I, for one, absolutely hate my girls Easter outfits thanks to the months and months of seeing them at the top of this sorry blog. Blek! So for the sake of so many (and by so many, I mean the 7 maybe that might come back every now and again to see if there is anything new) I am adding a recent project.
I try to make something homemade for my kids for Christmas. I saw these backpacks near the beginning of school, but refused to pay $38.00 a piece for canvas backpacks. I guess I filed them away in my head subconsciously, because when I needed an idea a few months ago to help keep my kids happy during church with my husband no longer sitting with us, I remembered these babies right away and thought they would be the perfect Christmas gift to sew after having a baby. Simple, quick, and easy.
Luckily I had also filed away a tutorial for these cute, Valentine chair backers and thought I could adjust for what I wanted. I am so happy with the results. But how hard was it? I mean really. I copied someones overpriced (although extremely cute) idea and pretty much copied someones tutorial. There wasn't a lot of creativity or originality involved, but at least I sewed something for Christmas that my kids love. And they were cheap-cheap to make...my favorite kind of project.
I put inside some Color Wonder books and markers (love those for Sunday clothes and no mess). They also got a small notebook with one of those pens that have the four colors to choose from. My girls think those are the greatest pens ever. And that's it. Less is more when we're at church. I've found that if they have a few markers and a pen with a notebook things go a whole lot better than when I have a duffel bag full of everything but the kitchen sink. I keep the bags up in my closet until Sunday, and put them right away when we get home. That way, hopefully, the novelty won't wear off. But what works for you at church? I'd like to add a rotation of a few things to keep them from getting bored. Any ideas out there?