Have a Tissue, Please

Somewhere, I heard that people need to see a name at least three times before they’ll remember it, so the key to name recognition is to make sure people see your name. With that in mind, I’m always looking for little things to give away. I know authors who spend big bucks on giveaway items like pens, magnets and other cool items to keep their names out there. My advertising budget isn’t so big – but I have a huge fabric stash, so when my scrapbooking friend Katie showed me a little tissue pack that she made out of scrap fabric I was thrilled! It just takes five little pieces of material and a few minutes of cutting, pinning and sewing. My only “cost” was for the labels I had printed up from StickerYou.com and a little time.

These are so simple and quick to make! Here’s what you need:

Fabric:

Three pieces cut 4” by 5-3/4”

Two pieces cut 4” by 4”

Normally I wouldn't select five different colors or prints, but I thought it might be easier to see the process with different colors.

Place one of the rectangle pieces FACE UP. This is your base.

Fold one of your other rectangle pieces in half the long way, RIGHT SIDE OUT. Pin it to a long edge of the base with all three cut sides together.

Fold one of the square pieces in half RIGHT SIDE OUT and pin it to a short edge of the base. Again, put all cut edges together.

Repeat with the last rectangle piece,

And again with the last square piece. Tuck one end of the last square piece under the first rectangle. I didn't like how the black square looked against the dark green, so I cut another square out of the flower print.

Sew around all edges. The sewing machine would work just fine, but my serger was all set up - plus it's faster and leaves neater seams on the inside.

Turn the entire case right side out.

Fill with a travel size tissue pack. It works better if you take the tissues out of the plastic pack, but for giveaways I keep them in so folks know that I haven’t handled the tissues.

For marketing purposes I iron on a name label with my website on it. That way, readers can see my name every time they open their purses!

I love the fact that I can use leftover scraps for this project. I’m always sewing, so I always have scraps. Sometimes I feel like matching, sometimes I want to coordinate – and sometimes I just feel crazy! I’ve given away a lot of these, so I really need to get to work making more.