Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Big Brother & Sister Bags

Baby #3 is due in 5 weeks so I have been busy preparing big brother and sister for our new arrival. I wanted them to have something special waiting for them at the hospital so I created these big brother & sister bags...


I found the monogram templates here on Skip to My Lou. She shows you how to make simple applique monograms and gives you a template for each letter. Thanks, Cindy!

I found the bags at Hobby Lobby for $1.50 each. They are thin but perfect for my purpose.

I wish I had followed her tutorial completely because I went for the zig zag stitch, which I had never done before since I have only been sewing since November. My zig zag stitching skills are seriously lacking around corners and small circles. Yikes. The bags came out far from perfect, but that is okay with me and the kids will never notice! I am confident they will just be thrilled that their special letter marks their bag...


I found some cheap t-shirts at Wal-Mart. Pink for Avery and blue for Tyson, of course. I used scrap fabric to cut out letters to personalize each shirt. I first printed off the letters in the font I wanted from the computer. I cut out each letter and used them as stencils for the fabric. This was a very time consuming process but well worth it. After each fabric letter was cut out, I heat and bonded them to the shirts. I tried the machine at first, but I am just not good enough yet to sew tiny letters so I resorted to using my hands. These shirts may never get done before the baby gets here but I am trying...


Avery got a bonus of a coordinating skirt for fun. I would show you how I made the skirt, but my clothes sewing abilities are very limited. So while I love the finished product, my method of getting there is not worthy of repeating just yet!


Here are some other items that will fill the bags along with the shirts. A few dollar store items and a couple books found at a secondhand store in great condition. Nothing fancy but definitely fun...


The bags can later be used to hold books during library visits and to carry toys and such to family and friends houses!

Please join me in checking out these fun link parties!

Happy Tuesday!

17 comments:

Amy June 29, 2010 at 6:21 AM  

Oh my goodness! I LOVE these! You always think of the best gifts! Avery & Tyson are so fortunate to have you as their mama!! :)

Patrice June 29, 2010 at 6:27 AM  

These are going to be fabulous gifts! Those clothes are so sweet, and I am so impressed with your hand stitching them!

Jessica June 29, 2010 at 6:44 AM  

Tiffany, these are precious. What a great way to show how SPECIAL being a big brother and sister is going to be!

Erica June 29, 2010 at 7:46 AM  

Tiffany - those are the cutest thing ever!! So sweet - what a great, thoughtful gift.

TBonesMom June 29, 2010 at 8:10 AM  

Creative and fun! I will take one in lavender that reads "I'm the Aunt". LOL.

Love you, can't wait for my new niece/nephew!!!

Monica June 29, 2010 at 8:38 AM  

I print my letters directly onto the iron on bonding paper, iron it onto my fabric and then cut them out...it saves a TON of time! My 3rd is due in 7 weeks...I need to do something fun!!

Mama Thompson June 29, 2010 at 10:10 AM  

Great idea...everything looks so great and your kids will love it!
...when I have cut out fabric for shirts, I use my cricut...if you have one it makes it so easy. I iron on the bonding paper to the fabric so it is stiff enough to go through the cricut to be cut...then iron on the shirt, and if you want, stitch around the letters.

The Autocrat: Haley June 29, 2010 at 11:41 AM  

I just love these premade tote bags. I think I have made a million of them for wedding parties and etc. Your's turned out great!! Yeah, you will only get better with practice on the sewing machine, your pretty good since you've only been sewing since Nov. My mom has been sewing all her life, makes me sick! LOL Her stiches are sooooo straight and perfect evertime. Congrats on your new baby and I am sure the two older kids will love their new stuff!!

Erin A June 29, 2010 at 12:28 PM  

I love these Tiffany!! So adorable. They will use them forever, and are so special. You are a great momma!

Alyssa June 29, 2010 at 12:28 PM  

Would you quit knocking your sewing abilities?!?! They are fine. Looks like a great simple gathered waist skirt to me! I love that fabric from Hobby Lobby. And there are tons of tutorials out there for gathered skirts like that, so don't worry about it.

And the shirts are adorable - how you have the patience for hand-sewing is beyond me...

Maria June 29, 2010 at 2:04 PM  

What a great idea!!! Your kids will feel so special and proud!

Karen June 29, 2010 at 7:17 PM  

These are some great ideas! Your blog is awesome! I enjoy reading it!
www.karismaheartsavannah.blogspot.com

Melissa June 29, 2010 at 7:24 PM  

these are awesome! love the idea and who couldn't use another thing to haul their stuff around!?

The Activity Mom June 30, 2010 at 4:47 PM  

Love it! Those turned out great!

stopping by from wwfmw

Teena July 1, 2010 at 7:18 PM  

This is a really nice idea to help older children when a new baby arrives. Happy Transformation Thursday <3

brandi @ tales of a domestic goddess July 2, 2010 at 3:18 PM  

cute idea!! we exchanged gifts between the two (let the older pick out a present for the younger) seemed to help a lot!
good luck with #3!

Decor To Adore July 3, 2010 at 11:27 AM  

Oh I adore this project. It is going in my style file for sure!

Happy 4th of July!

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