This is a great inexpensive project to do with and for your kids before they go back to school! They learn about recycling and reusing things they would normally throw away and have the added bonus of having something cool for school.

Step 1: Materials

You will need:
1. 14 juice pouches
2. exacto knife or sharp kitchen knife
3. sewing machine
4. thread
5. scissors
6. 16 inches of gross grain ribbon (opional)
7. 2 inches of 1 inch Velcro tabs (opional)

Step 2: Collect and Clean Your Juice Pouches

1. Have your kids drink the juice and save enough pouches for the project.

2. Once you've got all your pouches, take the Exacto or kitchen knife and cut a large slit on the bottom of the pouch. (It doesn't have to look neat or straight, no one's going to see it ;) .

**Be careful not to cut yourself or cut through to the outside of the pouch.

3. Then clean the inside of the pouches with soap and water and let dry.

4. Once dry, flatten the pouches to get them ready for sewing.

Step 3: Sewing the Pouches Together

I like to use a long zig zag stitch for these bags, but you can use a long straight stitch as well.

1. Slightly overlap two pouches side-by-side and stitch them together. Do this with two more pouches.

2. Now overlap the two sets of two's top-to-bottom and stitch them together. You should now have a panel of four pouches. This will be the front (or back) of your lunch bag.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 so that you have two panels of four pouches.

4. Now overlap two new pouches top-to-bottom and stitch. Do this step twice so you have two sets of two. These will be your side panels on the lunch bag.

5. Cut two pouches to fit the width of the front panel (set of four pouches) and stitch them togther. This will be the bottom of the lunch bag.

Step 4: Constructing the Lunch Bag

1. Sew the front and back panels to the bottom panel.

2. Next sew the side panels to the bottm as well.

3. Now, sew the front and back panels to the side panels. This could get tricky when the seam meets at the bottom, but that's okay. Just try to sew all the way to the end.

4. You have now constructed your lunch bag! You could stop here and roll the top of the bag like a regular brown paper bag to close it, or you can move on to step five and add the ribbon and Velcro.

Step 5: Adding the Ribbon and Velcro

1. Center the Velcro tabs on the inside of the front and back panels.

2. Insert the ends of the ribbon between the Velcro tabs and panels and sew .

And there you have it! A recycled juice pouch lunch bag. It is sturdy, reliable, easy to make, and cheap! Not to mention... pretty cool :)

Now it's your turn! Be creative, use different juice flavors and create a colorful pattern, or use a bright colored thread or ribbon.