Recyclable Gift Bags and 10 minute tutus

Whoa, slow down! That's two posts in one day! Just wanted to alert you to this great website, Free Bag Patterns! It has tons of links to different tutorials/patterns to make all sorts of bags. I wanted to make a little tote bag to use as a gift bag for a friend's 2nd birthday. I ended up making this one, although I modified it because I wanted to use some scraps that I had on hand. I just made it a little smaller and didn't take the time to add any closures. If I make it for myself sometime, I would definitely add the big button because it makes it so cute. It's worked out really well and I think the tutorial was great! It will make a great purse for our little friend, or her mom can reuse it as a gift bag for someone else!

Any thoughts on other ways to "wrap" presents in ways that can be reused? I'm tired of paper gift bags. I know they're easy but where's the creativity in the wrapping? I'm sure that my grandmother (Gram) would dislike the paper gift bag trend. She was quite the present wrapper! All of the corners would be perfectly even and each package would have bows or ribbons strategically placed. I miss that sort of wrapping!

Are any of your little girls obsessed with dress-up, dancing, tutus, or prettiness in general? If yes, then do I have great news for you! I've found a great tutorial on how to make a no-sew tutu (aside from one small stitch across the elastic waistband). I'm hoping to collect some dress-up items for Charlotte. She's already enjoying wearing bracelets and my shoes so I'm sure that she'll get into tutus eventually, especially if they are readily available! While this tutorial says that you can get this done in 10-15 minutes, it probably took me more like 35. However, I sat in front of the tv and found it rather enjoyable to loop all of the tulle around the waistband. When my little model wakes up, I'll see if she'll model this for you!