TP Favor Tutorial

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the comments on my blog and over at Doodlebug Design in regards to the shower favors I posted last week! It's nice to know that you enjoyed them! There has been a few people asking how they were made, so I thought I'd give you a little run down.

For this project you'll need to collect a few TP tubes. ;) You will also need some pretty patterned papers and accents like these from Doodlebug's Hello Spring line, some dies (or cut your own) and craft glue.

I think most TP tubes are about the same size, 4" long by about 5 1/2 around." I cut my patterned paper to 4" by 6" just to make sure I had a little extra paper to overlap in the back.

To secure the patterned paper to the TP tube, I used some double stick tape along the top edge and the length of one side. I didn't worry about using tape at the bottom since I stitched it later.

Once your TP tube is covered with paper, go ahead and smash the bottom of the tube being careful to keep the paper seam in the back.

Once you have flattened the end of your roll, lift it up again to apply a line of craft glue along the bottom edge. Then smash it back down and hold it for about a minute until it's dry. You could also use clothespins to hold them until the glue dries.

When the glue has set, you can either machine stitch the bottom of your tubes or hand stitch as I do. I used a ruler to make a line across the bottom and then pierced holes at 1/8" increments for stitching. Actually, you don't have to stitch them at all, I just like the way it looks.

Now comes the fun part, decorating your tubes. I used Doodlebug's Fancy Frills border stickers as a decoration around the top of each roll. Then I created a tag for each favor with a Sizzix die. The tags were layered with felt and white card stock using Spellbinder thin metal dies to cut into shape. These pieces were all attached together with a dab of craft glue. I added a bird sticker to each favor by attaching them with adhesive foam tape for dimension.

The finishing touches include baker's twine bows, flower brads that I stuck in the tag holes and mini wood clothes pins attached to the sides. The clothespins don't actually hold anything together, they are just for looks. Cute, aren't they?

Now you can add candy and little surprises inside. I used some natural wood Easter grass to fill the tops of mine. You can add handles to your favors if you like.

I hope you have a chance to create some of these, they're a lot of fun. I can just imagine the many different themes you all can dream up!

Have a good Monday!

Kathy :)