1 Craft 3 Ways- Travel Bag!!!

For our 1 Craft-3 Ways this month we decided to do some type of bag that you could use on a vacation. I have always wanted a HUGE swimming bag. We go swimming a lot and I need a bag big enough to hold 5 towels, 5 swimming suits, cover ups, life jackets, toys, etc..... that's a lot of stuff! So, when Angie made her placemat purse, I thought I could kind of do the same thing with a beach towel and make a BEACH TOWEL BAG. It took a little trial and error because the first bag a made was just tooooo huge. But I think I have perfected the process.

Look for my tutorial on how to make this awesome bag on Wednesday!! -Anisa

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This little baby has been on my craft to-do list for sometime.

I knew it would be the perfect little tote for vacation for my kids (and me too). Then I started seeing little reusable sandwich bags popping up here and there. A perfect match. A water bottle holder paired with a reusable treat bag. LOVE it. I got the tutorial for the holder here at Pink Chalk Studio (via Ucreate). The treat bag is of my own design. (Hey-sometimes reinventing the wheel is much more fun than following the directions.) In order to make it day-out friendly, I attached some grommets (a.k.a. eyelets) to both the treat bag and the holder and fastened them together with a key ring (the kind that pull open). Now the kids can carry their own water AND their own snack. Brilliant!

Watch for a tutorial soon on making your own reusable treat bags!-Ang

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I had no idea what I'd do for a travel bag until my friend Rachel mentioned she liked a bag that another friend had and that she'd love a similar one herself for a writer's conference attending. Like a true crafter I blurted out: "We could make that!" and I did. I got the original concept from this pattern, but enlarged it somewhere in the 25-30% range. I also designed interior pockets to fit the user's purpose better. (If you'd like clearer pattern instructions that the link, email us and I'd be happy to provide them.)

The finished bag was about 18" x 13", enough to fit legal length writing pads and a larger laptop. The hidden closures were also my design (along with some other cosmetic changes). Buttons are sewn to the main body of the bag and coordinating button-hole straps are sewn on the inside of the flap. Being only my second challenging sewing project, I'm pleased it turned out so well and as requested: serious on the outside, fun and girly on the inside! --C