DIY Teabags: Love & Other Indoor Sports

i've always been a letter writer. back when it was not so cool to hand write notes, after the charm of typewriters, but before the efficiency and ease of computers and emails, i gave myself hand cramps writing long letters. and back then, letters took 2 weeks to get around the world.

my first year away from the gparents i wrote them every few weeks, in english. for the first few letters, peter would read them for any minor corrections. i took to signing off a variety of different ways, depending on my mood they ranged from "sincerely" to "yours very truly", somewhat formal right? until i came upon a phrase that really sparked my interest: "love & other indoor sports". let it be known, at the age of 11 i had no idea what other indoor sports meant, for all i knew, it could've meant ballet, ping pong or darts. it never occurred to me that it meant s-e-x! that is, until peter questioned me. i think he asked me what it meant and i told him that i saw it in a book (i'm pretty sure it was a judy blume book. she is so win!) and that it's how everyone signed their letters. he let it go and nothing ever came of it but i loved the sign off so much that i used it all the time.

then i figured out what it really meant. and now i sign my notes love & sunshine.

there you have it, i was a regular 5th grade letter writing renegade. and i still write letters on special occasions, in pen & cursive. it's a dying art.

at a recent bridal shower i attended for a friend i purchased a very simple tea box but to add a bit of creativity to the gift, i hand sewed teabags, complete with personalized tags. it's not much, something very easy to create but still has that touch of something personal.

DIY Teabags

inspired & adapted from yours truly, G

you will need:

coffee filters, cut into 12mmX5mm rectangles, folded

loose tea

needle & thread

stapler

construction paper

you can follow along from the original post & use two separate pieces of coffee filter or you can be lazy & just fold over filter, hand sew along two sides of the bags, dump in the loose tea & then fold over the top, sew it shut, leave some extra thread & voila. add in an even more personal touch, throw in tags along with some love advice.

i will say that if you have a sewing machine, it'll probably take you no time at all. for me, i don't have one. it took me about 15 minutes per teabag. it did not look professional, it'd be a stretch to call them cute, but they were a hit with the bride and really, that is all i cared about.

for the bride, obviously i wish her love & other indoor sports.