Visiting Teaching: February 2010

The visiting teaching message for February is "Managing Resources Wisely and Staying Out of Debt". I was really drawn to the last paragraph of the message, where it talks about how we need to exercise faith in the Savior to be better in sacrificing our wants in order to meet our own and others' needs.

In order to demonstrate the need we have to tighten our purse strings, I made a little purse with the quote printed on the inside flap, and filled it with coins that have the five key steps to financial freedom printed on them.

All you really need to make your own purses to share with the sisters you visit teach is some adhesive (I used double-sided tape) and 1 sheet 8 1/2 x 11 paper. I used scrapbook paper, but you could use whatever you have on hand - you could stamp or embellish copy paper or cardstock and get a similar result.

Everything else is extra - you could get by without it, and still have a cute handout to share.

I used a green flower brad as an accent on the purse flap, and a piece of adhesive velcro to close it up (you could just use tape or a sticker). I found some chocolate coins that I glued the "five keys" onto, but they also looked really cute going solo, with the same pattern as the purse on the back.

Begin by downloading the purse and coin pattern here. Cut out the purse and fold on the dotted lines. Make creases where the bottom of the purse meets the front and back. Apply adhesive on the flaps sticking out from the base and the back of the purse.

Press the base flaps to the back flaps, then do the same with the front to the back.

Apply adhesive to the handle edges and press to the inner sides of the purse.

I then punched a hole and added the green flower brad.

I pressed the velcro on top of the brad's legs and carefully placed the other side of the velcro to the front of the purse so it would be positioned to close correctly.