Quiet-time church bag

When children turn 4 at our church, they start going to children's church.

This means you no longer drop them off in the nursery as you come in. Instead, they sit with you during worship and are dismissed after the offering. Since this translates into at least 45 minutes of sitting in church, it can present some unique challenges for a 4 year old!

I have been looking for ideas of church activities to help Tanner make this transition, and found this great tutorial for a crayon roll-up.

I made one at Christmas for my niece and she loves it!





I used a cord stop to keep it closed per the instructions. However, I must admit I felt like it really lowered the cuteness factor! It may be practical - but I like cute.

So...we had a birthday party today for a little girl who was turning 4. I thought I would try another one and make a matching tote bag for her to carry it in. Here is the finished product...



The tote is reversible with the striped fabric inside (forgot to take a picture of that!). This was my first time making a little bag - and I couldn't believe how easy it was!

I put a notebook and the crayon roll-up inside. Now, she has her church quiet-time bag.





I used a wide grosgrain ribbon this time instead of the cord stop - and it definitely completed it. MUCH cuter I thought! Of course, mommy might not appreciate having to tie it all the time. But sometimes you have to sacrifice for style!

My project this week is to make a boy version for Tanner. I have some cowboy fabric for the crayon roll-up, I just have to figure out how to make a bag that will pass the "boy" test (and Chris test!).