No Sew Felt Library Bags

This summer, we are planning to head to our local library for their Summer Reading Program. I think it is SUPER important to make sure your kiddos keep learning, even when they are out of school for the summer. I decided to make each of my boys a library bag to use this summer. Hopefully these bags will make our trips to the library easier, and teach my boys a little bit about responsibility!

These No Sew Felt Library Bags are SUPER simple to make...no sewing machine required! All you need is felt, ribbon, a hot glue gun, and pinking shears or scissors.
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1. Decide how big you want your bags to be....mine are 12 inches tall by 14 inches wide. Lay out your felt and measure the width of the bag and two times the length. Use your pinking shears {scissors are okay too...pinking shears just make the edge more decorative} to cut a rectangle...mine was 24 inches by 14 inches.

2. Find the center of the length, and fold the felt in half. Use your hot glue gun and glue the edges of the bag together, starting closest to the fold and working your way up to the top of the bag {where the opening will be}. Do this on both the left and right edges of the bag.
3. Use a hole punch {or you can cut a small hole with your scissors} to mark the places at the top of the bag where you want the handles to be. I punched two holes on the front side of the bag and two holes on the back side of the bag. I measured approximately 1/3 of the width over from each edge so that the handles would be evenly spaced.
4. Use ribbon to make the handles of the bag. You will need two pieces of ribbon cut the same length {one for the front and one for the back}. They can be as long or as short as you would like. To attach the handles, pull the ribbon through the holes from the inside of the bag and then tie a knot on the outside. Then pull the other end of the same piece of ribbon through the other hole and tie a knot in it. Repeat the same process to make a handle on the back side of the bag too. I used a little bit of hot glue to hold the knot in place and make the handles a little stronger.
5. Use your ribbon and lay out the letter that you want to put on your bag. Then use your hot glue gun to attach the ribbon to the front of the bag. Cutting your ribbon with pinking shears keeps it from fraying and makes the letter a little more decorative.
After about 10 minutes and a little bit of hot glue, you end up with a SUPER cute, No Sew Felt Library bag!

6 Days of Summer Fun! Day Two: No Sew Felt Library Bags

These No Sew Felt Library Bags are SUPER simple to make...no sewing machine required! All you need is felt, ribbon, a hot glue gun, and pinking shears or scissors. To learn how to make one of these cute bags for your kiddos, go check out my step by step directions at Secrets of a Super Mommy!

6 Days of Summer Fun! Day One: Liven Up that Lemonade Stand!

**This post is by Angela at Secrets of a Super Mommy!**

Every Kid LOVES to host a Lemonade Stand! But I remember mine being a big flop! It was rare that anyone would come and if a few friends did happen to come by, they didnt ever have money! So I promised my kids we would have a Lemonade Stand but I set out to make it SUPER!

Here are my ideas that helped to
Liven up that Lemonade Stand!

1. First you have to get the word out! Deliver invitations to the neighborhood friends! You can make them as simple as needed. Just let your kiddos use paper and markers or save a copy and print mine. Just fill it in and trim the edges with decorative scissors.

2. Hand out FAKE money with the invitations. We gave our friends enough that they could each buy 1 of every item on the "menu." You can create your pages of money and print them here.

3. Let your kiddos help get everything ready!

The Food. Along with the Strawberry Lemonade, we had popsicles, cookies, fruit ke-bobs, popcorn, and small candy. Everything was really simple. We served the popcorn in coffee filters, and everything else was set out on trays (except the popsicles, which were in the cooler).

The Menu Sign. Most of the kids that came to our Lemonade Stand couldn't read anyway but we had fun making the signs together with a roll of paper from our easel and markers. I LOVED the spelling!! I recently found some fun printables that you could customize here (there is even a cute printable door hanger invite!)

The Set Up. We have a little plastic play house that was perfect to serve from, but all you really need is a little table (our table was behind the playhouse). Let the kids set up the chairs, put on table clothes, and hang the signs.

4. Break out a cash box or toy cash register and let your kids sell until they are ready for a drink! Then be sure to let their friends have a turn selling too.

5. Set up an umbrella, chairs, and blankets to sit on...so everyone can hang out and play for a while.

Our Lemonade Stand was so much fun that my Super Mommy neighbors kept the fun going and had the neighborhood over for a
Snow Cone Stand, and then later in the fall, a Hot Chocolate Stand!

I hope this helps you Liven up Your Lemonade Stand this Summer! Stay tuned for more awesome posts from Kelli and I all week!
~Angela

Secrets of a Super Mommy!