Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Simple Gifts: Lavender Breathe Cuff

breathe cuff
On the eve of my fullest month of the year (Chanukah, two b-days, an anniversary, Solstice and Christmas!), I am wearing my intention on my "sleeve": my very own wearable reminder to breathe. I made it right before we headed down to New York City for a wonderfully busy and family-filled Thanksgiving weekend. It did its job. Beautifully. Knowing this, I'm offering today's tutorial as part of the holiday Simple Gift Series to make for others... But I'm also suggesting you make one for yourself as you journey into your own busy month. A reminder that the rushing around is all really about love and giving. These cuffs are simple and quick, which means you can make bunches and still breathe.

Wearable Reminder: Lavender Breathe Cuff
Need:
little letter stamps
ink pad (versa craft is great for textiles)
scraps of light colored linen
light weight fabric cut into two rectangles measuring 7 x 2 1/2 inches
hair elastic
button or two
dried lavender
Make:
Before you get started, print a bunch of  reminder words (breathe, be, slow, embrace, truth, etc.) onto little pieces of light colored linen. I used a ruler to keep it somewhat neat, but a little skewed letter or two adds to the hand stamped soul of it.
breathe 1
  1. Place your word in the center of one of your rectangles, and sew in place. There will be raw edges around the word. Pull a few threads to give it an intentionally frayed look.
  2. Place rectangles together right side to right side and sew up along the long sides. Turn to reveal a tube.
  3. Press with an iron. Create the center sachet by sewing up one side directly over one of the seams holding down your word. I used a decorative stitch. Fill with a teaspoon or two of lavender. You don't need a lot.
  4. Sew up the other side of the center sachet.
breathe tute
Finish it off by inserting a snip of an elastic hair tie on one end. Sew up each opening with a tight zigzag stitch. Add a button to the other side. An alternate version would include two elastic loops and two buttons. I found that after a weekend of wearing this one button cuff, the corners were turning. I decided to sew them down with a stitch or two (below right photo).  Love it. Check out Etsy (under supplies) for lavender, stamps and ink pads... lots of options!
breathe finished
Enjoy yourself . Take it easy. Slow down. Breathe in. And out. Love fully. Find your peace.
breathe 7 Pin It
Posted by mayaluna at 10:40 AM Labels: , , ,

19 comments:

  1. SarainAkkoNovember 30, 2010 at 11:03 AM

    I love lavender, I adore this cuff/sachet combo and I love the idea of walking around with a little reminder of calm stamped to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM

    Simply beautiful Maya. Thanks for sharing. xox Corrine

    ReplyDelete
  3. MaryamNovember 30, 2010 at 1:43 PM

    so lovely! just the right kind of command :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 30, 2010 at 5:34 PM

    Oh, very, very please, can you tell how you stamp your letters so nicely and how you do not have any ink from the sides of the letters!?!!

    Everytime I try I get that smudge on the sides on my fabric!

    I just love this tutorial and all that you do!

    ReplyDelete
  5. JaneTNovember 30, 2010 at 6:32 PM

    Thank you so much for this lovely tutorial. Now to search out some lavender. Wonder if I can get some in and then get the cuffs made in time for Christmas. I love following you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sew friendziedNovember 30, 2010 at 7:22 PM

    Yes, I was just thinking last week as I was putting some tea together how herbal jewlery would be quite nice. a sewn pendant (or earrings) with lavender might be quite nice too. I love your design! Thanks for sharing it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnaNovember 30, 2010 at 7:48 PM

    Great idea, Maya , can we share this great idea on ur site ?

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 30, 2010 at 7:55 PM

    So very lovely! An essential reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousNovember 30, 2010 at 10:33 PM

    Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [01 Dec 01:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

    ReplyDelete
  10. jamey mariahDecember 1, 2010 at 12:51 AM

    I would also love to know how you stamp your letters so neatly? And what size of letters did you use? These are wonderful, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. BeaDecember 1, 2010 at 6:06 AM

    Thanks! Every idea you give us is great!

    ReplyDelete
  12. mayalunaDecember 1, 2010 at 6:46 AM

    thanks everyone! I wish there was a magic trick to stamping letters. I, too, often get discouraged when it smears or a letter pops up or down too much. The key is practice, nice stamps, a rag to keep your hands clean and wipe off any extra ink on the sides of stamps, and a ruler. I also make sure to set the ink with an iron afterward. It's built in to this project as one of the steps. Hope this helps. I'm not sure of who makes these stamps as I keep them in a different container than the one they came in. All I know is that they were the smallest available at Michael's last year.

    ReplyDelete
  13. LoriDecember 1, 2010 at 12:43 PM

    oh it's awesome. so cute and such a good reminder throughout the day. I want one!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Agata z magicznego atelierDecember 1, 2010 at 2:32 PM

    I love lavender :) Thank You for this tutorial :) Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gumbo LilyDecember 1, 2010 at 4:10 PM

    Luck and lots of practice for the straight letters, I'm sure. I can't seem to make them look as straight as yours.

    Jody

    ReplyDelete
  16. CocoDecember 13, 2010 at 2:19 AM

    What a great tutorial for something truly unique, I love it and it makes a great present too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. RachelDecember 22, 2010 at 1:56 PM

    I love lavender and I love this cuff! What a thoughtful gift. Thanks for the how-to, I'll be spreading the word.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Megan GilmoreJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:49 PM

    I love it! I think I'll make one as a reuseable coffee/tea cup sleeve too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. What I Say Matters!January 7, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    I love these! I love the lettering on these too. I Can never seem to stamp letters out quite as neat, straight, and spaced as you!! Do you have any tips? or is there some sort of tool?

    Mark
    www.youllseeitmatters.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)