Tutorial Tuesday: DIY Drink Umbrellas . . .

I just love finding a new project that I can't wait to start designing a custom version of . . . and these handmade drink umbrellas are absolutely no exception.  As of late, I have been all about retro striped straws with personalized flags, in fact, I was just making a few for my son's upcoming birthday party this Saturday (did I mention it was his FIRST??!!)

But my obsession is slowly changing to these swanky swirlies and I can't think of a better way to celebrate all that summer vacation means than to spruce up your next refreshing cocktail with one of these beauties.

Here's how it's done . . .

Handmade Drink Umbrellas


Difficulty Level: Easy!

Supplies You Will Need: 

~ Decorative thick paper, cardstock, or a custom template

~ Wooden skewers or toothpicks

~ Scissors

~ Circle cutter (optional, but useful) 3" is perfect-scalloped or straight edge, whatever you prefer . . .

~ Glue

~ Double sided tape 

~ bead (optional)

~ a cold drink:)

***trouble-shooting tip: If you are using your own patterned paper, you can just trace a can or glass to make your circle templates.  Make sure they are at least 3 inches in diameter or the umbrellas will be too small.

1.) First, use your circle cutter (or hand cut) 3" circles on a 12″x12″ sheet of paper (your standard size of decorative paper from Michael's). You can get 12 3″ circles out of one sheet.

2.) Draw a line from the bottom to the middle of the circle and cut along the line with your scissors . . .

3.) Overlap the cut edges about 1/4" & attach with glue or double-sided tape

4.) Put a drop of glue in the inside point of each umbrella and poke the sharp end of the toothpick or skewer through.  You can glue a bead to the outside point of the toothpick if you would like to fancy things up a bit . . .

5.) Let dry, pop into your favorite cocktail, & enjoy!

A few examples to get your inspiration ball rolling:

You can never get enough black & white damask . . . 

Breezy & Beautiful Floral Summer Stunners . . .

Festive Red, White, & Blue...perfect for a summer BBQ or 4th of July picnic, no?

A gorgeous set of personalized umbrellas (by Posh Paperie)

And my personal absolutely fab favorite, the ever beautiful dyed lace doily  . . .

So cute, kitschy, & fun . . . and the perfect little project to make your next summer shindig a memorable one!

Partial Tutorial Courtesy of The Wedding Bee

Partial Tutorial Courtesy of Swanky Press