When we first bought our first house as a married couple I was so excited about moving in and meeting neighbors, finding new friends and building a community. I guess I had grand illusions of living on the same street As Leave it to Beaver, I thought people would be dropping by with plates of cookies and we would be hanging out on the front porch sipping tea. But, it didn’t work quite like that and I was a little disappointed. Which is why I decided to make an effort to be the “welcoming committee” and set out with neighborhood gifts to meet people. We ended up making fabulous friends and even though we moved into a new neighborhood and home we still hang out with them. So, when some new neighbors moved in from out of state down the street from us I decided to welcome them with a Texas size hello and a Welcome to the Neighborhood Gifts!
Right now I am obsessed with the new Make Market line at Michaels and I grabbed a few supplies including lots of their new denim products to put together my Texas goodie bag. This gift is incredibly easy to make, but it’s a gesture with BIG heart and can be translated to fit a variety of occasions.
Supplies:
- Make Market™ Burlap Bag
- Make Market™ Denim Pocket Banner, 8 Pcs.
- Make Market™ Denim Flags
- Make Market™ Clothespins – Cork
- Make Market™ Denim Washi Tape
- Make Market™ Stretched Denim Canvas, small
- Make Market™ Chalkboard Ribbon
- White Iron-on Vinyl or White Paint
- Jute Twine or Bakers Twine
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue
Cut a denim pocket from the Make Market™ Denim Pocket Banner. Lay out your burlap bag and decide on the placement for the pocket. Use a hot glue gun to secure the pocket to the burlap bag.
Next, gather your small stretched denim canvas to make your Texas coasters. I thought these little canvases were the perfect size for coasters and after making my Home State Burlap Canvas I’ve loved adding our Lone Start State to everything and thought these would be a fun little gift to include in our Welcome to the Neighborhood Gift bag. I cut out the Texas shape on my Cricut in white iron-on vinyl. Carefully iron on the states to your denim coasters. You could also use white paint and paint the image on if you don’t have vinyl.
I am obsessed with the new chalkboard ribbon at Michaels, it is so fun to personalize and goes with just about anything. I measured how much I would need to wrap up my coasters and then I wrote “Welcome to Texas Y’all!” on the ribbon and tied up the Texas coasters. It’s all about the details, don’t you love it?!
Now it’s time to fill your welcome bag with things you love and want to share with your new neighbors. Here is a list of what I included in our Texas themed goodie bag, Chips, Salsa, Jalapeno Cheddar Pecan Dip, Texas shaped cookies, Denim Washi Tape Wooden Utensils, Drinks, the D Magazine cookbook, a notebook with important information, phone numbers and recommendations for places we like to eat, go for family entertainment, ect (it is not shown in the pictures, it’s down inside the gift bag.)
Inside the denim pocket I slipped a little welcome note and included my phone number, you know just in case they need to borrow a cup of sugar. 🙂
There you have it, a very simple Welcome to the Neighborhood Gift that just takes a few of your favorite things, some fun craft supplies and a couple of minutes to put together, but it is sure to make a good impression and who knows maybe you’ll meet your new best friends!
I’m on a mission to meet all of my neighbors in our new neighborhood, so I want to hear your ideas for neighbor gifts. Share them with me in the comments below!
And don’t forget to stop by and check out all of the other great projects from the Michaels Makers team on The Glue String.
[…] Roasted Salsa. Or you can pick up a container of fresh made guacamole or my absolute favorite, Jalapeno Cheddar Pecan Dip. Either way, once you start snacking on these crispy chips it will be hard to […]