Mini-Sachet Pillows (from Elizabeth at 12 Crafts Til Christmas)

I’m super excited to be here at Sugar Bee today to kick off an amazing two week guest posting event that Mandy planned for you!  I’ve seen the line-up, and you are in for a huge treat.

First, let me introduce myself.  I’m Elizabeth and these are my tots. 

Alright, one of them isn’t much of a tot anymore, but please don’t remind me.  I plan on thinking of her as my baby for the rest of my life, and even though she’s 5 (and thinks of herself at 15), I still see that chubby faced newborn every time I look at her.   

Almost seven months ago I began sewing and started a little blog called twelve crafts till Christmas on a whim.  

Twelve crafts till Christmas is really all about my journey in making all my kids’ Christmas gifts for December 2010.  And before you ask . . . yes, I do need an entire year to do that!  Along the way towards my goal, I’ve also been on a mission to inspire people to make at least one – just one (unless you’re inspired to do more) – homemade gift this year.  There is nothing better than a gift that has been labored over and loved on, so I provide a bunch of tutorials and gift ideas mixed in with my own novice sewing and crafting antics and some super fun (and very messy) kids’ crafts/activities along the way.          

I truly believe that anyone can make something for someone because in seven months of sewing and crafting, I’ve gone from saying, “Oh, I could never make that,” to “Hey, I think I can make that!”

Today, I would like to share one simple, easy tutorial that you could use to get your feet wet in the handmade gift-making gig.  Remember those lace sachets that you used to see in your grandmother’s drawers?  Welcome to the modern version . . . perfect for your friend, mother-in-law, co-worker, etc.

Simple Mini-Sachet Pillows

What you need:
-fabric
-ribbon, other fabric scraps, ric rac, other embellishment ideas
-dried lavender, rosehips, assorted dried flower mix
-cheap white rice

What you do:
1)  Cut 3 to 4 pairs of 5 x 5 squares out of your fabric.

2)  Embellish squares using your creativity.  Options are endless . . . well, not endless . . . at some point the options will stop, but you get the idea.  

I also folded a ribbon into a ruffle on another square and used my sewing machine to sew a straight line down the center of the ribbon.

3)  Put square pairs right sides together and sew around all sides leaving a two inch opening for turning.

4)  Clip corners, trim off extra fabric and turn squares right sides out.

5)  Fill each square half with lavender or other dried flowers and half with rice.  The other option is to mix essential oils with rice and fill completely with the rice.  (Do you like my homely little paper funnel?  I’m thinking I’ll find my real kitchen funnel in the bottom of the toy box during our next toy-purge.)