Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit 2015

 

It is finished. This year’s version of the Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit. It is my favorite first day of school gift to a teacher. This year’s emergency kit pouch is smaller than my past choices, so I will not be able to add a bottle of wine, which is probably what my children’s teachers really want after the first day of school. But, it is a handy little back to school teacher gift to store in a desk or teacher bag for daily emergencies.

 

The Teacher Emergency Kit Cloth Pouch

  • If you sew, you can download the Loyalty Card Holder Pattern for free from Craftsy. You will need to register on the site before downloading the pattern. I followed the directions on the Lemon Squeezy Home site. Lemon Squeezy’s sewing skills are clearly superior to mine. After much cursing and ripping out of stitches, I did make all of the bags I needed. I am trying to ignore some of the wrinkly parts in the corners.

teacher emergency kit

  • Lemon Squeezy used a magnetic snap, but I opted for an old fashioned button because I thought it would be a good decorative detail. After messing up multiple button holes, I was rethinking the magnetic snap decision. I think both options would have provided equal frustrations for my sewing abilities. The buttons do look prettier, so the buttons were probably a better choice for me in the end.

teacher emergency kit with contents

The Teacher Emergency Kit Contents

  • Starbucks giftcard (The little bag is credit card size, so I figured it needed a coffee gift card. It’s what I would want.)
  • travel sized sewing kit
  • Band-aids
  • individually wrapped mints
  • Aquaphor (or any kind of chapstick)
  • travel sized Advil (In the past, I included individual Tylenol, Advil, and Tums in mini baggies with printed labels. I had “people” who clearly did not appreciate the cuteness of my packaging get all up in arms about my redistribution of the pills. I really don’t think the Advil police will come after me, but I went ahead and used untampered Advil to avoid any future problems.)

teacher emergency kit interior

Other Content Ideas

  • 4 quarters for soda money
  • safety pins
  • Tide to go stain remover stick
  • cough drops
  • Sharpie pen
  • travel sized hand lotion
  • travel sized Windex Wipes for Electronics (found these one time at Target)
  • travel sized toothbrush and toothpaste
  • dental floss
  • hair clip, hair tie, or rubberband
  • smartphone charger
  • ear buds

teacher emergency kit 2015

Other Packaging Ideas

  • Use a bead box from a store like Michael’s Crafts. Sew a potholder clutch or foldover cloth bag. Pick up a small cosmetics bag; I saw some in the bins near the door at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Fill a simple paper gift bag. Click on the images below to read about other versions of the Back to School Teacher Emergency Kits!

Back to School Teacher Emergency Kit

teacher emergency kit filled and gift tags

teacher emergency kit contents view

Click HERE to read about the GIVEAWAY to win two of these kits. Giveaway ends 7/31/15.

Petal Bags

petal bag 3 sizesI am on spring break this week and since we just replaced our HVAC unit AND my 11-year old car, an out-of-town vacation was not in the budget. I needed a crafty project to keep me busy. I had this little Valori Wells pattern from my Christmas stocking last year (that would be 15 months ago), and I thought it would be a good time to try it.

petal bag pattern cardMy sewing skills are limited, and I only attempt patterns with minimal steps and straight stitches. The petal bag project met my expertise level, so I started with two medium sized bags– so cute. I shared with Miss Priss and Mr. Star Wars. They wanted one each, so we headed to Hobby Lobby for more fabric and ribbon (against my better judgement). Eight hours later, I had made a bag in every size. I made a bag for everyone in my house. I made a bag for the dog and the neighbor’s dog. I made bags for teacher gifts. They assemble pretty quickly, and it is so fun to pick the coordinating fabrics; I can hardly contain myself.

petal bag blue medium size

Materials

Directions

  • To make the large bag, cut two 18″ squares in two different fabrics.

petal bag cutting fabric

  • Place the two squares of fabric right sides together. Stitch around all edges using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Leave a 3″ opening along one edge.

petal bag trim corners

  • Trim fabric from the corners.

petal bag turn out

  • Turn the fabric to the right side, push corners out, flatten edges, and press with an iron.

petal bag slip stitch opening

  • Slip stitch the 3″ opening closed.

petal bag fold corners

  • Fold down the 4 corners of the square to create the petals and press. The petal should be 5″ on both sides of the fold, so the petal will be square and even. The fabric that you want on the outside of the bag should be facing up. The fabric you want as the petals will be seen when you fold the corners over.

petal bags sew channels

  • To form the casing, stitch 1/2″ from the folded edge beginning at the edge of the bag. Backstitch to secure the petals.

petal bag thread cord

  • Cut two lengths of ribbon or cord ~26″ each. Beginning on one side, thread one ribbon through the 4 petals and tie the two ends together. Start at the opposite side of the bag and thread the second ribbon through the 4 petals. Tie the ends together.

petal bag drawstring threaded

  • Pull both drawstrings to create the petal bag.

petal bag lego men

Uses: You may be asking yourself what one might do with umm, I don’t know… say 13 petal bags. I have many ideas.

  • The large bag is perfect for holding Lego men.
  • The medium bag is a great place to keep American Girl doll shoes and socks.
  • The medium bag is a nice size to hold dog treats and poop bags while you are on a walk.
  • The mini size is made for hair bands.
  • The large bag would work well as a cosmetics bag when traveling.
  • The large bag works like a “hat” when you hold drawings for winners, or Bingo pieces, or student names in the classroom.
  • The large bag would be perfect for a mini manicure set for a teacher gift.

petal bag American Girl shoes

Notes

  • I’ve listed the basic instructions for the largest bag. I recommend ordering the little pattern card to get the measurements for the small and medium sized bags and for more specific directions (with diagrams!).
  • Use ~6 extra inches of ribbon length than what is called for in the pattern to make it easier to thread the drawstrings.

petal bag cord end

  • Wrap clear tape around the edges of the ribbon (like the end of a shoestring) and put a safety pin through the ribbon and tape. This will help thread and keep edges from fraying. Push, wiggle, then pull the fabric back to work the safety pin through the drawstring channel.
  • If you use this as a dog treat bag, use picnic tablecloth material as the lining, so it can be wiped clean easily.

petal bag dog treatsWhat would you do with your petal bags?