Monogrammed Felt Bag Tutorial

This Easter, we're going to visit family in Pennsylvania, and we'll get to see two of our nieces, Sydney (5) and Morgan (2), who live in Ohio. I wanted to give each of them a little gift, so I thought of making them felt bags to hold some crafty goodies (and some M&M's). Laura, if you're reading this, don't let the girls see what they're getting!

A little sketch pad and some stickers. When I was little, I couldn't get enough stickers! (I still love stickers) And some age appropriate markers/paint (washable of course). 


I seem to have an abundance of felt in my craft closet, so that's what I used. Two pieces per bag, and some extra felt for the monogram and circle.

Felt sizes vary. This one was 12 inches by 9 inches.
Cut TWO PIECES OF FELT like the photo above:
-One 12 inch by 2 inch piece will be the handle
-Two 7 inch by 7 inch squares for the front and back
-Three 7 inch by 2.5 inch pieces for the left side, right side, and bottom
(You will have two pieces leftover)

Your pieces should look like this. Cut a 4 inch circle out of a different color. Draw a letter for the monogram on another color and cut it out. 

Sew the letter to the circle. Then sew the circle to the front of a 7 inch by 7 inch square. Make sure its front and center. 

For this bag, I wanted the seams to be outward. No need for turning inside out or perfection. Stack one of the 7 inch by 2.5 inch strips under the bottom of the 7 inch by 7 inch square front. Sew it to the bottom edge. Then sew the other end to the other 7 inch by 7 inch square back. 

Here's a closeup view. If they don't line up perfectly, it's ok. The side panels will fix that. That's what makes it handmade, right?

Next, sew the two remaining 7 inch by 2.5 inch strips (side panels) to the bottom flap. You don't have to sew quite all the way to the edges. When you sew up the sides, you will sew all the way down, and connect the corners. It should look like a cross. Above is the inside view.

This is the outside view. 

Now sew up all the sides. Line them up, pin in place if needed, and sew the front to the side panels and the back to the side panels. I started at the top (the opening of the bag) and sewed down to the bottom (making sure to connect the corners). 

When you're done, it should look like this, and be able to stand up. It's just needs a handle. 

 Sew the 12 inch by 2 inch handle to the top of the side panels. 

Now you have an adorable felt bag, perfect for giving Easter, birthday or anytime goodies! 

And it's personalized with their initial. As you can see, I had a little trouble sewing on the "S". The "M" was much easier! 

Easy to make and fun to give!

Goodie Bag Gifts

This is a gift project I did over Christmas that I forgot about. I couldn't reveal it until I gave them to the recipients, who were some of my close friends and co-workers. 

The idea started back in the summer, when Christy and I were perusing the Joann-Fabrics clearance aisle, when we saw these adorable little flower and button embellished felt zipper pouches, for a mere 97 cents each AND I had a coupon. After some thought and convincing from Christy, I scooped up 11 of them. They would make a cute Christmas gift some how.

I started thinking about what I could put in these little pouches that would be both useful and fun to receive. Maybe they could have a "purse kit" theme. Some hand lotion for the winter months. I love this one by St. Ives. It has a very light oatmeal and shea fragrance and really helps sooth dry hands.

I don't know about you, but I seem to always be looking for a nail file. I found some stylish multi-packs of mini nail files. Perfect to keep in your purse.

I'm also usually looking for a tissue. Ask my husband. He'll tell you that he's never met anyone that uses as many tissues as I do. I try to keep these mini packs of Kleenex in my purse at all times. 

Chocolate. Every now and then you just need a piece of chocolate. These Ghirardelli squares, filled with mint, peanut butter, peppermint, or caramel are soooo good. I put a couple of those in.

I don't recommend carrying this next item around in your purse, necessarily. Maybe if you really need to take the edge off.....kidding! These are for the coffee and caramel lovers. Vincent VanGogh Double espresso and Dutch caramel flavored mini vodka. Yes, I said vodka. For a special holiday beverage treat. Or those really rough mornings when coffee ain't cutting it. Kidding again! They're small enough to fit in the bag. They have artsy packaging. And they taste good. It made sense at the time. Don't judge me.

Get some festive clear cellophane holiday bags and wrap everything up with a twist tie or ribbon. The bags I used came with a punch-out ornament tags. 

Place the goodie bag inside the cosmetic bag and you have a cute little gift!

I kept one for myself and use it to store my ipod and charger. This would make a great Valentines Day gift too! You could fill it with candy, your loved ones favorite gum or mints, maybe a gift card or some jewelry. Think outside the standard gift box or bag when presenting a gift. I did get asked if I made the cosmetic bag, and I wish that I could have said yes. I just didn't have the time to sew that many. You certainly could make your own and it would be an even more personalized gift!