Homemade confetti tutorial

I love a wedding.

I have had the pleasure of being involved in many weddings this year through the handcrafted bespoke gifts in my Etsy shop.

Some have been made for strangers who have found my personalised items though Google or Etsy searches and some have been for friends of friends. I like this type of order as I get to hear some of the feedback.

Last week I made two frames for a colleague and after returning from one of the weddings this week he volunteered the following feedback from the groom: "Mate, I f***ing love what you gave me, it's brilliant. Better than all the other c**p we got!".

I think roughly translated that means he liked it! Praise indeed.

I think whenever you give a wedding gift it should show the couple how much you care about them. It should be something that's chosen with love, and if it's handmade with a personal touch, specifically for the happy couple, then even better.

I've been to one wedding this summer and of course, I made a map frame for the bride and groom, with a map showing the location of the church and reception venue. But with by brain on 'handmade' overdrive I started thinking about other ways I could bring something individual, made with love and care, to this special day.

I am also incapable of throwing anything away, so this project was just perfect. I was recently ill and off work and my colleagues sent a huge bunch of gorgeous peonies and roses. I was really disappointed when they started to go over, past their best but just in time I found inspiration to make something with them. We also had a few rain damaged roses which, once they'd spent a day in the sunshine drying out, were ideal for this project.  Never again will I think in despair "what can I do with dying flowers?".

An added advantage of this wonderful confetti - as if it could't get any better - is that it is completely biodegradable.

I am off to a wedding again on Friday and my homemade confetti will be coming with me!

Homemade confetti tutorial 

Step 1 - Choose your flowers. I use roses and peonies as the petals seem to dry to a nice crisp finish and they don't take too long. I tried it with purple Lisianthus but the petals were just too waxy and they didn't dry out at all. Even if your blooms are on the turn, they'll still be fine for homemade confetti, as long as they haven't completely shrivelled up.

Step 2 - Line a few baking trays or cardboard boxes / lids with kitchen roll. Gently remove the petals one by one from the flower head. Lay out each petal on the kitchen towel making sure that the petals do not touch. If they do they will dry together. It will take up quite a bit of kitchen roll to keep them spaced out properly but they can be condensed in the next step.

Step 3 - Leave the petals to dry in a cool and shady place, away from direct sunlight. After a couple of days, the petals will have started to dry out and will have reduced in size. At this stage you can condense down the number of trays you need as the petals can be moved closer together. Repeat this step every four or five days. As you remove the kitchen towel you can fold it and keep it for the next confetti project. Waste not, want not! 

Step 4 - Once the petals have completely dried - around three weeks - they can be gathered up and stored. I have kept some in jars and some in paper bags. If you use jars, leave the lid off or make sure it isn't sealed as this can make the petals soften again and sometimes they will start to smell. I took my confetti to the wedding in a handmade paper bag by following this tutorial by Hello Sandwich. I omitted the handles and instead folded the top over and secured with washi tape.