Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy project: madeley’s stamped lavender sachets

lately i’ve been looking fun, inexpensive ways to give friends thoughtful “just because” gifts. this year more than ever i feel really grateful to have a small group of good friends (something i didn’t have a lot of growing up) and i love doing little things to remind them i appreciate their friendship. but because my budget is limited i’m always looking for ways to reuse old bits of fabric and my somewhat embarrassingly large collection of stamps i’ve collected over the years. so when i saw madeley’s sweet stamped lavender sachet project i thought- this is a perfect diy project for the weekend! i think sachets get a bad rap for being too fussy, but i can’t tell you how much i enjoy opening a drawer each morning that smells fresh and clean. so if you’re looking for a way to freshen up your drawers (or your friends) this is a super simple, but sweet, project. thanks to madeley for sharing!

CLICK HERE for the full project steps after the jump!

[Click here for more images from Madeley's project on Flickr]

From Madeley:

On our return from the lavender fields of North Fork I wondered what we would do with all the lavender we collected, not to mention the bags of dried lavender I could not resist buying. Easy, make it a project with my daughters. They were excited to make gifts for friends and I was thrilled to finally use that large scrap of muslin fabric I bought at a tag sale but knew not what to do with it.

If you didn’t go lavender picking this Summer, no worries, you can get it anywhere online or visit www.lavenderbythebay.com--which is where we got our lavender. 1 lb of lavender goes for $15. If you are in North Fork…go check them out!

Once you have all the sachets completed you can move on to the stamping. (Note from D*S: Try Impress for great stamps) This was my youngest favorite part of the project. My daughters chose the butterfly stamp and purple ink. If you have fabric ink, great…if not, a regular stamp pad works. Now you are ready for the next step, filling the sachets! Scooping was the ultimate high for my little ones.

I used muslin for the sachets, but generally any porous or sheer fabric works. It’s easy, just cut a rectangular shaped piece, 3.5″ x 5″ or larger and fold together so short sides kiss. Run the sides through a sewing machine, turn outside in, and voila, you have a sachet bag. My five year old helped was able to help me out with all of these steps. When it was time to run fabric through machine she simply pushed the pedal and I guided the fabric with her.

Once your sachet is filled at least half way, you are ready to tie it closed with a ribbon. I tied first the sachets with a short thin wire so my five year old could fumble around a bit before getting the right knot.

I, too, appreciate my adult friends as I had very few as a kid (read: my parents were big feminists and that kinda made me uncool).

Now, I have a drawer dedicated to little gifts that I have at the ready for a friend I want to share gratitude with. These sachets are something I will fold into the mix.

Thanks for posting this! We bought a house 6 months ago, and I was delighted in the spring to see that there are dozens of lavender bushes growing along the side of the house! I didn’t know what to do with them this year, so I just enjoyed how pretty and fragrant they were, but I’m looking forward to next year!

I have those owl stampers! I used a different one from the set for wedding-shower invitations.

I’m going to make these to get rid of the funky smell from the sa-weet dresser I bought from a garage sale.

The previous owners of my home planted so many lavender plants that we get bucket loads of dried lavender every summer. So I’m really happy to see an project I can use all my extra lavender in! Thanks so much.

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