DIY Favor Bags and Boxes For Special Occasions

Bath Salt Favor Bags

Earrings In a Favor Bag

Weddings, showers, family parties, fundraisers, and more are all great events to give small mementos to your guests, to allow them to cherish the experience. These mementos, often placed in favor bags and boxes, are very popular, with candies, chocolate, soap, magnets, jewelry, candles, key chains, photos, and other trinkets topping the list of widely used gifts. The bath salts, in the top picture, were favor bags that I made this week to help out an ovarian cancer fundraiser. They will be given away at a Paducah, KY event. Today, I will be giving some pointers about making your own favor bags for.

1) Find an item to use as favors. The item needs to be small and economical to purchase in bulk. Keep in mind that many people have allergies and fragrance sensitivities, so you may want to offer different versions of your favors, such as scented and unscented soaps, or truffles with and without nuts. Try one of these trinkets:

-edibles (candy, chocolate, coffee, honey, spices, jam)
-plants
-soap
-candles
-jewelry
-magnets
-photo key chains
-pens or personalized stationary

2) Look for attractive packaging for your favors. Some ideas are:

-cellophane bags
-organza bags
-muslin bags
-velvet pouches
-brown paper bags and boxes
-tiny gift bags
-paper "take-out" boxes
-glass jars
-coffee mugs

3) Personalize it! Use your printer or hire someone local to make gift tags with the date and event. If your item is intended to be consumed or used on the skin, make sure to clearly label all ingredients. You don't want to endanger any guests with allergies. For greater impact, print a romantic or inspiring quote on the back of your gift tags.

4) Tie your tags on with twine, ribbon, fabric, or any other decorative medium.

So, where is the best place to buy supplies to make your favor bags? I have found the organza pouches locally at Hobby Lobby, Dollar Tree, and Walmart. Any wedding and party supply stores should also have many choices. If you can sew, you can make your own cloth pouches easily. Personally, I like shopping online in the supplies section at Etsy. I can put different containers, tags, ribbons, and twine in my cart from different shops. For printing tags, I have used both Vistaprint and local printers for personalized work. Vistaprint is more economical, but I like to support local business and have the versatility to print smaller quantities.

House Plants- The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Second and Third Generation Plants in the Window

Many times, I post about projects you can make and sell; however, today I am going to discuss one of the best crafty purchases I have made online- plants. A few months ago, I bought some aloe vera and other plants on Etsy.com. Additionally, I bought some at the local grocery store. With a little love and tenderness, my plants have flourished, and I have been able to re pot the pups, or new shoots, into larger containers and novelty planters. What started out as a few plants, is now an entire table filled with lush foliage.

One of the great things about having plants that are easy to care for and reproduce quickly is the fact that I always have an inexpensive gift to give. I simply select a nice new shoot and re pot it in a unique container. A few years ago, my mom worked with a woman who painted terracotta pots for a hobby and gave out her painted pots as a gift. I like to shop at yard sales and thrift stores for vintage bowls, teapots, and planters. Whatever you use, giving a plant as a gift is something that will stay with the recipient for years. Perhaps your friend or loved one will even take up cultivating plants or decorating pots as a hobby.

New Aloe "Pups"

Another fun project is making terrariums in large glass containers with moss and decorations. You can layer different rocks and soil types in your vessel for visual interest, or add colored sand. Glass gems, river rocks, figurines, and pottery shards all make for fun decorations on the top layer of your terrarium or arranged in your potted plants.

What plants are best to start with? I am no expert, but after evaluating my climate and the amount of light in my house, I decided that succulents would be an economical choice to start with. Most succulents do well in drier conditions with some sunlight. The plants in the top picture with the long shoots and thick leaves are from the grocery store. I wish I knew what kind they were! During my research, I noticed that for shadier environments and more frequent watering, spider plants are a good choice for houseplants that grow quickly and multiply. They are also reputed to be the best plants for cleaning the air and freshening your house.


Vintage Teapot and Polymer Clay Beetle

So, what crafty things can you do with your plants, once they start to grow and reproduce? Here is a polymer clay bug that I purchased at a craft show for my plants. Making decorative figurines from wire, clay, or painted rocks is an easy way to add a personal touch to your foliage. Previously, I mentioned that painting terracotta pots was a hobby of a woman who loved to give away handpainted pots with a plant. This site here has some information on painting teracotta pots:
http://www.the-artistic-garden.com/how-to-paint-terra-cotta.html

A recent trend is giving baby plants in cute containers away as wedding and shower favors. Just add a sentimental gift tag about a new life or relationship growing, or maybe some classic poetry, a nice container, and simple instructions, and you are set! Mini pots can be found at any major gardening store or online.

I am still a novice at indoor gardening, but I love looking for unique containers for my plants, along with new varieties of greenery at the local farmer's market. Last summer, I also grew basil in my windowsill and it was very successful! The most satisfying thing is to find a great container and decorate it, then add a baby plant for a handmade gift.