Thursday, July 9, 2015

DIY Sleep Mask College Student Send-off Gift




When I left for college a few years back, someone gave me a sleeping mask and earplugs. I remember my dad saying, "Oooh good! That will come in handy!"  I didn't grasp what he meant until I had lived in my new dorm for about a week. I soon learned a fact of college life: Night time doesn't mean sleeping time.  But I wanted to sleep! I had early classes or an early job to get to every day, and I often woke up even earlier to work-out. I was SO GRATEFUL for the sleeping mask and earplugs I was given!

So when I saw this tutorial for a reversible sleep mask from Behind the Seams Sewing, I thought it would be a perfect gift for some gals I know who are heading out into the world of dormitories, lectures, and libraries. 


The tutorial includes a link to this simple pattern from Instructables that you can print out on one regular sheet of paper at home. I used some extra fabric I had for the outside, and white felt for the inside.  For the band, I used 1/4 inch elastic. 

With all gifts, but especially simple ones, I believe presentation is of utmost importance, so I am sharing a cute printable I made using the Rhonna Designs app to give with the sleep masks. 

Go HERE to download this free printable.  I sized mine in Publisher to 4"x 4" so it would fit just right on the top of the bags I used.

I found some earplugs at my local hardware store for 49 cents/ pair, because what good is a dark room if it is still noisy??

And finally, I used some long, clear party bags (found HERE on Amazon) to package up each sleep mask and earplug set with the printable poem stapled to the top of the bag. 

I wrote a personal message to each recipient on the back of the card. It is great to be able to give something useful, and if it can be homemade, you can truly make it a gift from your heart! 





Participating in these link-ups.

6 comments:

  1. What a great idea for a college student. Thanks for sharing this on the #HomeMattersParty and hope you will come back and link up again next week.

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  2. These turned out great Kelly! They are wonderful gifts and I love the way you packaged them.

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  3. Love this! My favorite post of the week on the Best of the Blogosphere Linky Party. Come back tomorrow and link up again!

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  4. What a thoughtful gift! Honestly, a sleep mask and ear plugs can make such a difference and it is so nice when the sleep mask is so pretty! Thank you so much for sharing this lovely gift with us at the Hearth and Soul hop. Pinning and sharing your post :-)

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