crayon roll

About a week ago, my family and I were invited to a birthday party for a little boy who used to live in our area. Normally, we would not have driven the hour and a half for a 4-year-old's party with his extended family, but we happened to be on our way out of town and travelling through there anyway, so we went.

What kind of gift do you get/make for someone like this? You can't show up empty-handed, but don't want to break the bank for an inappropriately expensive gift. Let me introduce you to the crayon roll . . .



Ta-da!!  These things are easy to make, inexpensive, and cute, cute, cute!  It's a compact, soft carrying case for a 16-pack of crayons.  Each crayon has its own little home, and it's easy to keep in a diaper bag or purse.

I found the Crayon Roll tutorial for this at Skip to my Lou.  I made a few changes:  first, I didn't do the ric-rac around the outside; and second, I used elastic chord and a button to close mine, rather than ribbon.

Then, just like everything I find that is quick and easy, I went overboard and made one for each of my children, and a few extras just to have around in case we need a simple, cheap gift again in the future.

Couple this with a notebook, and you have a sweet little gift for the older sibling of a newborn, for a preschool/kindergarten graduation, or for an impromptu birthday invitation.