Today’s post is brought to you by Michaels.
On the lookout for a fun craft project to do with your kids this summer? These clever tote bags are made from upcycled t-shirts, and they are perfect for toting to the library, pool and more. Let me fill you in on all the details, including some exciting news for how Michaels.com makes planning, purchasing supplies for, and making this craft as easy as can be!
With a couple of weeks of summer now under our belts, the kids and I have been on the hunt for fun activities to do together when we don’t feel like our usual pool routine. I’ll be honest, though: sometimes it’s so hard to come up with inspiration for projects that we will all love, not to mention do the legwork to make a supply list and head out shopping to pick everything up we need for a particular craft. Can you relate? If so, you’ll probably be just as excited as I was to learn that Michaels.com now has an abundance of amazing project ideas that I can choose from based on a number of handy categories, all including step-by-step instructions and comprehensive supply lists. And the icing on the cake? When I select a project the kids and I will love, with one little click, I can buy everything I need to be delivered straight to our doorstep–no hunting required! Talk about a sweet deal!
For our latest craft project, the kids and I decided to make tote bags cleverly made out of t-shirts.
After we made our project selection, we ordered everything we needed with just a few clicks. See that handy “add all to cart” button? One click is all it takes to round up everything you need!
In just a few day’s time, a box arrived at our doorstep brimming with everything we needed to bring this project to life!
The tutorial on Michaels.com does an amazing job of giving the full run-down of how these bags come together, but the basic concept is to sew the bottom opening of the shirt closed and then cut off each of the sleeves and the neckline to form straps. Altogether, the construction portion of the project took mere minutes to complete, and I loved that my oldest two (ages 8 and 6) could do the sewing and cutting on their own with my supervision. They loved that independence, too!
With the bags complete, it was time for the really fun part: decorating them!
Did you know that cookie cutters work great to stamp images with paint?
We used fabric paint and our massive collection of plastic cookie cutters as “stamps” to add all sorts of creative details to the bags: names, animals, and other fun shapes. The kids had a blast with this step! Note: To make the cleaning the cutters as easy as possible, I recommend submerging them in hot, soapy water while the paint is still wet. After that, a quick scrub to remove excess paint and then your regular washing routine should have them as good as new.
I can’t say enough how handy it was to have almost everything we needed for this project boxed up and ready to go with such little effort. We will certainly be choosing another craft project (or a few, since orders over $50 ship free!) from Michaels.com very soon!
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I am now a member of the Michaels Makers team, a group of super-talented creative bloggers who will be sharing monthly projects based on a single theme. This is my first Michaels Makers post, and I’ll continue to share new projects on or around the 15th of every month. I am so excited about this new endeavor, and I hope you are inspired by what I and the team come up with over the course of the next year!
Disclosure: As a Michaels Maker, I received compensation for this post. All opinions are entirely my own.
Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.