Just the other day I came across this really great tutorial for putting zips into purses. Until recently I've mostly tried to avoid zips. They seemed to be nasty little fiddly things. Even convinced myself that I didn't really need to know how to put a zip in. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I've realized that they can be pretty useful if you're trying to make a simple purse...and then I found this tutorial... and it made putting in zips so easy...and now I'm thinking...a zip project for the older girls in my sewing classes might be just the thing.
Trixi's ziiiiiiip purse:

Thanks again to Paper and String for a really simple way to zap a zip in.