DIY Flower Girl Sand Pail

Make a sand pail a flower girl accessory with ribbon and flowers.

Tailoring traditional wedding elements to match the environment in which you hold the ceremony is an effective way to create a blended aesthetic, and it doesn't require a lot of work. For example, giving the flower girl a sand pail instead of a basket to carry flower petals is a way to connect the decorative feature to a beach wedding. To make the pail look appropriate for a wedding, trim it in ribbon and flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Spool ribbon, 1/2-inch-wide
• Hot glue
• Sand pail
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Spool ribbon, 1-inch-wide
• Fresh or silk flowers (enough to trim the top edge of the pail)
• Garden shears

Instructions

1. Apply a peppercorn-sized bead of hot glue to the loose end of a 1/2-inch wide spool of ribbon.

2. Press the glued ribbon end against the handle of a sand pail where the handle and pail meet. Wrap the ribbon diagonally across the handle until you cover it entirely in ribbon.

3. Cut the ribbon from the spool with scissors. Apply a bead of hot glue to the ribbon end. Press it to the handle to secure the ribbon wrapping.

4. Measure the circumference of the pail with measuring tape, just beneath the top, rolled edge of the container. Add 12 inches to the circumference to find your ribbon measurement

5. Cut a piece of 1-inch-wide ribbon to the length of your ribbon measurement. This is the foundation for the pail's decorative trimming.

6. Cut flowers with garden shears or large scissors to remove the pieces of the plant you do not want on the pail's trim. For example, trim small roses about one inch below the bloom or cut an orchid lei into one straight piece. Cut enough floral material to make a row as long as the pail's circumference.

7. Lay the 1-inch-wide ribbon on your work surface horizontally.

8. Apply a bead of hot glue to the top, center of the ribbon. Select the floral or leafy piece to place in the middle of the ribbon. This may be one flower or the center of one, long strand, depending on how you are embellishing the pail. Press the floral element in the glue.

9. Repeat the process across the ribbon to secure plant material to the ribbon. Leave 6 inches of ribbon unadorned on each side of the arrangement.

10. Apply a blueberry-sized bead of hot glue to the front, center of the pail, just below the top edge. Press the center, backside of the plant-embellished ribbon into the glue.

11. Apply a bead of hot glue on each side of the pail, just below the top edge. Pull each end around the pail, from the secured center to the side. Press each ribbon end to a bead of glue.

12. Pull the loose ends of the trimming material around to the backside of the container. Tie the bare ribbon ends into a bow, to finish securing the trim to the pail.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose flowers that are already apart of your decor so that the pail blends seamlessly into the event.

• If you use fresh flowers for the trim, you must decorate the bucket within 36 hours of the wedding so that the flowers do not wilt.