DIY Parasol Drink Stirrer My Take

Remember those doily parasol drink stirrers that inspired this stirred not shaken project?

While pretty because the paper doily is embossed it is really hard to get a smooth finish and is a bit fussy to work with.

Solution? A dyed coffee basket filter and fringe! I just used a glue stick to attach it to my round light cardstock base and then used those cute pearl stickers you can find in any craft store to embellish the top.

The instructions for the doily parasol are over at Papermash in a PDF. My version has a larger base (about 3 1/2 inches diameter) and I used double sided tape to secure the cone seam.

TIP: Once you glue the doily or coffee filter to the base make sure you find the circle centre and make a mark and pencil in your cone cut. Decorate the top of the parasol before you cut the tensie triangle to make the cone shape making sure you don't decorate on the cone overlap.Cuticle scissors are ideal for making the fringe cuts.

DIY Not Today - Ride if you Can

There are two sports I follow without fail. One, you should know is Formula One auto racing and the other is road race cycling. Huh? You may have heard of it. A road race over three weeks - like the Tour de France?

Well there is this very nice Canadian, the only Canadian in a starting field of 198 riders who had a very bad day today. He is talented and tough. To give a perspective to finish the Tour de France is a milestone. To win the Giro d'Italia makes him the Sidney Crosby of the sport but to be a legend like Gretsky he had a chance to win the historic Tour de France in the same year. Until today.

His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he is one of the world's top athletes period. But some stupid guy touched wheels with another which caused almost half of the riders in the peleton to go down. Unfortunately, his fellow team mates were in the wrong place and the entire team took a tumble except for two. This is unprecedented even for the Tour de France. They were going about 70 km per hour at the time of the crash.

Seriously, it was the worst accident I can remember at the Tour de France. But there is good news. No one died or was seriously injured although it is likely Ryder will not be able to continue. His Olympic bid is doubtful now too.

That's the thing about racing a Formula One car or a road bicycle that is so frustrating. Some idiot makes a mistake and your race is ruined. That's racing. It is a harsh reality but they are gladiators and I have no doubt Ryder will ride if he can.

Sometimes things come up that are more important than a post about drink stirrers. So I promise tomorrow my last installment on drink stirrers parasol pretty.

DIY Sailing Origami Drink Stirrer

This is my favourite drink stirrer as it's my idea & really fun for summer & the boat floats!  Remember that paper feather I made from an old map? I decided to use some remaining remnants for the origami boat and light card stock for my sail. The sailboat is a bit top heavy so this project really is more suitable for a tall drink.

Although you could make a little armada for a slab cake topper or reduce my dimensions for cup cakes. Since I am a newbie to origami I used the simple boat fold we all made as kids. The paper size I used was 4 1/2" by 3 1/2". You can find the boat origami instructions over at Origami Fun.  The sail I just freelanced making a right angle triangle putting two small holes about 1/4" from the top and bottom. Just remember to keep it to scale about 2 1/2 inches high. Piece the boat centre triangle with your skewer and slide the boat on then slide the sail on the skewer.

Smooth sailing!

DIY Easy Peasy Feather Drink Stirrer

This idea comes from 100 Layer Cake. I have a confession guys I don't even own a glue gun so I made a paper bead to affix the feather.

This way I can reuse the bead and feather. Since I don't have a bead tool I wrapped one layer of masking tape around a bamboo skewer to make additional space for the bead hole & feather. You can google paper beads as there are tons of instructions.

I used some magazine paper and made a strip about 6" long and 1/2" at the bottom making a long skinny triangle for the oblong bead. Once the bead is completed use the pointy end of the skewer to slide the bead off.
Remove the masking tape. Line up your feather to the top and bring the bead up from the bottom to cover about 1/4 " of the feather spine. Ta da you're done!

Sneak Peek - Drink Stirrers

Parasols, sail boats and feathers..

Three different drink stirrers for you to make. Seriously, so many ideas and most of them can be adapted for cupcake toppers or enlarged for a centerpiece.