DIY Project: Sugar Packets
I am obsessed with this next project. And obsessed might just be putting it lightly. I love when ideas come my way that I haven’t ever seen before and not only is this one new to me, it’s so designed so beautifully that it just appeals to my own sense of style and love of simplicity. Plus, it uses the Gocco which just might be the best invention EVER.
Here is the breakdown and instructions…
From the lovely bride…As we’re having a destination wedding in Barbados, we are limited in what we can give guests as favors. It can’t be too heavy and/or too large, as we need to carry it out there and guests have to be able to take it home. We’re getting married on the grounds of a 17th century sugar mill and wanted to tie the favors to the location somehow. Flavored sugar packets seemed perfect. Sugar is one of the island’s primary natural resources, so our plan is just to ship the packets and fill them with local sugar that we flavor down there. Guests should have no trouble packing them in their suitcases and bringing them home to hang on their spice racks. We bought a Gocco machine to print our Save-The-Dates, programs, menus and favors.
Materials
Gocco Machine + Inks and Screen
Ink Jet Printer
Glassine Envelopes
Round Seals
String & Needle
Resealable Cellophane or Zip-loc Bags
Flavored Sugar (Vanilla, Lemon and Cinnamon)
Instructions
1. Begin by flavoring the sugar. There are plenty of recipes online, where you can use ingredients you most likely already have at home. Or, buy ready-made flavored sugar from sites like www.faeriesfinest.com/sugars which have over 51 different flavors. I grounded cinnamon sticks, sliced a used vanilla pod and took rind from a lemon to make my three sugar flavors.
2. Prepare the artwork for the front of the bag. In Illustrator I designed the text to go on my bag, including the flavor, and printed it on an Ink Jet Printer. With the Gocco machine I transferred the text to a screen and mixed my ink colors. (It is possible to print directly on the glassine envelopes and skip the Gocco altogether, but we had bought one for our Save-The-Dates so were excited to keeping using it!)
3. Print on the glassine envelope and leave to dry.
4. Add sugar (I used 3 heaped teaspoons for 3×3 bags) and seal bags. Place into glassine envelopes and seal.
5. In the top corners of the envelopes, push a threaded needle of string through and across the front. Make two knots on the seal-side on the envelope to secure the string. Guests will be able to hang their own flavored sugar packets in their kitchen.
Supplies can be found here:
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Print Gocco’s can be a little bit expensive, so they are really best when you can use them for multiple wedding projects like this bride. They are kind of amazing and can print all sorts of fun things, but they take a little bit of time to master. Personally, I LOVE them. They are hard to find, so check places like ebay and craigslist for good deals.
