Shady Tree Diary: {"Out-To-Eat Bag" for Kiddos}

One rainy day last year I whipped up this notebook-sized bag for my daughter out of the cutest Fancy Nancy fabric I had leftover from another project. We go out to eat frequently on the weekends, and we had commented countless times (AFTER we got there of course!), that we should have brought a long crayons, paper, etc. So this bag was intentionally designated as our "Out to Eat" bag, and it has successfully been just that for about a year.

It's a little ratty at this point (should have made wider, stronger handles), and it COULD be a little larger, and it needs a place for pencils, which were always lost in the bottom. My daughter is also addicted to dogs, so she wanted something with puppies on it. I made this updated version this afternoon. It's a tad too tall, but it will be a great bag for other things if need be. Typically she takes Color Wonder markers, crayons, a coloring book or two, and a notepad out to dinner. We could get a lot more than that in here, but that just means it will be versatile! :) (You know those looooooond doctor waiting rooms?) Mine is an only, which means she can play for hours all by herself, using a few toys and her imagination. Throw a few Schleich animals in here with some Polly Pockets and she can occupy herself in any waiting room! :)

Isn't it adorable? Like I said, it's

a touch too tall, but still fine. I would shorten it another 2" if I could do it again.
I started with these measurements:

21" x 17" for the body

26" x 3" for the handles

10" x 7" for the interior pocket/pencil holders

fusible fleece for the body and handles

What I learned...IDEAL measurements might me 19" x 16"-ish

The crayon roll is from a super easy tutorial you can find over at Skip to My Lou . I've made a few of them and they are so simple and REALLY super handy for anything where you're on the go! I used the same fabric for the crayon roll, along with some chocolatey grosgrain ribbon from Stampin' Up. (LOVE that ribbon!)

I tried a marker roll once (for the fat Color Wonder markers, which is all we have), but it was just too fat and I trashed it. So we use a zipper bag for those. Those crayon rolls are perfect for travel...the crayons stay in one place and it's easy to see what color you're looking for.

I think this is so cute and girly, and now it's not a tight fit for coloring books and notepads. Plenty of breathing room in this one, which is what you need while out to dinner. When the food comes, just throw it all back in!

Have a great day!