How to Make Small Gift Bouquets

I have yet to meet somebody who doesn’t appreciate receiving a bouquet of flowers! There seems to be something extra special about receiving a bouquet of flowers that were grown by the person gifting! It is no secret that I love growing and gifting cut flowers, so I wanted to share a little bit about how to easily make cute little wrapped bouquets. These can contain as many or as few flowers as you want and include a temporary source of water so there is no need for a vase! These would be an adorable addition to a May basket (if you are fortunate enough to have flowers by then… I rarely do). Adding a piece of twine to connect to the paper would also allow it to be hung on someone’s door as a sweet surprise for when they get home. The possibilities are endless! Enough promoting… let’s get to it! 🙂

Supplies

• Kraft paper- more or less depending on size of bouquet. These are about 18X18 inches
• Rubber bands
• Twine- cut so you can wrap around the stems and tie a bow. These are about 10 inches.
• Plastic sandwich bag
• Paper towels
• Flowers
• Flower snips or scissors

Directions

1. Pick your flowers using a clean scissors or floral snips and allow them to rest in a bucket of water for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. This will allow the flowers to drink up a bunch of water and rehydrate so they can look their best for longer! (Pro tip: pick your flowers early in the morning or in the evening right before sunset as they tend to do better if picked during the cooler parts of the day. Morning is preferred as it is when they are the most hydrated).
2. Arrange your flowers in your hand. For these wrapped bouquets, the flowers will be viewed primarily from the top and one/front side. The rest will be covered by paper. Focus on making the areas of the bouquet that will be seen the prettiest!
3. Cut the stems so they are all close to the same length. This will not only make the bouquet easier to wrap, but cutting the stem also encourages the flowers to drink up some more water!
4. Use one of the rubber bands to secure your bouquet together. The easiest way to do this is by looping the rubber band around one or two of the strongest stems and then wrapping the rubber band around all the stems a couple of times before looping it on the larger stems again. Place in water until ready for the next step.
5. Soak a couple of paper towels with water and wrap them around the ends of the stems. Be sure to cover all of the ends.
6. Secure the plastic sandwich bag around the paper towels with another rubber band. If the outside of the bag is wet or leaking, use an additional bag or squeeze some water out of the paper towels. If the outside is wet, it will cause the kraft paper wrap to also get wet and be less cute!
7. Place your kraft paper on a solid surface so that it looks like a diamond with one end pointing away from you. Place your bouquet so that the flower tops sit within the paper but very near the top. Fold the corner nearest you up over the stems to cover your watering “plant diaper.” Fold or cut the paper as needed so it does not cover the front of your flowers.
8. Fold each edge over as if you are swaddling an infant. Take your twine and wrap it around the wrapped bouquet and tie it to secure your paper around your bouquet. Tie a bow to make it extra cute! 🙂
9. Deliver to your friends, family, and neighbors! Store upright during transport to prevent any water from leaking from the bag onto your paper.