Bloom Pencil Bouquet Tutorial

So, here’s my teacher appreciation gift for this year.  If you follow Whipperberry, you might think I totally copied their version here.  And, really who could blame me if I had, right?  They always make great stuff!  But, no, this one I had done and finished before I even saw theirs- so how’s that for great minds thinking alike, right?
The kids’ teachers are always asking for classroom donations for things like pencils and glue, so this was a way to give them something they use/need and making it cute to boot!
Want to make your own pencil bouquet?  Look no further. 🙂

First, the supplies.  You will need a container to hold the bouquet.  I used these metal buckets, but you could use a clay flower pot or other container.  Floral foam, paper, pencils, flower punches and thumb tacks.

Punch your flower shapes out of various pattern and colors of paper.  I used three different flower shapes, but you can do what you like. 🙂

Put the floral foam in the bottom of the container.
Layer the flowers in a pleasing layout and poke a thumbtack through the center.
Push the thumb tack through the eraser of one pencil.
Repeat with the remaining flowers/ pencils.
Push the pencils into the floral foam to create your arrangement.  I did not sharpen my pencils first.

Next I made a tag using my word processor.  The font is stinkerella/stinkzilla from www.kevinandamanda.com.  They have fantastic free fonts!
I used a plastic template I have to get the tag shape, but it would be fairly simple to just free hand one.  I used small flower punch outs for the ‘o’s in bloom. (just stating the obvious)

I filled the bottom of the bucket with leftover Easter candy. (shhh…don’t tell)  You could use whatever you want, but I didn’t cover the foam with anything so using wrapped candy was a must for me.  If you want to use jellybeans or m&m’s or some other unwrapped candy, put some plastic wrap over the foam before you push in the pencils. (you’ll probably want to use sharp pencils if you do this.)

You’re almost there!  They’re cute, but not quite finished.

Tie a ribbon around the bucket, add your tag, and NOW you’re done with your pencil bouquet!!  See, doesn’t that make all the difference in the world?

Now go say thank you to a teacher- it’s the nice thing to do. 🙂
xoxo,
Amy

p.s. I LOVE how the girls at Whipperberry used ribbon on each pencil, so I’d probably add that to my pencil bouquet next time. 😉

Linked up to Whipperberry’s Friday Flair party.