Last night I whipped up a triple batch of The Man's favorite chocolate chip cookie dough, gingerbread and sugar cookie dough and popped it all in the freezer. Sometime in the next few days we'll do some baking and take treats to friends around the city. I also did some laundry and wrapped some gifts. Things are looking pretty pulled together around here.
I was looking at some wedding blogs and magazines this week that had all sorts of card boxes
where guests can place cards and enveloped gifts. There are so many really creative, colorful, very vintage-y options out there, lots of vintage suitcases and birdcages. But I was thinking about trying something a little simpler.
So I experimented with making a quick cards garland to string across the lid of this wicker box from Thailand using Martha Stewart glitter. You may remember I won a large collection of glitter from Martha last year. So I have to give the lovely people at Martha Stewart a big thank you.
Since there is definitely going to be a woven materials vibe going with the wedding, I thought this box I got years ago on a business trip to Thailand would be perfect - and free. I'm learning that every little penny counts when trying to keep a handle on a budget you have set for yourself. Speaking of budget, this entire project was free- everything used I already had.
First I used some scrapbooking punch-out block letters. I chose green since I wanted green to be the base color for the letters. I used thick craft glue and a paint brush to cover the surface of each letter with glue. Then I sprinkled glitter liberally all over the letters. Once they was dry, I shook off each letter, then painted the letters again with glue and added another layer of glitter on top. In the end I had three layers of glitter. I think I could have done more.
Using a paper cutter, I cut up a sheet of heavy watercolor paper into strips that were about two inches by four inches. Next I punched two holes across the top of each rectangle for the ribbon or cord to thread through. I glued each letter onto a rectangle piece of watercolor paper. I glued them about one-third the distance from the top, so that I had room to cut the pointed edges along the bottom and still have a nice border below each letter.
Then I snipped the bottom corners at 45-degree angles to get the point corners. You can measure this if you are more comfortable having a firm mark to aim for on each cut. The final step was to thread a piece of cord through each letter. The biggest trick is to try not to touch the glitter because it will damage it. You can always go back and do easy repairs with more glue and glitter if you need to.
You could also add more pizzazz to these by gluing these flags onto a pretty patterned paper that is slightly larger. Then trim it so it's about 1/4" larger than the white flag all the way around for a sassy border.
The final step is to clean glitter up from every surface of your home, your hair and your face for the next ten days. Then you're done. Haa, I kid, I kid. But seriously beautiful, fine, powdery, glistening glitter like I used gets everywhere. I had it behind my ear, in my hair and all over in my pajamas yesterday morning when I woke up. Anticipate a bit of a mess. I was being super careful and tidy in my work, so you can imagine how much worse it can get.
This was a super easy project and one anyone can do. I might keep experimenting with a little more color as a background pattern before I make a final decision. Small garlands like this can be used in so many ways to make informing others of helpful information or directions or making bold statements like "EAT CAKE!" both creative and fun. Try whipping one up today. Bet you have everything you need right in your supply cupboard.
images by kalanicut
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