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Back to School with L.L. Bean Bags!

This school year is about to start and every year we buy a new book bag for the girls. It is fun to pick out but once you get to the check out and you see the amount everything costs, it can make your hair stand on end. That is why last year I bought L.L. Bean Book bags. They have a lifetime guarantee and are super durable. 
So once the new school year rolled around I took out the LLBean bags. Gross, yucky, marked up bags. It's great they have a warranty but I can't replace them just because they are dirty. What to do?
Then, I remembered the stain remover solution of 2 parts Hydrogen, 1 part Blue Dawn dish soap. Luckily, I had the two and mixed up a batch. I took a sponge and rubbed the solution all over the book bags. After letting them sit for a while I sprayed them with water. They were still a little soapy, so I placed them in the washer. Finally, I let them air dry and Ta Da! New beautiful looking book bags. The only part of the book bag that did not like getting wet was the reflector part. It is actually leather like in material. Even still they look great.
 Then for the monogramming! My littlest doesn't really care about monogramming so we went with a "K". My oldest is starting to like it, so we went a little fancier with the interlocking monogram.
 To monogram these bags it is best to open them up completely and embroider above the front zipper pocket. You only have 3" in height so keep your embroidery file 3" or smaller.
There is not a good way to hoop the bag, so place it on top and baste stitch or use adhesive spray on your interfacing. Overall my girls are super happy with their bags and I am ecstatic that I have saved our family money.

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