DIY Birthday Favor Bags with KLUTZ!

Becky Amsel handles Publicity for Klutz and loves anything multicolored.

My daughter turned one (ONE!) this summer and because I am a first time 1st birthday thrower, I went a little birthday crazy. A lot of the party bits were handled by the birthday venue, but the favors were completely up to me. I decided a bunch of babies with tambourines was the ultimate in PARTY, so I ordered a lot of little ones online. They were adorable and perfect and well made…and just needed a carrying bag.

I’m pretty lucky to work around crafters and lots of creative people. It rubs off! And I decided to personalize the gift bags with Klutz’s brand new Design & Dye with No Heat Batik kit.

The results were so awesome and customizing the bags was a breeze. Here’s what I did: 

First I bought plain canvas tote bags. Then I glued each kid’s name onto a bag (there are tons of adorable designs to trace in the book, but the beauty of this craft is that you can also freehand and really make it your own):

After that dried I mixed the colors in the Klutz kit according to the paint mixing formulas to create some nice shades of blue, green, pink and purple. From there, I simply painted over the glued name in a somewhat purposeful paint blob pattern.

I let that dry and then gave the bags a bath! Instructions call for washing in a machine but this way was fun, too. I let the bags soak for about an hour and then hung them to dry.

And then they were complete! 

The gift bags were SUPER CUTE and very enjoyed. I’ve seen them in action since the party as park or beach bags or just hanging on the wall. Fun, easy, and personal!

Big Bubbles

Owen Keating, designer of stuff, creator of boxes, bubble maker.

Summer in the city with kids means getting out of the apartment and spending as much time as possible outside. After a long winter trapped inside, it’s time to get out of that stuffy apartment and go to the park where the kids can run and shout to their hearts’ content, without incurring the wrath of the neighbors.

When I brought How to Make Monstrous, Huge, Unbelievably Big Bubbles home from work I had strangers on the train asking what it was. I took this as a good sign. If adults are interested, I should definitely be able to convince my kids that bubbles are going to be way cooler than watching My Little Pony and Daniel Tiger. It’s not like it’s that hard to get kids to go the park . . . but the promise of a new toy certainly sweetens the deal.

So we mixed up a batch of bubble solution from the recipe in the book and were off to the park. The Bubble Thing is super easy to use and we got some pretty serious bubbles going in no time. Making bubbles proved to be a bit too hard for my 2-year-old but she could pop them like a pro. My 5-year-old, on the other hand, had no problem making enormous bubbles.

 

We capped off our big outing with a trip to the playground, and all in all I’d say it was a recipe for an awesome afternoon in the park. My girls even decided Big Bubbles was as much fun as the swings—which is pretty high praise from them. 

The bubbles were a big hit and I’m sure we will be making plenty more, and even bigger bubbles this summer. This time we stuck with the basics, next time we’ll go deeper into the book and try out some of the tricks you can do with the Bubble Thing.

P.S. Big bubbles are a great way to make new friends. You’re going to draw a crowd.