DIY Library Bag

About a month ago I took Charlotte on her first trip to our local public library. It was a total success and she loved looking at all of the books and picking out a few to take home. When it was time to check out the books, Charlotte wanted to carry them to the car. I didn't have a bag so the librarian handed us a plastic bag. My girl carried the bag all the way to the car. I knew I needed to have a special bag for our library trips. At the same time that we began going to the library, Charlotte began painting. I thought this would be a great opportunity for her to put her own personal touch on something. I bought some acrylic paint, cheap paint brushes, and a canvas bag and let her go crazy.

I taped plastic bags down for a drop cloth. I always have an excessive amount and thought this would be a good way to reuse them.

Here's my girl at work. Sorry it's blurry. I was having issues. :)

After she was done with her "masterpiece" and it had plenty of time to dry I sparingly applied some hot glue around the top edge of the bag and attached some ribbon. I truly wanted this bag to be something that Charlotte had "designed" so on a trip to Hobby Lobby I had her pick out a spool of ribbon that she liked and that was the ribbon I used.

Once I had attached the ribbon I decided that I wanted to add an inside pocket to keep our library card in. For this step I used random pieces that I had laying around. I used fabric and ribbon that was left over from my Memo Board, a random button, Charlotte's ribbon, and some hemp cord. I forgot to take pictures as I went but I basically just hot glued ribbon around the edges so that I wouldn't have to sew anything. It wasn't until I was done with the ribbon that I decided to add the button. The card didn't fit as snug as I would have liked and I was afraid that it would get lost.

I'm so proud of the art work that my peanut creates and love being able to carry it around. Not only does it make me smile but it also makes my girl happy. I love hearing her say things like "Mommy, I did that." I want her to be proud of the things she creates and I definitely think that allowing her to carry her painting around with her will help build her self confidence.

 What crafts have you done with your children lately?