Make a Memory {EVERYDAY} Day 1

 

 

We spend a lot of time at the local libraries and check out A LOT of books. So, for the first day of our Make a Memory {EVERYDAY}, we made book bags. There are a number of small towns in the area where we live and each town has it's own public library. We enjoy going to 3 different libraries and participating in their Summer Reading Programs. However, it can get overwhelming to keep track of books from 3 different libraries. For the main library that we go to, I purchased a folding plastic crate on wheels. We take our cart to the library with us, fill it up with books, and bring it home. Then, we keep all the books in the cart in our living room, making it super easy to gather the books when it's time to go take them back to the library.

 We don't check out as many books at the other two libraries we frequent (and 3 carts would be quite excessive). So, we made a special bag for each of the other two libraries and we keep the books and library card for those particular libraries in the bags. To make the bags, I cut rectangles out of a heavy weight cream fabric. Then, the kids colored pictures on the rectangles with permanent markers (I didn't want to spend the money on fabric markers and figured that permanent markers would work just as well). Then, I made the fabric with their pictures on it into pockets.

 

I found this great red and white polka dot outdoor canvas for an awesome price (1 1/2 yards for $5.03!) at Walmart and thought it would be perfect for book bags. 

I made simple, boxy bags and added the pockets on the outside. We keep our library cards in the pockets, so they're always ready to go when we head to the library.  The kids are very proud to have their artwork displayed on our new book bags!