Baby Washcloth Bouquets

In my world, social convention dictates that you must gift something thoughtful (it can be small!) when something new or exciting happens in a family member or close friend's life. In this case, my boyfriends cousins had just had new baby girls (yes - 2 different cousins had baby girls within 12 hours of each other!). I wanted to give something thoughtful and creative, so, as usual I trolled pinterest for an idea. I watched a youtube video outlining how to make a baby washcloth bouquet, and then I decided to give it a go. 

Items used: 1 piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper in whatever color/theme you think appropriate, rubber bands, double sided tape, baby washcloths and a little bit of tissue paper in whatever color you decide. 

I purchased three 6 packs of baby girl themed wash clothes at Target.

The video mentioned the importance of getting washcloths with a quilted edge, but I figured out a way around that. Before rolling the wash cloth into a "rose" I folded the edge of the washcloth to give it a quilted edge look. I chose to fold the edge with the tag on it so I could hide it. 

After rolling the washcloth, I folded up the bottom (about an inch and a half) and put a rubber band around it. I did this with all 18 wash clothes before moving on to creating the "bouquet".

To make the bouquet, you take a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper and fold it diagonally. You have to play with it to get the size and shape you want. Try to get as much of a funnel shape as possible. I used scotch double stick tape to keep the bouquet closed. Once the bouquet is taped and complete, I pushed down on it to flatten it a little bit. This allows for the bouquet to look a little more open and lets you see the "roses" better once they are put in. 

I took a little bit of pink tissue paper and stuffed it in the bouquet before adding the "roses".

Next I just started adding the washcloths. You have to play around with them to get them to fit. Getting the last one in is sometimes challenging, especially because the bottoms are thicker than the tops. I would recommend starting with the ones in the back since those should be the tallest. I also made sure to spread out the different patterns/colors of the washcloths as evenly as possible.

As mentioned previously, there were 2 babies, so I made 2 bouquets. Here is the second one. 

Here is an example of a bouquet I made for a colleague who was having a boy. I added a ribbon on this one. The ribbon does not stay in place on it's own given the conical shape of the bouquet, so in about 3-4 spots around the bouquet I put a drop of hot glue to keep it in place. 

Happy baby gifting!