10 Minute Spring DIY Hostess Gift

Our lovely neighbors invited us down to dinner this weekend to say farewell to winter and hello to spring, so I planned to take a little hostess gift. I find that hostess gifts are much more common here in Germany than back in the US, so we usually bring something when we're invited somewhere. Last time it was a little candle and some pom-pom flowers, this time some fresh spring flowers seemed more appropriate.

Giving potted plants is a common here, but you usually need to add a little "oomph", right? Shops will generally add a decorative flower pick (Blumenstecker) and then wrap the whole thing up in miles of cellophane and ribbons, so I took my cue from one of Allison's Hippity-Hop Projects and made my own Blumenstecker.

Disclaimer: I was in a hurry, so my project is not as nice as hers AND because I rushed, I made a mistake, so I suggest you grab the free bunny pattern here and check out the proper how-to instructions here.

If you're in a rush, you can do what I did in 10 minutes: 

Call your husband who's at the store to say please pick up some little flower thing for the hostess gift and tell him to hurry home because you need to make it pretty somehow. Fret about how to do this. Remember all of Allison's cute, free Easter decoration ideas and remember you can make a Blumenstecker with what you have on hand, phew! I had already cut some strips of translucent paper to wrap around and dress up the plastic pot the flower comes in.

Then you set up the iron, print out the hopping bunny pattern, iron the fabric, put the fusible webbing stuff between two layers of fabric and seal the deal (and your fate), think you are clever to use a tracing wheel to trace the pattern so you don't have to wait for your disappearing ink pen to disappear, realize you will go blind trying to cut out the shape this way...panic, but start cutting anyway only to realize that shoot! you were supposed to put the skewer between the layers before ironing the fabric together and get all frustrated. 

The clock is ticking, so you finish cutting out the bunny and are pleasantly surprised at how he looks like his template! Yay! Grab the twine and make a bow, find the clear, double-sided tape and stick the bow to the bunny, feel mortified that you taped your bunny's bow on. Get a brainwave to find the green Japanese masking tape to adhere the bunny to the wooden skewer...yes, it works! but you still feel guilty for not 'doing it right'. Ah well, the neighbors were thrilled in the end!

If you don't sew or have fabric on hand, I could easily see using this template with some cute cardstock instead! Dare I say it could be faster?? =)

And yes, I am a dork. I played with Photoshop while I was on a long phone conversation the other night and 'dyed' my photos in Easter egg colors... 'tis the season, right?

Are hostess gifts common where you are? What do people usually give? I am always looking for new ideas that aren't as generic as my regular go-to's of plants, wine, chocolate and food.