2016 Youth Theme Candybar Wrappers

Each year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a scripture-based theme for the youth program. I am so excited about this year's theme, from 2 Nephi 31:20, 

 “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life”

I love the feelings of hope and action that this scripture evokes.  It was hard to be a teenager 20 years ago. I know it hasn't become any easier today. In an effort to keep this scripture at the forefront of the minds of the Young Women in our youth program, we decided to give them these theme-wrapped candy bars for their birthdays this year. 

These would also be great to give out at New Beginnings, Young Women in Excellence, or as a welcome gift to new Beehives.  

These are sized for a regular, flat-shaped (approx 2" x 6")candy bar such as Hershey's, Mr. Goodbar, or Nestle Crisp. I went with the Nestle Crisp bar because it has the foil-edged wrapper, which looks nice sticking out the ends of the new wrap. 

Links to FREE PRINTABLES of these wrappers can be found below. 

2016 Youth Theme Candybar Wrappers 1

2016 Youth Theme Candybar Wrappers 2


Participating in these link-ups. 

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.

Wavy Scarf Tutorial

As I write this post, it is 65 days until Christmas. Time to kick your gift planning into gear, folks.

But no reason to start stressing. I bring you good tidings of great joy. Every woman and girl on your list has a neck that needs dressing...and I'm here with the solution!

This scarf tutorial is not only quick and easy. It is so versatile. Young or old, punk or preppy, you can customize each scarf to the wearer. And they can customize how they wear it! 

My mom was in town this past week, and the two of us whipped out 6 of these in about 2 hours. And they cost us about $2 each to make. Score!!

Here's the how-to~

You will need: 

• 14-16" of a 60-inch-wide flowing type of fabric. (Knits, poly-blends, silks, chiffons, and challis are all good choices).
• Coordinating all-purpose thread
• Elastic thread

1. Sew a rolled hem on the edges of the fabric, if needed. If you are using a jersey knit (as well as some poly-blends), the cut edge may be fine to leave un-hemmed. Since you will likely be using the full width of the cut, the short edges may have a factory finish you can leave.  I used the rolled-hem feature on my serger to finish the long sides.

My mom chose this fabric. Isn't it lovely? It is a silk-like chiffon. 

2. Use your machine to put elastic thread onto your bobbin and thread your machine as you normally do-- put coordinating all-purpose thread on top, elastic thread in the bobbin. If you are only making one scarf, you won't need a full bobbin of elastic thread. We filled our bobbin and had enough for 8+ scarves. Move your stitch width to 4.

3. With right side of the fabric up, sew a top stitch (tying off with a back-stitch at the beginning and end) directly down the center of the length of the scarf. 

That's it! Scarf complete!

Sewing just one length with the elastic thread in the bobbin will gather up the scarf enough to give it a soft, wavy look!

A special thanks to my models! Aren't they lovely? So sophisticated and stylish. I didn't instruct them how to wear the scarves--they each draped or knotted them on their own! I adore every style! 

This post is linking at these parties.