Fabric and Paper Boutonnieres

I finally got around to doing some craftiness after a nice long break over the holiday! Today's craft: boutonnieres!

I wanted to incorporate fabric since the bouquets are all made out of fabric, too, but also wanted to do something a little different.  Ted and I met online, and his screen name was "the_ingles" (to which I asked, "from Little House on the Prairie?" and he replied, "no... 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'..." You might be able to see where our interests differ....).  Since I'm crafty with fabric and he's a big reader, this was the perfect combination, much like us, if I do say so myself ;)


Step 1: Paper Flowers

I got the paper flower idea from this blog - my flowers are nowhere near as pretty as hers, but it's the basic idea that counts!! Rather than being a jerk of a lady and cutting up his favorite book (!!), I printed off a few pages of it that I found online and used that to cut out flowers!

Supplies

Spool of thin wire that can be cut with regular scissors
Printed paper of your choosing!
Hot glue gun

Cut out little petal shaped pieces of paper - the first one or two should be very narrow and curled up around the wire. From there they get wider and rounder on the edges - fold the base just a smidge and keep adding until the flower is the size you want!  (See the aforementioned blog for detailed instructions!!)


Step 2: Fabric Leaves

For this part, I was lucky enough to have scrap fabric in all of my wedding colors. I imagine getting married in our yard and color-coordinating with the venue played a part ;)  (Thanks kitchen window, dining chair covers, and ottoman pillows!!)

Supplies

Fabric (I chose heavier-weight, upholstery fabric for the leaves to withstand weather, hugs, cold feet...)
Felt for the backing
Thin wire that can be cut by scissors
Heavy bond iron-on adhesive (I used Heat n' Bond Ultra Bond)
Iron
Pinking Shears

First I cut out a little template on cardboard and cut out all of my pieces.  Technically you should lay out your fabric, iron on the adhesive, and THEN cut out the pieces, but frankly I forgot and also I'm cheap and used less iron-on material this way!  Just remember - if it's not perfectly straight, you'll get adhesive on your ironing board, so I used parchment paper as a back-up stickiness mat.  I am speaking from experience here, you don't want adhesive all over your ironing board!!  Iron on the adhesive to the backside of your fabric, but not the felt! That comes next :)

Then I took the wire and assembled them so they were like a little tree - one long one in the center, and then two shorter side ones that are all wrapped together. This will help the leaves bend in different directions if you choose to have them lean back or forward, and also just to keep them from flopping over!

I then laid the wire tree on the felt, put the sticky side of the fabric leaf on top, and ironed them together.  I used the pinking shears to make serrated leaf edges, and voila! You have most of your leaf!


Step 3: Embellishments

I wanted a little something extra, so I bought some dried flower filler in yellow, put hot glue on the end of a piece of wire and jammed it in there!  Very scientific, I know!!  It adds a pop of color and is super easy (clearly!).  Anything will work though, dried flowers, little paper stamens, etc.!

Supplies

Any embellishment you'd like
Same thin wire
Same hot glue
Floral tape

From there I wrapped together all of the pieces of wire for all 3 parts. Then I took some floral tape (it comes in green, brown, or white, FYI!) and wrapped up the whole thing. Protip: stretch as you go, it's what makes it stick to itself!  I took a pen, wrapped it around it in a little curly-Q and voila!  I have a REAL boutonniere and it didn't really take that long!  And definitely didn't cost very much at all!

And for your viewing pleasure, the whole wedding party (men, at least) pile o' boutonnieres is below!  We have the groom's on the top left (he is special so he gets 2 leaves!), 3 groomsmen next to his, and 1 officiant! The bottom row's set is for dads, stepdads, and granddads!

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