By Kristin Van Der Kar
There are never enough pockets for the treasures that can be found in nature! So here we will share how to make a treasure pouch. Treasure pouches can be used to bring home that beautiful sparkling shell from the beach, the acorn that you are going to try to plant or the bay leaves you have gathered for soup. Treasure pouches also can be offering pouches. I like to put dried lavender that I grow at home into my offering pouch. When I am out harvesting I can gift the plants with some of my dried lavender as a way to say thank you. Treasure pouches can also make great gifts! When children are able to make a gift for a friend’s birthday or a grandparent it is incredibly empowering!
With this project children have the opportunity to use real tools, a sewing needle, scissors, while yes, there is a possibility of getting poked by the needle or cutting out the wrong shape, this empowers the young child while teaching real useful skills. While we teach our children how to use these tools in proper and safe ways we show them that we trust them and that they are capable beings.
One other piece to consider is the energy that things we make take on. When we sit down and think about our grandparent as we make them a pouch that love becomes infused into the pouch, or if we think about the magical treasures we are going to put in our pouch or the offerings we will give to the plants all of those energies will become part of the project. Crafting can be a beautiful time to share stories or plans on how your project will be used as this can help bring the project to life. I also like to remember that projects are about the journey rather than the outcome – enjoy this project with your child, encourage them even if that means making ‘mistakes’. They will have much more pride in their project if they were able to do most of it rather than if we as a caregiver did most of it and it looks perfect. Enjoy!
What you need:
- Felt/Fabric: if you do not have felt, that is fine – there are many things that can be used as fabric. A few ideas are: old denim clothing, flannel clothing, T-shirts, old sheets, fleece clothing…
- Scissors
- Sewing Needle
- Thread
Directions:
Step 1. Cut out a rectangle piece of felt. You can decide what shape you would like the flap to be and cut accordingly.
- If you want to add any decorations or patches to your pouch now is a good time to do so. You can cut out whatever shape you would like and sew it on.
Step 2. Fold it
Step 3. Sew up each side
Step 4. Add a button – this can be an acorn or a eucalyptus cap
Step 5. Add a string to make it into a necklace if you desire
Step 6. Enjoy, and find some treasures or offerings to put inside!