MORE bags, bags, bags.....

After a much needed spur of the moment road trip to my Grandma's this past weekend, I'm finally feeling a little more upbeat since my previous post(s). Sometimes, I just really need some quality family time and I'm so lucky and thankful to have my Grandma less than 2 hours away...especially since my parents don't live that close now anymore. It really sucks on weekends when I want to get away but especially on a holiday weekend. My Grandma did what every Grandma does--stuffed me up with food, played a few hands of cards, and then sent me home with an Easter basket while I was in a slight food/candy induced coma. There's nothing better than a Grandma's lovin.

Since I had been focusing on school the past two weeks, I figured it was time to start chipping away at another wedding project. I made a trip to a consignment store we have in town here and just to clarify, this consignment store is the bomb. They only accept items that are new/in good condition/in style and all that jazz. Basically, I've found tons of good finds and usually with the tags still on them! And I also always drop off stuff so I usually come out even or make money by getting rid of my stuff, awesome! So from the title of this post, I'm sure you can guess what I found....MORE BAGS!!!! As part of the gift to my girls in my wedding, I'm giving them these awesome tote bags to carry all of their stuff and then I'm also filling it with some goodies. So, while roaming around the consignment store, I came upon these beauties hanging up in the health/beauty section...

What are the odds...
They happened to have 10 brand new make-up bags
from Bath & Body Works with the tags still on them!

Yes, they had 10 bags which is exactly the number that I needed!! I have been searching high and low on the internet and in stores for low price make-up bags...Considering I need 10, I really didn't want to spend anywhere from $3-5 per bag! So, to add to my excitement, these bags were priced at the lovely price of $0.50 A PIECE!! Umm what?! Done and done. Perfect, brand new bags with the tags and for only fifty cents....I may or may not have squealed out loud and couldn't stop smiling. I love finding a good deal, especially one like that! Right when I didn't think this could get any sweeter, once I went to check out, the cashier told me I had a $12 credit on my account...so I got the bags entirely FOR FREE!!!! Yipee! :) Of course, the next thing I did was go across the street to Target and picked up some travel size items because I wanted at least one of the bags to have stuff in it! Here's what all I have so far:

-hairspray = $1.50
-static guard = $2.50
-tide to-go = $2.50
-deodorant = $0.99
-hand sanitizer = $0.99
-advil = I had this already but will probably get the individual packets for the rest of the girls...unless I can find some free pill boxes/packets then I'll fill those with Advil from a big bottle I have
-tums = pack of 3 for $1.70
-shout wipe = pack of 12 for $3.25
-kleenex = for some reason, I had 12 of these travel size kleenex packs
-band aids = had these 
-nail file = pack of 15 for $1.50
-Q-tips = had these
-bobby pins = pack of 50 for $2.50 then I cut cardstock paper to put the bobby pins on for each bag

I don't know why but I love travel size items!

Everything (so far) together!

There are a few more things I plan on adding to the bags like lotion, tampons, lip gloss, gum and/or mints. I don't think I'll put Static Guard and a Tide-To Go stick in each bag since those were a little pricier. So maybe just mine and my sisters because the maid of honor also needs a top notch bag! I'm estimating that each bag in total will cost $10-12 on average which is a good price range since I have a big wedding party to get gifts for. I also plan on making a "mini sewing kit" for my bag with ivory and purple thread, a needle and scissors...just in case! I've been looking at other blogs and magazines to help create these "Emergency Kits" and it's been a lot of fun! I want to make sure we're all prepared because not having things like this, would cause me anxiety for if/when (but hopefully never!) something does come up! It's always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared! And plus, these will be great for all my girls for after the wedding too because they can use this bag again and it will already be filled with the travel essentials! I love multi-purpose gifts or "the gift that keeps giving." I know my time and money is being well-spent because this is stuff that everyone will use at some point or another! So am I missing anything crucial or fun?! The rest of the goodies/present for their tote bags are a surprise...I can't give away all of my secrets!

Bridesmaids bags, bags, bags.....

Time to cross another big to-do off my wedding list and mark it to-done! Over the weekend, I painted the rest of the bags for all of my girls in the wedding. While in Milwaukee, Janelle had painted the bottom 3/4 of the stencil onto 7 of the bags then when I got home, I finished painting the top design onto each of the bags along with the last three bags. They turned out way cuter and awesome than I had even planned on! I love when that happens! My mom also helped with the project by finding the monograms for each of the bags and she gave me the carbon paper to trace them on. Yay for teamwork and having an awesome crafty Mom and sister! This is my breakdown for these fun and easy DIY bags!

Here's what you'll need for the bags:
-plain canvas bag
-stencil of your choice
-paint
-paintbrush
-tape

Total cost of the project: $40.94. I made 9 bags and one mini bag for my niece, Teagan. I used a 40% off coupon for everything that I purchased (Jordan and I made several trips to Hobby Lobby....) and that saved me an extra $25!

Total time: 6-7 hours. It was time consuming because I had to be careful with the stencil as some of the dots on it were really small and close. Also, tracing and painting on the monograms took about 30-40 minutes a piece. Slow and steady does it for this project!

1. Start with a plain canvas bag of any size you'd prefer!

2. Align the stencil between the handles to get it centered on the bag.
Tape it down so it doesn't move while painting.

3. Use a short and stiff bristle brush and minimal paint!
Also, I worked my way around each pattern by pressing down on the stencil and
only dabbed at it to ensure it only filled the stencil and so no paint got underneath
(otherwise, it just makes the whole pattern run together and that doesn't look good!)

4. Once the paint dries, use carbon paper to copy on the monogram.
I used a fine point pen to make sure it would press hard enough and copy onto the bag.

5. This is how the bag should look with the stencil finished
and monogram copied on.

6. The end result!

7. All of the bags finished! I hope my girls love them as much as I do!
And they can use them after the wedding too which is fun...yay for multipurpose wedding stuff!
(that doesn't scream it came from a wedding!!!)

Close up of my niece's  flower girl "mini tote"
She's only 4 so I thought the curly-cue letter was perfect for her!
I'm sure she'll fill this with her barbies, hair clips, and shoes!

I can't wait to give these out to all of my girls...but first, I got to keep gathering the "stuff" that's going to be inside the bags as part of their wedding gifts from me. But that I'll have to keep a secret so I don't ruin all the fun for the girls! These are so much more personal than ordering a bag and having it embroidered or something...and it was so much more cost effective as well! Just another successful DIY fun and affordable wedding craft for the books! I wonder what my crafting instincts will lead me to next!