diy fort in a bag.

i will blog today...i will blog today...i will, let's do this.

zoe's fort in a bag = best gift i have ever given. ever.

pretty easy too, and chances are? if you invite us to your birthday party we will probably bring one of these bad boys as our gift - every kids dream come true!

first, i tracked down my supplies...a flat sheet here and there (this proved to be difficult since goodwill/value village was trying to charge me $9.99+ for anything that was cute and vintage, boo on you goodwill, boo on you.) i could have probably easily made a bag to hold it all but i was running out of time and i was able to find a very inexpensive laundry bag. Finally, tim scored me a big bag of plastic spring clips at lowes that came in all sizes, he also picked up a flashlight to complete the set.

to get started, i knew right away i wanted to dye the laundry bag - it was white and i was positive it wouldn't stay that way for long with how much use this set was facing by zoe. this was my first time ever using rit dye so it was really up in the air how it would turn out - it came out kind of purple when i was shooting for a light grey, but i didn't have time to stress about it and moved on.

next, i outfitted the sheets with loops and ties - even with the clips i gave her this option to just slip over a chair or tie somewhere easily. i added six loops/ties on the corners and in the middle of the long sides. to do this i just laid out one of tim's old tees and used my rotary cutter to slice 1.5 inch pieces. when the pieces were cut i stretched them out to give them the look they have now. while sewing them on i criss-crossed the middle and sewed in an 'x' to provide support.

as the finishing touch, i opened up trusty photoshop to whip up a tag for the outside bag, i was so inlove with how it turned out i didn't stop there - i made two more for various contents on the inside.

zoe was over the moon christmas morning and couldn't wait to build her first fort - she did a great job and used every piece, even the rope! this gift is such a win!

i think in the end i spent $25 - which is hilarious since all of the tutorials i read to prepare gushed about $15 totals and so on...i thought we did it pretty frugally and still spent a lot more, hmmm.

i would love to hear if you make one!