100 Layer Cake

Good morning, glories! We thought we’d start the week off with a super cute little project from Brittni of papernstitch. Remember her sweet wedding to hubby Jeff? Followed by her lovely tutorial on being your own florist?

She’s popping over today with this fun idea for escort cards. And don’t worry if making 175 of these doesn’t seem feasible for your largish wedding (we know some of you are having that sort!), these would also make really sweet decorations for the ceremony perhaps? Maybe as table numbers? You can get creative.

So without further ado, we’re going to turn things over to B…

“Horse show ribbons have been making their way into décor lately, and I thought the look could easily be translated into a unique form of wedding place cards, that could also double as a favor for guests to take home as a keepsake.

“There aren’t many supplies needed for this tutorial, just a couple of things you can pick up at any local craft store. The materials needed include: ribbon (thin, easy bendable, wire ribbon is suggested), thin wood or chipboard circles (any size, but we used a mixture of 2 and 4 inch circles), craft glue, scissors, paint (optional), and access to a printer.

Prepping a couple of items ahead of time will help save time later. So, start with painting your wood or chipboard medallions with acrylic paint or enamel, if you would prefer the woodgrain not to show through. Several coats may be necessary depending on how porous the material.

While waiting for the circles to dry, design and print table numbers and name plates. Simple is perfectly fine here, since the ribbons themselves are a lot of look. I chose academy engraved LET Plain as my font, surrounding by a thin circular border. I suggest using Photoshop, Pixelmator, or some other comparable editing tool. Once those are printed, cut out the table numbers and use a paper cutter, if possible, to cut the name plates apart. Set aside the names for later and glue the table numbers onto your now dry wood circles.

The next step is the most time consuming. There is a bit of a learning curve here, but once you get the hang of it, its really simple. Grab your ribbon and starting at one end, begin folding the ribbon in even increments, holding the inside part of the fold (see image). Use your index finger to guide the ribbon towards the inside, eventually creating a circle.

You will use about a yard of ribbon (maybe more depending on size) for each finished piece. Run a bead of craft glue around the inner ring of the now ribbon circle, when it is face up. Place the wood circle, that now has the table number glued on to it, on top and press down until secure. I used a quick tack glue, so the materials would bond quickly.

Once dry, cut extra pieces of ribbon to hang from the bottom. Add your print-out name plates that were cut out earlier. And glue all pieces to the back of the wood medallion (there still should be some room). Turn back over. Fluff. And you are all done! Hang with a sewing pin on a framed piece of fabric-covered cork, and you have the perfect place card for an outdoor farm wedding.”

Pretty cute, no?

Thanks so much for sending over such a great project, Brittni! The rest of you, don’t you want to decorate your house with these?

Have a most excellent week!