When we divided the Favor It Baby sayings among the PaperTrey team, I chose Baby is Brewing, to be used in conjunction with a coffee or tea shower favor. I racked my brain for a couple of days on this one, toying with several ideas that would have worked. Then I remembered that somewhere in the depths of The Stash (Don't laugh--you have one too!), I had an apron die. . . And I was pretty sure that it was about the right size to hold a tea bag! (All pictures can be enlarged if you would like to see a close-up.)
To begin, you will need two sheets of the 6" x 6" Bitty Blessings patterned paper, and one sheet of the 12" x 12" patterned paper if you'd like a larger sized dot. (You could also substitute a different pattern from the 6" x 6" pad for contrast, if you don't have the larger dot.) I used the Spellbinders Apron die shown here, as well as the edge of one of the long rectangle dies to get a small scallop, and a tag die shown a few steps farther on. (You could obviously use scalloping scissors for the scallop as well; I just prefer the embossed edge that my dies give me.) Finally, you will need a small piece of cardstock to stiffen up the apron base, as well as a teabag that you will be re-packaging. You're ready to get started!
Die cut the apron base from both the plain white cardstock and the small dotted patterned paper. (Save the little pockets; you'll need them later.) From the larger dotted paper, cut a third apron, which you will trim down to work as the tea bag holder pocket. Cut and emboss a scalloped border from a scrap of white cardstock using a long rectangle die, if you wish.
This is what the apron front, attached to the cardstock base, and the front pocket will look like. I simply trimmed a narrow strip from the long rectangle to work as my scalloped trim.
Next, sew the front of the apron on, and attach the small pockets from your original small-dotted background with foam tape.
For the tea bag holder, cut a strip of the starred paper to 2-3/8" x 6" long, then score it at 1" and 3-3/4". On the 1" end, use a corner rounder to round the paper corners, then fold the holder and sew the bottom part shut. (If you don't sew, Scor-Pal makes an amazing tear-able super-sticky tape that comes in a width as narrow as 1/8". It's as narrow as most seams, if you keep it on the very edge.) Insert your tea bag into the holder and fasten it shut. (I used the narrow super sticky tape that I just mentioned.)
Cut a couple of lengths of Lavender Moon Twill 10"-12" long and thread them through the apron holes for the neck and waist of the apron. If desired, stamp the duck from Bitty Baby Blessings on white shrink plastic with black Staz-On ink, color, and shrink. (I used my Copic markers, BUT I had to be very careful not to touch the Staz-On with the marker to prevent smearing. Colored pencils work on shrink plastic if you scuff it just a tiny bit.) Stamp and die cut the "Baby is Brewing" tag, and tie a length of cotton thread through the tag hole, before attaching the string on the back of the tea bag holder. If you'd like, attach rhinestones or pearls to the scallops.
You could also use the apron as a baby announcement,tucking an announcement behind the teabag, if you used a different saying. I love the Bitty Blessings Papers--so fresh and fun!
