredibly helpful grandmother.

“The bags are made from felt squares, which are sold in squares, not yards, in bins at fabric stores in multiple colors (places like Jo-Anns, Franks, Michaels). For the names, I freehand cut the letters from two-inch strips. Then, I zigzag-stitched the names onto the outside of the bag with a sewing machine. I put the right sides together and stitched around the bags in straight stitch on three sides. I then turned them inside-out and clipped the corners off on the inside so they would face correctly when turned rightside. (That’s an important step.) After that, I turned them rightside-out and pressed them.” Click through to the next page for the rest of Betsie’s instructions.

“For the handles, I used ribbon or felt and sewed them onto the inside of the bag. Finally, I had some scrap ruffles and ribbons that I sewed around the top of the bags for the girls — and for the boys I just turned them under and stitched them.

Of course, the birthday girl needed a more elaborate bag. I freehand cut out a butterfly in shiny fabric and zigzag-stitched it to the bag. Then I beaded like a fiend! I have a large collection of beads and chose small pearls along with embroidery to enhance it. I beaded around the edges and also made eyes an antennae out of beads for my butterfly-loving granddaughter.

Simple, and fun. And less than $1 each!

After that, we filled them with wonderful things. Puzzles, stickers, books, butterfly tattoos and more.”

Thanks, Mom! You’re the best. — Beth J.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 10th, 2006 at 5:09 am and is filed under crafting, giving, living with kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.