Last week, I took my time and made up goodie bags. Because I wanted to give our little birthday party guests something useful and worth keeping (hopefully!), I looked around at a couple of shops such as Daiso to find some sort of little bags to use. But I also didn't want to spend a lot of money... $2 seems pretty inexpensive, until you start multiplying it by a dozen or more kids! I then realised that I could make up some simple little bags myself using supplies that I already had, and not have to spend a lot of money doing so.
After I decided to try and make my own drawstring gift bags, I wanted to find a nice way to personalise them. I have found that little ones (and anyone, really) really appreciate having things created especially just for them. And so I came up with the idea to make each child a bag with the first letter of their name on it.
I made the bags out of cotton muslin as it is inexpensive, simple, I already had a lot of it, and I just like it! The only supplies I had to purchase was some 3/16" cotton cording at .17 cents a metre, and a bit of Steam-A-Seam 2 double stick fusible web for the letter appliques.
It took me a few tries to make a sample that I was happy with, but once it was settled I was quite surprised on how quick and easy these little bags were to make. I began on Monday evening, and without any stress at all made a few bags here or there throughout the week, finishing up 13 bags up by Saturday morning.
I have made up a pattern and instructions if you'd like to make some of these gift bags, too! This is the first pattern that I have ever made, so please let me know how it goes and if you have any thoughts on how I could make it better:
When I had them all made, it was time to fill them up! I added two of the little note-books that I had made previously, a small pack of special japanese crayons, and a small treat: two individualized glassine pockets, one filled with organic cheese puffs, and the other with organic chocolate chip cookies. Perfect to munch on while making some drawings. Yum!
By time her party came yesterday, Adelaide was so excited with anticipation that I had to hide all the goodie bags from her - otherwise she would have simply handed them to anyone as they walked in the door!
I think it is so important to encourage and show little children the joy to be found in sharing and giving. So when the time came I gave Addie the bags, one at a time, so she could find her friend and give them their gift herself. She loved doing this so very much - I could just tell how incredibly happy and proud she was to be able to personally give her friends a birthday treat, too!
ps. Thank-you all so much for your many comments and sweet words. I have now gone through all the comments for my children's book giveaway, and I have tried my best to pick winners by matching their animal preferences with what books I had left. And the winners are:
Julie E
If you are a winner and you haven't heard from me yet, please send me your mailing information and I will mail out your prize!
79 comments:
Beautiful work ! You are such a great artist ;-) Smooch
I absolutely LOVE these goodie bags. I am very inspired to make similar for my son's birthday which is coming up soon. What a real talent you have and I am very much enjoying reading your blog.
Oh show off why don't ya! :) Thank you so much for sharing the pattern. I might actually try and make them for my daughter's class for their end-of-the-year party.
You are such a talent!
Again, great ideas!
The bags are adorable!! Did you stitch on the applique letters at all or just fuse them with an iron?
Wow! You remind me of my mum!
She would sometimes hand make goodie bags for our birthday parties too. One year she used natural cotton to make a drawstring bag, much like yours.
Instead of applique-ing she made a bunny stencil and used fabric paint to stencil bunnies onto each bag!
Beautiful job Sharilyn!
I have no idea how I came to find your blog, but am I ever glad I did! You have such adorable and creative ideas, I am truly inspired!
You are unbelievable! I would love one of these bags and I'm 23...thank you for sharing these photos with us!
Also, may I ask where you purchased the gorgeous Copenhagen print with the ducks? It's beautiful.
Katie
May we have the recipes for the cookies and the cheese puffs?!
xx
oh thank you sharilyn! and thank you for sharing the goodie bags. If i were a better seamstress, i may attempt them!
thanks again, andrea
Hi Sharilyn,
Can you give a mail addresss that I can reach you.
Thanks
Ni.
Thank you so much for the inspiration...my daughter's first birthday is coming up and I've been looking for goody bag ideas.
Thanks for your comments everyone!
TeamSax: I fused the letters on, and then zig zag stitched all around their borders. There is more information on the pattern download!
