Snack Bag Tutorial

Have any of you entered the wonderful world of PUL fabric? I just recently discovered this amazing stuff, and my life will never be the same! It can be used for making cloth diapers, but that's just the beginning of it's possibilies. How many times have I reached into my diaper bag, only to find something a bit damp from grapes, wipes, a wet swimsuit, etc...

So, here's one thing that PUL has done for me! I have been wanting to make these cute reusable snack bags for all of the little lady's snacks I bring to church or just have in my purse. These work great, and she LOVES putting her finger through the ribbon, and toting it around the store with her. :) My super talented friend, Emily, has a great tutorial on her blog.

Here's a view of the PUL. Though it's white, with white velcro, I'm afraid you can't really see it. But, it helps keeps my purse dry!

Check back tomorrow, and I'll show you another great thing PUL has done for me...

I shared this tutorial at Sun Scholars!

Shopping Bag Holder- Tutorial

My friend made so much fun of me when she saw that I was making this, because she's constantly teasing me about how I "obsess" over these stinkin plastic grocery bags trying to take over my life! Even though I remember to bring my reusable grocery bags probably 8 times out of 10 (isn't that so "green" of me?), I still feel like I'm drowning in them. So, an effort to not let these little puppies get out of hand, I have always taken like 3 seconds to roll each one nice and tightly, before stuffing them into my overflowing tote bag.

How does she know I do this?.......

So it's like this- In my church, there are a billion little babies. Consequently, a billion stinky diapers at the end of the 3 hour block. That makes for one rancid smelling "mothers' lounge." So a few of us have been "donating" our grocery bags to the lounge, in hopes that moms will first wrap up their kids' stinky diapers before placing them in the pail of horror.

One night, some friends and I were together chatting, and we somehow got on the topic of that smelly mothers' lounge, and how the smell was improving. After many stinky diaper related comments, my friend exclaimed, "Who is the world is bringing those grocery bags?"

Just before I could proudly raise my hand as the girl who saved our olfactories, she continues, "Because whoever it is, needs to get a grip! Each bag was rolled up all tight and neat. Who has time for that?!"

As I hesitated for a second, wondering if I was going to own up to this said "odd" behavior, I realized that, YES! I'm an organizational freak who takes the time to roll up my bags. As a result, I don't have to get spittin mad each time I try to pull out a bag with one hand, and instead, a tangled mess of 46 bags comes falling out onto the floor! Nope! When I want one bag, I get one bag! It's rather freeing, really.

And that's what I proclaimed (in somewhat similar words).

So, now I'm taking it one step further, with an even better way to organize those cursed bags. My grandma had one of these when I was growing up, and I found an amazingly simple tutorial at Make It Love It!

Great way to get rid of some scrap fabric, and also make our lives just a tiny bit simpler. :)

Thanks for all the grief, Ann...

Canvas Mail Sorter!

Nothing sends my heart into spasms like Office Depot, and the Rubbermaid aisle at Walmart. I LOVE organizing!

It's a mail sorter! Custom with the sections labeled just as I need them. Exhilarating, isn't it?!

Here is a detailed tutorial from Bright and Blithe:

Materials:unbleached cotton fabric (I, Tori, used canvas. It stretches less...)

coordinating thread

1/2″ wide elastic or ribbon (depending on where you’re hanging it)

safety-pin

off-white cardstock

Steps:1. From your fabric, cut a rectangular panel measuring 27.75″ by 16.5″ (or whatever dimensions you deem appropriate depending on your needs).

2. On each of the long sides, fold in the edge about 1″ and press flat.

3. Top stitch both folds closed using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

4. Determine which side you want to be “the front”, and top stitch a second time 1/4″ below the first line of stitching. (See the image if you’re confused.)

5. Fold the panel in half, lengthwise, right sides facing, and stitch up the sides. (1/4″ seam allowance again)

6. Now it’s time to add the pockets. I chose the size of mine based on the widest piece of mail that we receive on a regular basis. Using a straightedge, simply pencil in a faint line from the top to the bottom of the front panel to show you where to stitch in your dividers. This makes it easier to sew in a straight line and you can’t see the pencil mark after you sew over it.

7. Stitch in your dividers, following your pencil line, beginning at the bottom and stopping when you reach the lower top stitch line. (Again, refer to the image if I lost you.)

Toddler Schedule

I've been feeling like my daughter is old enough to understand and anticipate events in her day, so I made this daily schedule for her. It's a magnet board that Shannon got while in college, then passed it on to me when I went to college! Ha!

My daughter can easily place and remove the event cards as we advance through the day.

On the back, I can store the extra cards that don't apply for the day.

It's made from a Word document- print, cut, laminate! Then I used those adhesive magnets on the back. :) My little lady really seems to like it.

Crayon Roll

I had a truly inspirational dream about a better (and cuter) way to store A's crayons! It stemmed from a little tool kit, we keep in the trunk of our car, that holds the tools vertically, then rolls into a nice tight pouch. I thought this would be perfect for crayons, and could change everything we know about crayon storage!

The next morning, I checked to see if anyone else had thought of this before, and sure enough, Skip To My Lou was all over that, complete with a tutorial and measurements! First search result, and I found a winner! So I followed the tutorial and made this little puppy.

Isn't bedhead the greatest! She loves it, and it fits in my church bag so neatly.

I linked up this project to some of these fun link parties!

Hairbow and Headband Storage

Last week was a stormy week in most of the country, it seems. Here in the midwest, and especially in the eastern states, we experienced freezing rain. This pic shows how each individual needle on the pine tree out back was frozen solid! When St Louis gets storms, or if someone mentions the word "storm," the whole city shuts down. Nobody leaves their homes. Kind of exciting right?! For our "snow days," the man was home, so we caught up on some family time, and I crafted while he played with the little one.

I'd been wanting to figure something out with my daughter's hairbow and headband storage, because we had been late for church one too many times, in the name of hair fashion! It was just too hard to see my options when they were stuffed in a plastic box. This is what I came up with!

I found this idea on this Aly & Ash blog. Sorry the pics are not too pretty- it was so dark and gloomy outside!

The font is from my Cricut, Winter Wonderland cartridge.

For her headbands (and mine also), I made this in about 5 minutes.

Just an oatmeal canister(that I've been hoarding "just in case I need it"), covered in pretty paper! Her stretchy headbands fit inside nicely, and the sturdy and more fragile ones are nicely formed to the outside! I was super stoked about this because I've had to repair that feather one sooo many times from it getting squished in a drawer. :)

I linked up this project to some of these fun Link Parties!