How to make a baby bouquet

You've no doubt heard of, seen, made or even received a nappy cake as a gift for an imminent arrival but have you heard of a baby bouquet? No? Well, it seems to be the latest trend and it's the idea of creating a bouquet but instead of using just flowers, you use baby clothes instead.

Cute, huh?

It's been a while since I featured anything crafty on here - heck, it's been almost as long since I have done anything crafty at all - so when I saw M&S Baby's really clever how to guide to make a baby bouquet, I was keen to give it a go.

One of my best friends is soon to be an auntie (she's honorary auntie, and Godmother, to Ethan already) and I wanted to take a baby starter set of clothes and turn it into a super cute bundle - a present with a difference.

I like adding a personal spin to gifts, through handmade touches or personalised flourishes in the gift-wrapping, and the guide seemed really simple and straight-forward to follow.

So, here's how I did it...

I chose this one which includes 2 bodysuits, 1 sleepsuit, 2 bibs, 1 jacket, 1 pair of bottoms with 1 hat. For £20, this is a beautiful set that's super soft, has all the essentials and reminded me of just how small newborns can be. Swoon.

Next, take some flowers (real, if you're giving your bouquet straight away, fake if you want to make in advance), some ribbon, elastic bands or twine and then some 'stems' - I used some diffuser reeds buy barbecue sticks or lollipops could also work well.

Then, to make your first flower, fold an item of clothing until it's a narrow band, place your stem inside then roll the fabric tightly, all the way to the end.

Secure with your elastic band, ribbon or twine.

You now have your first flower!

I carried on doing this with each item in the set. The smaller pieces were the easiest to roll up neatly. I'd recommend using an elastic band to help make things really easy.

Within 10 minutes or so, I had the whole set rolled and ready to form my baby bouquet. 

They weren't as neat as the ones in the Marks and Spencer guide but I was still pretty pleased with how they looked and how simple the technique was.

I arranged my baby clothes flowers together then experimented with the placement of the artificial flowers. Adding some leaves would also really add to the whole look and in the M&S guide, they suggest using green ribbon or tape at the base of each 'flower' to make it look even more realistic.

To finish, you could then use some tissue paper to wrap your baby bouquet together. My tip would be to try using wraping paper or card and roll it to create a funnel, for a more sturdy container.

I'm really pleased with how my baby bouquet turned out. With a little time, and patience (!), I could make my flowers look a little neater but the overall technique is really easy and I think that the idea is so lovely and final result bloomin' marvellous.

* Thank you to M&S for the great idea - my friend is sure to love this beautiful baby starter set.