HappyD: that's a great idea!
katiet: I actually got the print in copenhagen years ago! They used to sell them at the tourist information kiosk by Tivoli. I love it!
Anonymous: haha! I didn't make the cookies and cheese puffs myself, but bought a big bag and just split them between the kids.
Anonymous: you can always email me at: sharilyn AT lovelydesign DOT com.
addie is so sweet!
these bags are so sweet! thanks so much for the tutorial too. i've made drawstring pouches before but i like your method better!
They are wonderful. You've given me some great ideas for my little one's party. Thank you.
pretty please, will you share what coloring book you found the animal pictures in for your little note books?
You are a Mom who rocks! These are so unique and so very creative! Happy Birthday to your little girl :)
sharilyn, your ideas are always so creative and precious -- i can only imagine how thrilled addie and her friends were at this birthday party! i hope that when i'm a mother i can be as thoughtful and creative as you are =)!
Hi Sharilyn!
I LOVE the little gift bags that you made for Addie's party! I am currently planning a first bday party for my daughter, and have been combing the internet for free printables to use as tags for favors. Do you know of any good blogs/sites that have some cute printables? Also, I noticed that you had some simple stickers on the glassine pockets - how did you make those? You have such an eye for classic, simple and beautiful style! Thanks for your input!
-shandis
so cute! I agree so much, my son loves giving out goody bags. I can tell he is so proud and hopes he continues to be generous.
thank you very much, sharilyn!
i have just sent you my address.
these gift bags are lovely too!!
I was made a personalized bag very much like this (but in embroidered with my name and in denim- it was the 80's!) as a kid. I loved it. I played with it for years and years. I still have it. Great idea!
These look great! What a great idea - I hope I can make my daughter's birthdays just as special :)
Hi Sharilyn,
I really enjoy your blog, I love reading all about yours and Addie's adventures. I wonder if you could give any tips about how you organise your crafts materials, how you store them, keep them away from tiny hands, it would be really useful as I'm sure you have lots of creative solutions!
Sarah x
your goodie bags are adorable! I love them, I might try to do this for my son's birthday (7months away lol)
LOVE the drawstring bags. the initial on each one is a super sweet touch!
You're brilliant! They are truly lovely!
Wow, these little bags are fantastic! My little one turns two next week and I think I will use your pattern to make up some gift bags of our own. Thank you!
I suppose you might be tired of hearing this by now... what lovely bags! I can't wait to keep digging around on your blog - what more will I discover?!! Thanks for the little bit of creative cheer today.
I just love the simplicity and sweetness this little project gives off. Congrats on what appears to have been a successful shindig!
Hands down the loveliest goodie bags of all time. You continue to inspire!
I came upon your blog from "a cup of jo" posting of a darling picture of a baby and cat sleeping back to back.
I love reading the sweet stories about Addie and the kitties (ha, that could be her band's name)and only ask, nay demand lovelymom for more pics;)
BTW you probably already have it but may i suggest The Story of Ferdinand (i.e., more books for Adelaide). It's charmingly illustrated.
Hi Sharilyn!
I'm flashing back! I hand-made a tonne of bags for Lily's 2nd birthday too. It set the bar high and I've been gladly bustin' my butt since! I love popping in every once in a while to see how you're doing and I'm glad to see that it is good. Wil says hi!
AA
your daughter is so beautiful :-)
Love these! Could you share where you get glassine bags? I've never seen them but love the simple look of them!
- Donna
Hi Sharilyn. I just wanted to thank you for your lovely blog and for sharing. I, myself, am a lover of all things made out of paper. I was hoping to ask you about your corner rounder. I'm ready to move up from my wee, one corner at a time cutter to a industrial one. Any recommendations? And do they ship to Canada (I'm in Vancouver as well)? I love your designs! I'm hoping the pine cone and leaves poster might be available again? Never mind the address file and journals...
Best regards, REBECCA.
Wow your work is great!
Best C*
Such lovely little bags! Your blog is consistently divine. Thanks for all the inspiration.
Where can I find these Japanese crayons? I've seen them before and love how smooth they color. Please tell me how to search the web for them! thank you!
meloniew a t g m a i l d o t c o m
I enjoy reading every post of your blog ! Thank you for so much inspiration you give to all of us !
