Each year, we do a countdown to Christmas with books. In the past, I wrapped each one up and then the boys got to open it each day – they had an absolute blast! This year though I got to thinking about paper………..it’s expensive AND it takes me forever to wrap up all of those books (not to mention how many trees I was wasting by the amount of paper I’d be using each year to wrap my books). I was brainstorming one day and came up with “The Christmas Bag”. I think I’ve mentioned before that I am a TOTAL novice on the sewing machine and really have no idea what I’m doing……but where there’s a will there’s a way!
The bag is big enough to hold all sizes of books (and some Christmas DVD’s too) and the boys will simply open the bag each day to find what goodies are inside. I also made 25 of the little number ornaments that I can easily pop on the bag so the boys know what number we’re up to. We’ll hand these up after each day on the wall in the shape of a tree:-)
I hand stitched the middle part of the bag. I have the pattern for the tree if anyone is interested in making their own {Click HERE}.
I even lined the inside of the bag (to a non sewer, this was a BIG deal and caused me great stress but I think it turned out).
I alternated the red and green color (material and number buttons). The buttons came from Jo-Ann but are kind of pricey (about $6 a packet and I needed 2……make sure you take a coupon along).
There is a green rope that ties the bag together (which you can vaguely see in the top picture). All in all I’m happy with how it turned out and am having visions of passing it down to grandkids one day :-)
I can’t WAIT to start filling the bag with books! Stay tuned tomorrow for a list of the books we’ll be reading.
Wow looks great! We have decided to fo away with paper and now we only do cloth bags. It's pricey but in the end it pays for itself. So happy you decided to help save the environment
ReplyDeletejada roo can do
This is just beautiful!! I love it, what a great idea, makes me wish my kids were little again :( Maybe I could use it in the classroom? I am sure mine would not be nearly as cute!!
ReplyDeleteLove this SO much!! I'm doing a Christmas Book Advent this year for the first time. I've seen several, each with different ways of keeping the books a surprise. Your bag is so sweet!! I'm attempting to incorporate a craft/activity each day to go with the books I've chosen. Hope I can pull it all together! I'll be blogging it thru December.
ReplyDeleteI shared your North Pole Breakfast on my crafty facebook page, and HAD to add this, too : )
Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com
So cute and smart! I just finished sewing an advent calendar and have lots of felt left over. Guess what mama's doing tonight while the boys are in bed! Thanks Michelle! It's brilliant!
ReplyDeleteSo great!! We did the wrapped books for the first time this year! I like this idea though!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks adorable. I just wanted to say that we wrap books too and if you get a good sized roll of wrapping paper (90 sq ft) at the dollar store it can cover everything. It only cost us $1 to wrap our books this year.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the bag. You should be really proud of yourself!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, ladies - wow, Kathleen - that's awesome!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, it's GORGEOUS! You did an excellent job! If I tried to sew it, well...it would be humorous. I definitely wouldn't be able to post a picture of the end results.
ReplyDeleteWe're planning to do the Christmas books this year, too. I started collecting books last year. We probably have about 15 books, but I think we're doing 12 days this year...and then adding on a few more books in hopes of reaching 25 books by next Christmas.
I would LOVE to get a copy of that pattern if you don't mind! I love the idea. My kiddos are small, and I'm trying to establish some great Christmas traditions early. Thanks! kjpdky@gmail.com
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