This holiday season, think outside the box and try making your own holiday gifts! It can be really fun to make homemade lip balm, body scrub, and cookie jars for the loved ones on your list. But have you ever thought about sewing them beautifully designed produce bags? Cloth produce bags are great for purchasing items in bulk, bringing snacks along in your purse, or even using them as gift wrapping! If you tend not to be crafty or creative and sewing sounds intimidating, don't worry! The Zero Waste Habit is here to help guide you through making your own produce bags - from start to finish!
Update: The Zero Waste Habit has since closed as a business. Vanina is now running a podcast called The Ecopreneur Show which you can check out!
This article is sponsored by The Zero Waste Habit.
The Zero Waste Habit is run by Vanina Howan (we featured her in an article just a few weeks ago!) and she is the kindest teacher you could wish for. She offers classes on how to sew your own produce bags and napkins - with a special edition for this holiday season! In her workshop, you'll get to drink lovely tea and eat cookies while she guides you through how a sewing machine works, the pattern she uses, and each step along the way.
A few weeks ago, I attended her workshop to learn how to make my own napkin and produce bags. Even though I hadn't touched a sewing machine in years, Vanina made me feel comfortable and at easy the second I walked into her studio. It was an amazing experience and reminded me how empowering it can feel to sew your own items and fix things with a needle and thread! Not only did I enjoy the time chatting with Vanina, but I also walked away with some beautifully hand-crafted produce bags I'll proudly be displaying on my next grocery trip!
Her workshops are available through AirBnb experience and you can sign up for one right now too! These lovely bags make a great holiday gift set or fun ways to wrap other gifts to many people. Vanina even provides plastic free gift wrapping if you want to wrap them up right then and there!
If you can't attend one of her workshops before the holidays, she'll be offering them throughout the year as well. For those friends who love to sew and make things at home, consider buying them a ticket to her next workshop as a Christmas gift for them as well! This Christmas should be about experiences, reusable gifts, and empowering local businesses, and attending The Zero Waste Habits' workshop checks off all of those!