Adelaide is so sweet ! She is so lucky to have a mom like you !
the photo of Adelaide handing out her gift bags is so lovely. Beautiful work, and I'm of to check out the pattern: these look like the perfect bags to have on hand for spontaneous gift giving. love it!
These couldn't be more thoughtful or beautiful. And so kid-perfect. Thanks for sharing. I plan to pass the idea along.
thank you so much! what a great idea. i will have to try these out :)
These are GORGEOUS! I can't wait for the perfect occasion to make these. Oh and I'll be linking to this post as well. So beautiful and perfect!
These goody bags are beautiful! You did such a great job! What a great idea! Your daughter is a little cutie pie! Glad I ran across your blog!!!
what a terrific idea. Like you, I hate to buy stuff that I know will just be thrown away. {i cringe when my kids go to a party and they come home with junk}
I have made little goodie bags out of felt and other things such as baby wipes. {recycling is good!} But these little bags are priceless. Thank you so much for sharing. I really enjoy your blog!
What lovely bags, and the contents are wonderful! I almost dread goodie bags since, all too often, they contain cheap plastic junk.
p.s. I have an Adelaide too! She's just 16 months, but I'll keep this in mind for parties to come!
xo, Amanda @ www.kiddio.org
So so sweet! I love this idea! If I only had your patience with a sewing machine.
So so sweet! I love this idea! If I only had your patience with a sewing machine.
I just came across your blog. I love all of your ideas. You are very creative! Thank you for sharing all of your ideas.
This blog is really a love
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wow. A friend gave me a link to your homemade goodie bags (cause they are cute!) an ive just been reading through your blogs. All the stuff you create is fantastic!
And to have so much love for yor daughter make me happy (also your blog 'with daddy' was so cute. One thing i love in the nursery i work is when a father comes to pick their child up an they are so happy to see the child and really interested in what they've done (we get alot of parents who dont seem bothered with what the child's done that day) ^_^ Im a nursery nurse and love doing art things with children so think it great that you invole your daughter in you stuff. You've inspired me to collect odd bits and bobs to make things (I'm goning to be a nanny soon so I'll have time with the children im with to do more creative stuff). So yea thats all i wanted to say is that i think you, your family and your work is great!
with love Kat. x
Your work is indeed lovely. You've inspired me to make a little book with some of my designs for my grandson. I like your instructions and the links you incorporate are great without the annoyance of advertising.
Nice bags really awsome...
Thank you so much for the simple, helpful goodie-bag pattern! I was able to whip up 14 of them in no time out of some cute fabric I found for my daughter's sea creature birthday party. Thanks again for sharing and please know that I enjoy each new post on your blog.
Megan
I love it! Very creative!That's actually really cool.
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hard to read some of the text when you print the pattern (ie your contact info & info about letters). maybe it's my printer?!
Hi I recently found your blog...it's very inspiring. I love the bags and I'm making them for my baby's first birthday. I enjoy reading you blog and thank you very much for sharing.
Carla
these bags are so sweet! thank you for the tutorial. it is exactly what i was looking for to make bags for my daughter's birthday! :)
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This is such a clever idea! I also love the contents of the bags! Thanks for the inspiration. I'll definitely try this one for our next birthday party.
It also ties into the letter-themed content on my blog. I blogged about it here: http://lettersoupblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/seriously-good-goody-bags.html
Well, those gift bags was so cool. I like it. Wish someone also give me like that. Thanks for sharing.
-yumi-
I prefer the big bag, i think they are more comfortable. I really liked this blog, is very interesting and out of common. I prefer to read blogs which catch my attention and this one achieved. I think is wonderful,and i liked the way how is was written.
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I really like your blog! thanks for sharing!
yaay these are great for my party just coming up!! thanks <3
Wow these are adorable! You could probably sell them on www.zahoomi.com/stores where you can start your own store and sell stuff.
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These are GORGEOUS! I can't wait for the perfect occasion to make these. Oh and I'll be linking to this post as well. So beautiful and perfect!
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