Graduation Gift Tassel

Graduation season is here again, which means it's time to shower the graduates in our lives with good wishes and presents. To keep your gift in the graduation theme, trim it with a tassel that doubles as a gift tag.

Choose yarn in the graduate's school colors and wrap it around a 12"-tall book 20 times or so. Slip a length of gold cord under the loops on one end of the book and tie it in a tight knot. Use a sharp scissors to cut through the loops on the other end of the book to create the tassel. Wrap another piece of gold cord around the tassel, about an inch from the tied end. Tie the ends of the cord together, trim, and tuck them inside the tassel.

 To make the tag, use your computer or rubber stamps to print the year and "To/From" within a circle on white paper. Cut the circles out and glue them back to back with glue stick. Edge the circle with a gold metallic pen, punch a hole, and tie it to the tassel with more gold cord. Trim the cut ends of the tassel even.

The finished tassel adds pomp to a gift box or bag. If you're giving a monetary gift, tie a tassel on the envelope to make it special. 

Provençal Sachets

Last week's project--a pretty fabric tote bag--celebrated springtime in Paris. For this week's craft, I visited France again (in my dreams, anyway) for creative inspiration. This time, I ventured beyond Paris to Provence, where fields of lavender color the countryside and perfume the air. Even though my Pennsylvania backyard is far from France, I brought the fragrance of Provence into my home with these lavender sachets.

Made from leftover fabrics from another project, these sachets are about as easy as it gets. (Très facile, as they say in France.) For each sachet, cut two rectangular pieces from Provençal-style fabrics (mine are about 8" by 5"), then fold one short edge of each piece over about 2" to the wrong side and press it in place. (This step keeps the wrong side of the fabric from showing at the top of the finished sachet.) To assemble the sachet, pin the pieces together, right sides facing, and stitch along the raw short and long edges. Clip the seams, turn the bag inside out, and voilà--your sachet is ready to be filled.

Dried lavender buds are available at craft stores and herb shops. A little lavender goes a long way, so you'll only need a few scoops for each sachet. You can spoon the lavender directly into the sachet, but if you want to keep the tiny buds from spilling out, put them in an organza or muslin bag first. Tie the inner bag closed tightly and tuck it inside the sachet bag.

To create the decorative ties for my sachets, I crocheted chain-stitch cords from blue and yellow embroidery floss that matched my fabrics. Ribbon, raffia, and twine would work well too. I made simple tags for my sachets from card stock and stamped them with the word "lavande," which is French for "lavender."  

Springtime in Paris Tote

I found the fabric used in this project while I was browsing online for something else. (That's how most of my online shopping adventures seem to go.) When I stumbled upon "Springtime in Paris" and "Paris Ville" on the Michael Miller Fabrics website, I just had to order a few yards of each. Then came the hard part: deciding what to make with my serendipitous purchase. I think this chic little tote was the perfect choice.

To make the bag, cut two 10" squares from the "Springtime in Paris" fabric and two 5" by 10" pieces from the "Paris Ville" fabric. For the bag front, place the rectangle piece facedown and upside down over the top edge of the square piece. Stitch the pieces together along the long edge and then flip the top piece up. You should have a band of "Parish Ville" fabric above a square of "Springtime in Parish" fabric--and both designs should be right side up. Create the tote's back the same way. Pin the finished pieces together, right sides facing, and stitch around the side and bottom edges. Turn the tote to the right side.

For the handles, cut two 2½" by 7" pieces from one of the fabrics. Fold them in half lengthwise, right sides facing, and stitch along the long edge of each. Turn the handles to the right side and iron them flat. To make a lining for the tote, cut two 10" by 12½" pieces from one of the fabrics, pin them together with right sides facing, and stitch them together along the side and bottom edges. Leave the lining inside out.

Fold the top edge of the tote over ½" to the inside and press it in place. Fold the top edge of the lining over ½" to the wrong side and press. Place the lining inside the tote and pin the top edges of the tote and lining together. You may have to adjust the edges a bit to get them to match up evenly. Slip the raw edges of the handles in place between the tote and lining and stitch along the top edge of the tote.

When I made this bag, I had some pink-and-white polka-dotted ribbon that matched the fabrics perfectly. I sewed a band of ribbon around the tote to conceal the seam between the two fabrics. For a finishing touch, I made a charm from beads and broken jewelry. The silver bow is part of an old pin; the Eiffel Tower charm had been waiting in my bead box for the right project.

Flowery Felt Pillows

When I learn a new craft technique, I sometimes get carried away. Case in point: I recently became slightly addicted to making felt flowers and ended up with dozens of them. I came up with these pillows as a pretty way to show them off. My pillows are just 8" square--perfect for an accent pillow on a bed--but you can make yours any size you like. 

To make each flower, cut a circle from felt and then cut a spiral into it, working from the outside edge to the center. 

Leave a small circle of felt at the center; cut off the pointy starting end and the bump on the outside edge.

Roll the spiral strip of felt toward the center, working from the outside in. 

Position the rolled felt on the center circle and stitch the base to the bottom of the flower. 

Make an assortment of flowers in different sizes. A 6½" circle gave me a 2½"-diameter flower; a 4" circle made a 1½"-diameter flower. Cut a pillow front and back from felt and sew felt leaves and roses to the front. Sew the front and back pieces together using blanket stitch. Stuff the pillow with polyester fiberfill and finishing sewing it closed.

Tip: When I need to make a circle pattern, and it doesn't have to be an exact size, I use items from around the house as templates. Instead of fiddling with a compass, I just trace a plate, glass, or mug that's the size I need.