How to Make CTR Scripture Bags

I made CTR scripture bags for the students in my Primary class, and thought I'd do a little tutorial to show how to make them.  Here are the items needed to make the bags:

-- 8.5 x 11" canvas bags  (I found these "Me and My Bag" brand bags at Hobby Lobby  A pack of four cost $8, but used a 40% off coupon to lower the cost)
--clear contact paper to make the stencil
--green acrylic paint  I used Americana Leaf Green
--stencil brush
--permanent black marker or fabric marker
--large clear plastic lid (this one was from an oatmeal box)

You can download a copy of the CTR shield here, or it's found in the front of the Primary manuals.  Print it out and reduce it down until it measures about 4 and 1/4" across from the widest point on the outside line of the shield and 4 and 1/4" from top tip to bottom tip of the shield.

Trace shield onto the clear contact paper.  (It was helpful to do this on a window so the light could shine through and the lines were easier to see.)  MAKE SURE THE EDGES OF THE LETTERS ARE TOUCHING THE SHIELD OUTLINE, AS BELOW.  In the original pattern the letters don't touch the edge, so you'll have to adapt the letters a bit to get them to touch the edges, and each other.

Carefully cut out the pattern, using an exacto knife or very fine scissors.

Take the bags out of the packaging and press them.  Measure from sides to find center of bag, then down 2.5" from top edge.  use a pencil or water solvent marker  to make a small dot

Slowly remove backing from contact paper, being careful not to tear pattern; place top tip of shield on the pencil dot you just marked, and carefully press down to adhere, making sure to have pattern centered on the front of the bag,  Insert a piece of plain cardboard in to the bag to keep paint and marker from leaking on to back of bag.  (Do not use red poster board, as shown in these illustrations, since the red color bled on to the bag when I accidentally smeared some of the paint and used a damp cloth to remove it.) 

Use a flat stencil brush to apply paint over the pattern, using VERY LITTLE paint on the brush, and being careful not to go outside the plastic.  Once the pattern is covered with paint, very carefully remove the pattern and put it somewhere safe.  I was able to make six or seven bags using the same contact paper pattern.  The adhesive worked just fine on multiple bags

Allow the paint to dry, about 25-20 minutes .Once paint is dry, use the clear lid to trace around your green CTR shield, to make the outline.  (In the photo below there is already a black line, because I forgot to get a picture before I drew the line.  Sorry!)

Cut the shield out of plastic, then place it over your painted shield and trace with the black permanent marker 

Now that the CTR shield is finished, prepare to personalize with the name by using a ruler and  measuring up about 1/4" above the black tip of the shield.   I wrote the names out on lined paper first and found the middle of the name, then started at the middle and worked out when I was writing it on the bags. 

Use a pencil to LIGHTLY write the name in.  (I didn't do this on my first one and misspelled the name in permanent black ink, thus had to throw the bag away.  DON'T DO THIS!!)  The capital letters were about 1" tall.

 Trace over the name with black permanent marker and your bag is complete!!

Introducing Grandchild #6! (A little bit late...)

Tyler and Rachel's adorable little guy, Andrew G., arrived two weeks early, in July, on his mama's birthday!   He weighed 7lbs. 1 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.  Kent and I can't wait to meet him next week when we fly out to Colorado!

West Coast Visit--Family Reunions and Oregon Coast

On the fourth of July our family gathered at Grandma Carson's house in Vancouver, WA. Tyler and Rachel flew in from Colorado Springs that morning; Garrett and Krystal's family arrived after a three-day drive from Minot, ND; Lissa and Jason's family flew in from Houston; and we arrived with Adri and Sophia after our two-day trip from San Francisco.  Russ flew in that afternoon. It was wonderful to have everyone together!

 All of the lovely ladies in the photo below have July birthdays, so Grandma Carson had a birthday cake for them.

This is about the only picture of Kent and me with all the grandchildren where none of them is crying.  I guess the secret to happy grandchildren is bubbles!!

    

 It was so delightful to see the grandchildren playing together.

Here's Kent with his mother and four of his six siblings.

 That night everyone went their separate ways to different homes and hotels to stay in. We're too large a family now to fit all in one place. I went over to Hillsboro, OR, with Garrett's family to watch the fireworks display at my brother Reed's house.

 Daniel really had good time with the sparklers.

 Our camera has a "fireworks" setting, which took some pretty cool pictures.

 I loved the sight of three of my granddaughters at the piano!

 During the reunion my mom hosted a baby shower for Rachel.

I volunteered to make the invitations and provide the decorations, and went with a lime green and peacock blue color scheme. 

 I changed out the pink for blue on the pennants I'd made for the Primary Mother's day, and used them again for the baby shower.  The paper lanterns collapse flat, so were easy to transport in my suitcase.  The glass plates we used were my mom's almost 60-year-old hostess sets she received as wedding gifts.

 It was a lovely summer day in Oregon (not too hot) to have an outdoor baby shower.

 Reed and Myra have a little toy horse (I don't think it's a pony) and all our grandchildren except Makayla took a turn riding the horse.

 Myra graciously led the horse for all the little children.  (I think it's sweet that in the background of the picture below you can see Tyler helping Rachel to come down the hill.)

 Kiera seemed almost too big for the toy horse!

Sunday after church we tried to get an updated family picture.  The shot below wasn't one of our best, but I thought it was  fun in it's own way.

 I thought everyone looked especially awesome in this picture of the "original six" of our family.

 Here's one of our favorite family photos from 1990, just for comparison.

Here's what I mean about getting pictures with the grandchildren....

 After 30 minutes of stressful picture taking, the kids needed a swinging break!

We also took pictures of the families with children so we could have pictures of them with their great-grandparents.  Adri and Russ's family.

 Lissa and Jason's family.

 Garrett and Krystal's family.

   On Sunday evening everyone went their separate ways.  Kent and I spent the next two days with  Garrett and Krystal's family, and Kent's mom, sister and brother, at a cabin on an US Army recreation area on the Oregon coast.

On Monday went to a National Historic site where Lewis and Clark made their fort at the end of their cross-country explorations two hundred years ago.

The park had a scooter for Grandma Carson to use.

 Makayla got worn out while Grandpa was carrying her around.

 That night we went to the beach and Garrett built us a lovely bonfire with driftwood we'd collected.

I think it was Makayla's first time at the ocean and learning about sand.

We cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the fire, and they tasted especially yummy!  You can see we're wearing our jackets and there was a brisk wind blowing.

 Daniel enjoying his s'more...

 and Makayla enjoying a muffin and her baby food the next morning.

 On Tuesday morning we went to the cheese factory in Tillamook, Oregon.

 Daniel LOVED pretending to drive this cheese van.

 He loved it so much that he didn't want to get out and let other children have a turn.

 This was Daniel's reaction when we pulled him out of the van and tried to get a picture of him with his Great-grandma Carson.

  Kent and I stocked up on Tillamook cheese to take back to Virginia with us.

Whew!  What a fun-filled and action-packed eleven days we spent on the West coast!