3-Step, Five Minute Drawstring Tote Bag for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

While rearranging my sewing room I came across several hand towels and bandannas that I had tucked away in my Operation Christmas Child craft pile a year or so ago.  I decided to quickly turn them into drawstring bags and the 3-Step, Five Minute Drawstring Tote Bag was born!  I love the sturdy fabrics and the fact that the seams are already finished.  The terrycloth is also great for the hygiene items and one towel is the perfect size to hold them all.


Supplies:

Joining A Month of Letters: Operation Christmas Child Style

My daughter, Sarah, is participating in "A Month of Letters,"  also known as LetterMo.  A challenge set by a blogger to send a piece of snail mail each day the USPS delivers mail throughout the month of February.  This is the third year she has participated I think.  It got me thinking about the letters I want to put in each Operation Christmas Child shoebox I pack.

So I have decided to join LetterMo OCC style!  Each day this month I plan to write one letter for my shoe boxes. I want to make them more personal and try to note something in the box.  Since I won't have all of my boxes planned I'll have

Hello Kitty!! ~ A Sweet Donation

After sharing my Hello Kitty themed Operation Christmas Child shoe box last week some readers were sharing on the Simply Shoe Boxes Facebook page where I may be able to get more Hello Kitty items.  I replied that none of those stores were near me and I hadn't found anything local.  Soon after I received a message from one of the readers saying she would like to pick up some items for me at Target. Within a week I received this box of Hello Kitty goodies from Mary.

Mary said she couldn't decide between the two bags so she bought both.
Notice the picture below and how these red socks will be perfect!

I am so thankful for people who have donated to my shoe box packing efforts.  It makes my boxes better or allows me to pack more boxes--both things make me

I Finally Finished A Little Sewing for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

I haven't gotten a lot of Operation Christmas Child shoebox sewing done the last couple of weeks.  I have been moving my sewing room around and sorting my shoe box crafting supplies.  I also finished a pair of drapes (finally) for my daughter (we won't even mention when I started them).  Next up on my sewing table is a load of drawstring bags and a handful of bitty blanket loveys.  But first, here is what I did finish.

God Made Puppies Shoe Box

My attempt at designing a skirt with a drawstring/elastic waist combo.  This fabric

My Recent Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Additions: Dolls, Cars & More

It's always like Christmas when my girls bring in bags from a shopping trip filled with Operation Christmas Child shoebox stuff.  One day they stopped in several stores and found nothing but hit the local Hospice thrift store and scored some fun stuff at great prices (our local thrift stores are usually priced high and not worth checking--but the Hospice store often has great prices).  I also am quite picky as to the items being very "like new" which can be hard to find.

Thrift Store Shoe Box Finds - $4.50 total (paid for with my birthday money from last year)

If you have been around long you know I love dolls.  When my daughter walked in carrying two grocery bags with dolls inside I was tickled.  A few need a little cleaning up and/or new outfits but some are as if they just came out of the box.  UPDATE:  I've been making blankets and Elizabeth has been making hats for the babies with matching hats for the girl.  You can check them out here:  Crafting Filler for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

They also found these blocks which I'll make a drawstring bag for and this great game for a quarter (I'll also make a bag for it as it has small parts).

Just look at this expression....I would love to keep this little one she is so cute! I wish you could see her in person -- her eyes are amazing!   I can't wait to sew up some fun things for her and the little girl who will receive her.

And this little one is so very cuddly...what a comfort she will be.

Dollar Tree Shoe Box Finds - $3.00 (paid for with birthday money from last year)

I make a lot of drawstring bags and have been wanting to try shoe laces as the drawstrings so I told them if they were in the dollar stores at all to look for multi-packs.  These have eight pairs of varying sizes. They should be easy to use and super sturdy for the child.

Sarah also spotted these Jenga like mini games so she grabbed one for each of the 10 to 14 year old age groups.

My husband's cousin lives in the land of retail (which I do not) and she had bought 86 toy cars from the Dollar General buy one get two free sale a while back and delivered them to our shoe box stockpile this week.   She was also able to go to Joann's for their $3 a yard fleece sale.  She picked some up for us to make biti-blanket loveys with her birthday money from last year.

She was tempted by this piece of fleece even tho it wasn't on sale and she couldn't resist as she is in charge of our 2 to 4 year old boy boxes this year and she is including a few Match Box cars in each.  As you can see by the three I laid on the piece they fit perfectly.  I am not sure what size we will be cutting this to be sure there are enough race tracks for them to drive on.

Here are the other boy prints she got. I was so glad she was able to make a trip to my house so I didn't have to wait long to see all of these.

And here are the 2 to 4 year old girl prints she got for my 2 to 4 year old girl boxes.  I can't wait to get started!  I have a new idea as to how to finish the edge of some.

She also brought these two pieces of fabric her mother had sent her.  They were from my husband's mom's stash originally.  I decided this 1/2 yard heathered blue piece will be perfect for a skirt to go with this penguin shirt--the blue matches the snowflakes perfectly.  I'll use this green trim, also from hubby's mom, somehow on it.   The other piece is 3 yards and has some polyester in it I think so I will use it for tote bags or pencil cases.  I'll figure a way to add a pop of color or fun to jazz it up.

I hope you all got some great things for your shoe boxes this week.  I'd love to hear about them and if you are on Facebook you can share images with us at Simply Shoe Boxes' Facebook Page.  If you haven't stopped by and liked our Facebook page I'd love for you to join us there and like the page & follow along our Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing journey.

Game Testers for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gifts

I never lack for helpers on my shoe box packing adventure!  I shared how I was able to purchase $1200 worth of items from Kohl's with free gift cards I had won.  Well, when the games came several were put thru the fun meter by the in house game testers. They all passed!  Hopefully the kids who receive them in their Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes enjoy them, too.

I will be making some drawstring bags for the ones with small pieces so they don't easily get lost.

Do you ever "test out" items you buy for Operation Christmas Child?