A Drawstring "Stuff" Bag

 

 
Pulling up at school each morning, Ian and I get out of the car within a normal, realistic amount of time, and proceed to begin to wait for Emma to emerge. After several minutes of standing by the car and waiting for her, the door opens and she spills out. She has stuff. Lots of stuff. Bedroom stuff…backpack stuff…portable stuff… I do not know if this is typical of all 10 year old girls, but it is for Emma. There really is no other way to describe these bits and trinkets she finds important enough to carry with her.

This stuff-carrying strategy also seems to apply to the treehouse and what is needed to play in it. I’ve talked about the repurposed plastic bin that’s already out there, safe from weather, meant for holding various supplies and games. There’s plenty of fun in said bin, but there is still entirely too much in and out foot traffic on backyard days. I decided making a stuff bag might be the trick to keep it under control.
 

 
 
This bag is a backpack style, meant to be grab-able. It a simple bucket style, made from a heavy canvas I found around the house. My thought was, the kids can throw in what they need, put it over their shoulders, leaving their hands free to climb up to the top of the house, then it can be emptied. We’ll see if it helps with the back door slamming, and dirty footprints…even a little bit.
 

 
 
For completely selfish reasons, this bag satisfied my intense need to put grommets in something, and I got to pull out my clipper ship screen again and do some printing (and because of that screenprinting, I made more than one of these, because when you get out all those supplies, it makes no sense to just do one.)
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there.  I hope your day was enjoyable and special. Mine was great, I was showered with homemade gifts and lots of attention. Spent part of the day cleaning (my idea), eating pancakes, and playing charades with the kids. I am still wondering how Ian incorporates crawling across the floor into every clue. Here’s a sample of what goes down-
Ian: (crawling across the floor several times…continuously) “Give up!?”
Me: I guess. What is it?
Ian: A saw! Get it?
Me…confused, and thinking “Am I drunk and just don’t know it?”