Not just any ol' bag.

Yesterday I spent too much time worrying and stressing myself out. I was going through a "transition" stage regarding the store. Anyone who has given birth or been with someone while they were in labor knows that the transition stage is the hardest part. That is where the soon-to-be mother starts screaming, swearing, kicking the dr. in the face and generally makes an ass of herself. (I'm basing this on my personal no-epidural, natural childbirth experiences, your mileage may vary.)

I had fallen into the trap of getting myself all wrapped up in all the little things, especially the things I couldn't control anyway. By 9a.m. I had myself convinced that I should just have a Going Out of Business sale next month instead of a Grand Opening. Then I talked with my always encouraging sister for an hour. She is going through similar labor pains with her growing business so we could commiserate and bounce ideas off each other. Then I talked with Mr. Mess and he also calmed me down and pointed out the rational alternatives and solutions (he's good at being rational when I'm decidedly not!) By noon I was spent. I did a lot of mundane computer data entry work and cruised the web for ideas.

By the time I got home I was on an even keel again. I woke up this morning determined to get to work doing all the things I could control. I reminded myself of why I started this venture in the first place. To have a place where I could share my love of all things creative with others. I came into the store today with one purpose in mind, to MAKE STUFF! When I get my sign installed, my advertising done, and the word gets out that I'm here, I'll be too busy most days to do my own thing. I still need a lot of store samples and I need to finalize procedures and projects for the classes.

I was just saying in my last post that I wanted to make some reusable shopping bags. While looking for more inspiration I found this tutorial at Etsylabs on fusing plastic bags to make "fabric". I was suitably inspired!

There will definitely be a "Recycled Plastic Bag" class added to the store curriculum soon. These are fun, cool, unique, and really easy; all the things I love about a good project. Not to mention, the materials are practically free and it is good for the environment. BONUS!

Then while doing some more "inspiration hunting" I came across this tutorial: Fabric Lunch Sack. Of course I had to tweak the design a little and (in my opinion) make it better. I didn't like the four layers of lining and outside fabric sewn together on the side seams and I knew I could do a neater job of finishing off the handle edges. My version is fully reversible too.


This bag takes a half yard of each fabric (outside and lining) and about an hour of sewing time. To make them even "greener" you could use an old sheet or a couple old cotton dress shirts for the fabric. Otherwise, it is a great project for using up some of that fabric stash we all have hiding away.

ETA:
I just spent more time putting together and typing up a pattern for this bag than it took me to make it yesterday! Here is a link to the pdf of the pattern. ecobag pattern download!