Mini Care Packages

After graduating from college last year, I have been seeing a lot less of my two best friends from school.  They both live in a different state, and even though it neighbors mine, it's difficult to find a weekend that we all have free.  Since email and phone tag only go so far to make me feel close to them, I decided to send them each a mini care package to show them I'm thinking of them!

What's Inside:

-Fabric garland for room decor
-Pack of monogrammed letterpress note cards
-A little satchel of crafting supplies (M and J both make headbands and J also makes jewelry!)
-Homemade card made with extra garland materials

The fabric garlands were super easy to make, thanks to the excellent instructions provided by Molly at The Purl Bee.  My mom is a very skilled sewer and quilter so all of the fabric I used came from her scrap collection.  The results were two 8 ft. long, whimsical and playful garlands perfect for hanging across a window valance or on a headboard.

Molly's instructions are excellent so please click here for the full how-to.  Here is a glimpse at my process:

Materials
-Stencils printed from The Purl Bee blogsite
-Fabric scraps (about 10 different patterns per garland - I tried to choose fabrics that matched each of their rooms and design styles.)
-Scissors
-Pins
-Cutting board
-Fabric markers

First, I transferred the stencils onto cardboard and cut them out...

...then I cut out (roughly) the same amount of each shape from the fabric scraps.  I doubled the fabric as Molly suggested so that the garland would look the same on both sides.

Next, I separated the cut-outs by shape...

...then I chose the shapes at random and sewed them flush together.

Finally, I ironed the garland  to secure the seams...

....sewed 6 inches of ribbon onto each end (for hanging)

& wrapped each garland around an empty t.p. roll for cute diy packaging!

Voila! A cute project for even the most novice seamstress (like me!).  And who doesn't love getting a little homemade something in the mail?