DIY Kid's Tote Bag

My nephew Grant's first birthday was coming up and I was having a hard time figuring out what to get the lil guy!  He had plenty of toys and more than enough clothes.  Sadly we had already gotten him a gun for his baptism (yes, we are from an up north hunting family) so I was out of ideas!  I gently vetoed the hubby's request to get him a deer knife.  He is only one freaking year old after all.  I wanted it to be sentimental (yes I am that sappy) and something he would use for a while.  And then it hit me! Grant goes with his mom to the library on the regular. What would be better than a library bag DIY'ed up by auntie?

After a trip to the fabric store I came back with this adorable owl print and coordinating gold fabric.  I used this tutorial from Growing Home as a basis.  It was super simple and very easy to assemble - her tutorial rocks!  Elisabeth used home decor fabric for her bag, but I was having a heck of a time finding something "kid like" at the local JoAnn store.  After pacing up and down the isles I decided that normal weight fabric would have to do.  I also had to use several layers of the gold fabric so my pattern didn't show through. 

Elisabeth's tutorial didn't have a lining for the bag or a pocket.  I wanted Grant to have someplace to put treasures from the library or elsewhere so I added one to the design.  I simply created another "body" of the tote in gold and sewed on a pocket from the left over owl fabric.  I waited to sew the handles on until I sewed the lining of the bag in.  It turned out perfect!

Since I am a sucker for a good theme I filled the library tote with some books for Grant to enjoy at home.  We included old vintage favorites like Blueberries for Sal and new books that tugged on our heart strings like Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.  

Continuing with the theme, the card obviously had to be a library card.  I used the same pattern that I did for the card I created for the hubby for valentine's day here.  I wanted to cut down on packaging so I used the bag as a "natural" gift bag!  Check back for more info on Grant's truck themed birthday party!