This post is sponsored by Cricut. As always- I only promote products I love and use often! Find my full policies here.

I don’t share a ton of kids specific posts around here- but this was such a fun project to work on and seeing how much joy it brought Aubrey has me excited to share it with you guys. If you have a dance kid in your house- this will totally  make their day! Since we put all three of our kiddos in one room, storage and making sure everything is easy to find when we need it has been a bit of a challenge. Three kids worth of pants, shirts, jackets, mittens, swimsuits… and dance stuff.

We gave Aubrey a hook for her dance costumes but the little pieces were getting lost all the time. Then I’d throw her shoes in my purse when we went and forget to take them out until I was running out the door to go grocery shopping- leaving them NOT where they belong. This little dance bag solves the problem- now she packs her own out fit in here and brings her shoes along to class in the bag. Plus… it’s shiny so she’s happy as punch. Just look at that scrunchy face ;)

Not only is this bag super cute… it’s super easy to make. Like give me 20 minutes and it’ll be done. Want to make one? I’ve got the tutorial but you know I’ve got the free design for you as well. I added my daughters name after- so the design is for the ‘dance’ and the shoes illustration I made. 

To make this DIY Dance Bag, you’ll need:

• Design (Download my illustration and hand lettering RIGHT HERE. As always, freebies from Lemon Thistle are for personal use only)
• Draw String Backpack (this one is from Oriental Trading)
• Cricut or other cutting machine (I used my Cricut Maker)
• Cricut Foil Iron-On in Pink
• Weeding tool
• Cricut EasyPress (or a heat press or iron)
• BrightPad (optional- helps with weeding)

The first thing you’ll need to do is to download the design (or make one of your own!). Reminder that all my designs are for personal use only (or gifts… but not sale!). Then, you can open up Design Space, start a new project and upload the design in. Resize it to fit your bag and hit GO! Make sure to select the right material (in my case- Cricut Foil Iron-On) and to check off ‘Mirror Image’ for any iron-on materials.

Then, it’s time to get weeding! I have started using my Cricut BrightPad for weeding- it makes the lines SO much easier to see- I’m not having to hold them up to the light to see if I’ve missed any! While you’re weeding, you’ll want to plug in your EasyPress or iron or whatever you’re using.

Can we talk about the EasyPress for a minute? This was my first time using it and I SO WISH I had this sooner! Ironing is such a pain in general… like, don’t ask me the last time I ironed clothing in this house. But I’ve had a challenge especially ironing on foil. I’m just too impatient I think. And my iron doesn’t have specific heat settings- I end up over heating it or not heating it enough and burn my fingers from checking. Honesty points? Haha I’m not that patient! So being able to set the temperature and the timer and KNOW that it’s going to work? SO GOOD! And this is the first time I’ve EVER had the foil go on so smooth. I usually end up with a more crinkly finish. Which I think looks cool too but this was a dream in comparison. If only I’d had it before I made 15 of these bags for the kids birthday party (with a different design- can’t wait to share those in the new year!).

Some tips for using the EasyPress that gave me a perfect finish? Iron your bag first- get it warm and wrinkles out. Then apply the foil iron-on and heat it according to the Quick Reference Chart (please don’t let me ever lose that!)- make sure you get all the corners and edges! Then flip it over and do the same on the other side… I’ve NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE! Maybe this is why I’ve had such a frustrating time. Then let it completely cool before peeling back. And do a happy dance when it works perfectly and you have no burned fingers.

That’s it! Then you can gift it to your dancer! I’m so happy with how this little guy came together. I might end up making some for Aubrey’s dance friends because really… they’re too easy not to!

LIKE IT? PIIN IT!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.