How to Make a Tote Bag or Purse with Used Capri Sun Pouches

In this guide, you will learn a fast, fun and quirky project that makes the environment (and your wallet) very happy.

With all the emphasis these days on GOING GREEN and REDUCING YOUR CARBON FOOT PRINT, I thought it was time to create this handy little "How To" for making a tote bag or purse out of your children's empty Capri Sun drinks. In addition to these zany little bags being a terrific way to recycle the metallic and plastic juice pouches left over from your kids' last play-date, this project can help you teach your kids a few valuable life lessons:

- Everything you do impacts the environment, even if it's as small as a Capri Sun pouch.

- Look around and see the potential that most things have to be re-purposed.

- There are other things that you can do with your hands than change a channel, text message a BFF and control your Nintendo DS. Things like using a sewing machine.

Before you begin, you'll want to consider the size of the bag that you'd like to have. Of course, the larger the bag, the more pouches you'll need. A small bag takes about 14 pouches, while a medium bag takes 19. A large bag uses 24 pouches. This set of instructions calls for just enough pouches to form the body of the bag. We'll use a different material to make the handle and will talk more about that later on in this guide.

Once you've decided how big you'd like your bag, you must clean the pouches and dry them out completely. Start by removing the straw. Flip the pouch over and spread the edges of the base. VERY CAREFULLY, using a sharp utility knife, make a slit lengthwise from one edge to the other. I cut all of my pouches first so that I don't have to handle a sharp utility knife with soapy hands. Next, wash the inside (and out) of the pouches with warm soapy water. Rinse them out and use a paper towel to thoroughly dry the inside and outside of each one. I usually sit the open pouches out to air dry over night, just to make sure. Once the pouches are dry, fold the left over flap in the base toward the inside of the pouch and flatten the entire thing. These flatten pretty easily and after a little smoothing, are virtually wrinkle free.