There are many, many individuals in my life that deserve an expression of gratitude and what better way to say Thank You than with a pretty potted plant? I found a small-ish, generic plastic pot for a steal at my local garden center and quickly grabbed it up (it was only $.75!) and to fill it, found a new, small-ish white geranium plant for only $.99! I knew right away that I could dress up the set with May Arts Ribbon to make it look spectacular and fancy, and quite meaningful too!

To dress up the planter and add a way to express my thanks, I gathered up about 1 foot of the new May Arts 1.5” Cotton Stripes Ribbon in Cranberry (385-15-25) and Burlap String (SM-25). I also needed a butterfly die, coordinating patterned paper, a wooden skewer and two stick pins. I pre-cut my fabric covered cardstock labels and stamped a greeting on one of them.

The first step in decorating the planter is to measure the amount of wide ribbon, enough to wrap around the pot and give you a bit of leeway. Gather the two ends together with a stick pin. The next step is to attach to the pot with a bit of glue- I used glue dots in both the front and back of the pot. To create the butterfly (step 3) die cut two pieces out of patterned paper and punch two holes in the center. The final step is to attach the butterfly to the planter with burlap string by wrapping the string underneath the band of ribbon and tying a bow in the center of the butterfly.

The end result is fun and cute, with lots of dimension and texture, and certainly dresses up a cheap planter!

For a greeting in lieu of a card, I attached two labels to a skewer that had been wrapped at the top with the burlap string. To coordinate with the pot, I die cut another two butterflies from patterned paper. However, this time I wrapped a stick pink in burlap string and allowed extra for the antennae. The butterfly was then attached to the label with glue.

I hope I’ve inspired you to dress up a new or old planter with May Arts Ribbon to give as a gift or for yourself! There is sure to be coordinating ribbon and string to match whatever color of plastic planter you choose, as May Arts offers a variety of colors in both styles! Here are some other options that you can use this tutorial for:

• Change up the greeting on the skewer to read “get well soon” and deliver it to a hospital patient or a friend recovering from an illness.

• Change up the greeting on the skewer to read “congratulations” and make up a few in your school colors for centerpieces at your graduation party, or decorate with baby or wedding products for a shower. Guests can take them home as door prizes!

Blog post by: Karen Baker