Join Angela as she shares 3 projects, perfect for adding some handmade touches to your spring celebrations. Birthdays? Mother’s Day brunch? She’s got you covered!
Are you the type that enjoys hosting and entertaining? I certainly do, and especially when there’s a little crafting involved in the preparation. Florals are pretty synonymous with spring celebrations, and in today’s video, I’ll show you how to create a paper bouquet, personalized (and reusable) place cards, and coordinating gift boxes with a few of my favorite products from the Essentials by Ellen line. I’ve incorporated a mix of newer and old classic items, and my hope is that you’ll finish watching this video with new ideas for stretching those supplies you already own. You’ll also find a few tips and tricks for each project below.
The Color Palette
While planning, I found myself gravitating towards some traditional spring floral colors. I decided to lean into pinks, oranges, and warmer green tones.
- Pink/Coral: Concord & 9th Honeysuckle and Ballet Slipper; Catherine Pooler Coral Cabana and Do-si-do
- Orange: CP Apricot and Mandarin Spice
- Green: Catherine Pooler Spruce, Eucalyptus and Matcha
On the cardstock front, I didn’t use any greens but went for a variety of pinks and oranges that closely matched the inks:
- Concord & 9th – Honeysuckle, Sorbet, Ballet Slipper, and Grapefruit
- Hero Arts – Peony
- The Stamp Market – Bubble Gum
Project 1: Reusable Place Cards
TIPS
- You can foil over your ink blending if you like, but I prefer to foil first so that I have more control over where the color appears on the marbling. As an added bonus, this method doesn’t require that your ink blending is completely dry. (If you ink blend first, be sure to let it dry completely to prevent foiling issues.)
- You’ll be able to create 2 place cards for every A2 marble-foiled panel you make, and if you use the Essentials by Ellen Press Plate to reverse-foil your leftovers, you’ll get 4 – your originals, plus 2 very shiny ones. That’s a great way to avoid wasting foil, and a big timesaver if you need to make lots of place cards.
- As the name implies, these place cards are reusable! The pull-out piece where guests’ names are written are the only part that needs to be recreated to use them again in the future (unless of course, the same people are coming to future parties!)
- Be sure to die cut and stamp some extra flowers and leaves from the Painted Florals set so that you can use them to decorate the second project. I like to use a jig method for this as it saves time when creating multiples.
Project 2: Marble Treat Box
TIPS
- To make the Two-in-One Box, you’ll need to make 2 die cuts with the largest die in the set. I did this on A2 panels, foiled with the Essentials by Ellen Marble Hot Foil Stamp. You’ll be thrilled to know that the Two-in-One Box die fits perfectly on these panels! Just be sure to create one of your die cuts with the marble pattern face down so that you can assemble the box with the foiled pattern showing on all sides.
- To make the band, I adhered 1/8″ strips to a strip of white typing paper, all of which were 11″ long. This will be just long enough to wrap around the widest part of the gift box with a little overlap. To ensure the band bends in the right places, you’ll want to score it at 2″, 3.5″, 7 3/8″ and 8 7/8″
- To make it easy for the recipient to open the box, add the ribbon after the band, securing it near the area where the ends of the band overlap, then adhering the Painted Floral cluster on top. This way, the recipient can slide the whole thing off (and back on, if they like) in one piece.
Project 3: Paper Flower Bouquet
TIPS
- I used 12 circles for each “flower”, each cut from 85lb cardstock. The more you use, the more full the flowers will look.
- Most die cutting machines can cut through 2 layers of 85lb cardstock, so feel free to double up when you’re die cutting the stitching lines into the circles.
- You can try using liquid glue for attaching the skewers, but I found that my glue gun gave a much stronger, instant hold. I chose to apply the glue between the layers of paper where my stitched seam was tied off so that the knot stays completely hidden.
- Try cutting different circle sizes and skewer lengths to give variety to the height of your paper bouquet.
Bonus: You can also use the smaller paper flowers as cupcake toppers, and the larger Happy Birthday as a cake topper (where you may want to add 2 skewers instead of just one).
I hope these projects have left you feeling excited and inspired to do some crafting and entertaining of your own. You’ll find a list of all supplies used below. If you decide to try any of these, I’d love for you to tag myself (@mycraftyperspective) and @ellenhutsonllc on Instagram. We can’t wait to see what you create!
Supplies
