A while ago, I bought a japanese craft book to make bags and accesories for children. The book is great, clear instructions (you do not need to understand japanese writing to follow instructions inside). It's title is KID'S GOODS 2 (one of the heart warming life series, ISBN : 978-4-529-04227-7).
From that book, I actually already made 2 things a bucket bag for my daughter (to be used to go to the supermarket with me) and a small handbag (with zipper) for my sons to put all his 'gadgets' with him (his 2 elephant toys, sunglasses, gloves, etc).
This is the bucket bag for my daughter. It's IKEA fabric, I tried to do some patchwork on it, by the end, the result is not so bad. She was so proud to go out with me with her little bucket, just to show off to people that she also has her own recycleable bag lol. Now, that bag is not only used to bring back things to the library and to carry goods from the grocery stores, she even took it with her when we had a picnic during the weekend. She filled the bag with her favorite book, doll (Little Einstien - June) and water bottle.
And this one is the small handbag (with zipper) for my little boy. It's big enough to put all his things together (2 elephant-toy. sunglasses, gloves, etc.). I also found the fabric from IKEA, quite cheap, colorfull, and very good to use to make crafts. It's a bit odd to see a little boy with a handbag instead of a backpack, but he really does not like his backpack. I bought him before a Sammies backpack (samsonite for children), the one with the giraffe motif, but he just did not want it...perhaps because he sees me with a handbag everyday, so does his sister now....kind of get the obsession for a handbag too lol
