Easy GIfts for Under $20

Easy gifts don't have to cost a lot. If you have a sewing machine, you can zip off these cedar sachets for the closet in no time. First I bought some Cedar shavings from Walmart for under 8 bucks. Enough to fill hundreds of sachets. Then I bought some flannel in a fat quarter bundle there. I cut out squares and rectangles along the folded lines of the fat quarters and cut them out by twos. There must be two matching pieces of cloth.

Then I straight stitched one quarter of an inch in for a hem around the rectangle so it formed a case for the shavings. Then I turned it inside out so the hems were hidden inside and filled with cedar shavings. To close I whip stitched the open end shut but you could use a zig zag setting on your machine. I used coat and craft thread in a cream color. But you could used any complimenting color to the sachet you made.

I made these up for Christmas and everyone loved them. You can even sew a loop of ribbon to the top so you can hang it on a clothes hanger. They take maybe 15 minutes to make whip stitching it closed but if you are so inclined, you can sew them shut on your machine. It is fun to do and easy to make and everyone wants a cedar closet smell in their bedroom. Don't they?

My family thought I should make more and sell them, but it is kind of messy to get cedar all over the place. But I thought they are nice to make for personal use. An alternative to cedar shavings is to get pine needles and put them in the sachets. You can either get small needles or cut up long white pine needles.

Some people add lavender to the cedar. But I didn't have any. You can make sachets with any type of stuffing. Herbs, cedar, or even those pre made potpourris in bags. The point is. Get a fabric you like and go to town. You can make holiday ones. Gift ones. You can even make soaps and sachets and bath salts and sell gift baskets out of hand made gifts.

You need a lot of energy to start a business. But if you have a little bit of time and talent, you can do anything you set your mind to. Or like me, you can make unique gifts for friends and family.