Custom Cards for Flower Bouquet

I recently had the immense pleasure of seeing my friends perform at Ringstar Studio in Ann Arbor! The studio specializes in circus/acrobatics type stuff, including lyra, aerial silks, aerial chains, aerial pole, and other stuff I don't even know about! Think cirque du soleil, but not as high off the ground.

In anticipation for my friend's performances, I knew I wanted to make them something unique that was related to what they do at that studio. I decided to put a small twist on a classic: bring them flowers, but add in custom cards that relate to their performances!

The showcase included many people who are regulars at the studio performing original choreography, which was amazing! I am so in awe of their work, and I'm glad I got to express that through this little gift. I hope you'll find it helpful for gift-giving in the future!

These are the supplies I used just to make the cards themselves:

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Cardstock (various colors)
• Sharpie
• Mod podge/tape runner (just something to adhere the paper together)
• Tissue paper (various colors)
• Chenille sticks (any color, but you will only need one - you could also trade this for floral card picks, I didn't have any on hand)
• Hot glue

You'll also probably want:

• A bouquet of flowers (I got mine from the grocery store)
• Regular tape

I've written about the general process for creating & assembling multi-layered designs here, so I won't spend too much time on it in this instructable.

Basically, once you have the design you want and in a png/jpeg/svg format, you can cut it out on the Cricut. I have made the cricut projects themselves available below:

Luisa Madrigal (from Encanto)

"C'mon cirque du soleil!" (quote from Shuga Cain on RuPauls Drag Race Season 11)

Note that the RPDR quote has a design that needs to be paid for (the flower). You can always change the background and keep the front image!

Once you cut it out, you will have multiple pieces. I am using Luisa as an example here, but you will layer them so that you get the effect/image that you are going for. I used mod podge to attach the layers, but you could also use a glue stick or anything else that is adhesive to your liking.

After this step, you will have finished the assembly of the designs!

This step depends mostly on what you decide to use. If you use a chenille stick, then you may want to add tissue paper on the back to add some support for keeping the card up. If you use the regular card holder for a bouquet, you probably won't need it (though it will look nice!).

This step isn't too precise, so I'll just give you the gist:

1. You'll want to take a square of tissue paper and in the center, twist it a bit so it looks like a flower. You'll want to do this until it will appear out of the back of the design you use (like the image.)
2. Using a hot glue gun, put some glue on the back of your design and attach the tissue paper (keep the part you twisted in the center out).
3. Now that you have the back sticking out, twist the chenille stick around the part you twisted. You can also use hot glue to secure them together.
4. Now, you are done! Adjust the tissue paper in the front to your own taste/needs.

I don't have any background in flower arranging, I just went with making something I generally thought would be pretty. I have some tips I can offer based off of what I did:

1. Take apart the bouquets when you start. Since these cards are designed to be looked at head-on (not from above), I found it was easier to just take the flowers apart and then arrange them around my card.
2. Don't be afraid to prop it up on something in the bouquet. Since the chenille sticks are a little flimsy, you may find that you need to put it in front of something sturdier. For the quote bouquet, I ended up wrapping the chenille stick around a thicker branch that was included in the arrangement.
3. Use tissue paper to add some (more) color. I reused the wrapper that it comes with from the store in addition to some that I added from home. I wanted something that could lie flat, so instead of putting the wrapper on the way it was, I folded it and used it in the very back. Ultimately, the bouquets could be lied flat, and the back had plenty of protection.
4. You'll want some tape to put everything back together. I reused the rubber bands that came with the flowers, but I had added layers and rearranged the design so I felt it wasn't enough. Feel free to add some tape too for extra security.
5. Have fun! I took an open mind to this part of the project since I didn't have any experience, and I think it turned out pretty good!

You can see me with my friends holding their bouquets! I'm so proud of them and I think these custom cards are a really great way to show support!

I hope these turn out well for you and your loved ones!