DIY Cocktail Umbrellas

We had a going away party for a friend who’s leaving Tokyo soon, and she’s always a fan of the fun cocktail stirrers that I make for our parties.  So naturally, I had to do something extra-special for her!  These are a little bit of a twist on the classic cocktail umbrellas; I used origami paper in traditional Japanese prints instead of something more tropical.  Then I added a little flag on the top with a personalized message for the occasion. 

Have I told you guys about my new toy yet?  I got a Silhouette Cameo for my birthday and I can’t stop making fun things with it.  It’s one of my favorite presents ever (and my husband is a very, very good gift giver).  I’ve made business cards, cupcake boxes, Fourth of July decorations, cards and gift tags.  And now these.  These cocktail umbrellas are so bright and colorful!  I can’t get enough of them, and they were really easy to make with the Cameo.  You don’t need one to make them, of course, it just makes it much easier!

A few notes: the files are set up to work on origami paper that is roughly 6 inches by 6 inches.  Hopefully you’ll be able to make do with that, and it’s easy enough to manipulate in Studio if you’re using different sized paper with your Silhouette.  If you’re using the .pdf form and you find you want it sized for different paper, just leave a comment and I can throw together something on an 8×10 or A4 really quickly.  If you don’t want to wait, you can always print one umbrella and use it as a stencil.

I think these would be great for any party or for a wedding if you wanted to print a personalized message directly on the umbrella itself.  They don’t take long to make, and you can put together an assembly line to get through them in no time flat!

Here are the files: 

With a Silhouette (The only way I can find to save a .studio3 file online is by saving it down to Google Drive then granting access to anyone with the link. Just a warning so you’re not sketched out when the link takes you to Google Drive.  I’m not trying to infect your computer, I swear!)

Without a Silhouette (.pdf file)

Cocktail umbrella flags for the top of the umbrella (.pdf file).  These are blank, so you’ll have to add your own text.

If you’d like the Silhouette file for the flags, just let me know in the comments and I can add it to the post. 

What you’ll need:

Really beautiful paper (I used origami paper)

Bamboo skewers

hot glue

a small bead that fits on the end of the skewer (optional, but mine were about 4mm beads)

a Silhouette or a pair of scissors

What to do if using a Silhouette (see below for non-Silhouette instructions):

1. Cut out the umbrellas on your Silhouette.

2. Fold along the perforated lines with the good side of the paper facing out.

3. Use a dab of glue to overlap the two wedges that are on either side of the cutout and form a shallow cone.

4. Put a dab of glue on the pointy end of the skewer.  Poke a hole in the center of the umbrella and push the paper down just a tiny bit, so the very end of the skewer is showing.  Hold in place while the glue cools so the umbrella stays straight.

5. Put another tiny dab of glue on the end of the skewer.  Glue the bead into place.

What to do without a Silhouette:

1. Get a Silhouette.  I am in love with mine.  🙂

2. Print the outline of the umbrella on the wrong side of your paper. Cut out the umbrella.

2. Fold the paper to make creases that go from the center of the umbrella to each pointy tip of the umbrella’s edge.  Keep the good side of the paper facing out for all of the folds.

3. Use a dab of glue to overlap the two wedges that are on either side of the cutout and form a shallow cone.

4. Put a dab of glue on the pointy end of the skewer.  Poke a hole in the center of the umbrella and push the paper down just a tiny bit, so the very end of the skewer is showing.  Hold in place while the glue cools so the umbrella stays straight.

5. Put another tiny dab of glue on the end of the skewer.  Glue the bead into place.

Last year: DIY Vanilla Waffle Cones or Bowls for your sundaes.  It’s not too late to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.