DIY toothpick "books"

[skp1]

I saw this in a restaurant last summer and loved the idea – instead of a book of matches advertising the restaurant they had what looked like matches, but inside were toothpicks.  I knew right away I wanted these for my wedding.  Problem is the idea has no caught on.  I could find plenty of wedding vendors selling matchbooks, but none sold toothpicks.  The only ones I found on-line were geared toward restaurants with the lowest minimum quantity being 4,000!  I was going to go ahead and purchase them anyway because I really wanted them, but seriously, what am I going to do with 4,000 of these?  So I decided to make it into a DIY project.

Using the tattered sample from last summer I made a template in Word and printed it on white cardstock.  I neglected to try one out beforehand and after getting carpel tunnel from cutting and folding, I realized I was 1/8 inch short.  Ugh!  I adjusted the template and started over.  Due to all the angles, it’s easier to cut with scissors as opposed to the rotary cutter so I can’t make too many in one sitting.  I cut the inserts using a craft knife left over from my STDs.  Then folded the flaps and along the dotted lines.  The “book†is made to hold 7 toothpicks – the fancy style ones with rounded tops.  I got a box of 250 for a little over $2.00 at my local supermarket.  So not counting my time, it’s a pretty cheap project.

I’m putting one book in each OOT bag and then a few in the bathroom amenity baskets.  I’d love to have some more, but they are time consuming to make so I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.  I have a few more projects to do, so we’ll see.  I'm attaching pictures and template in case anyone else wants to do it too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

toothpicks.docx

[debbiedoyle]

So cute!

[c&j]

Very creative!  Way to take the task on yourself!

[BeachBridein11]

They look amazing!  Thanks for sharing!

[bride5656]

Oh goodness they are soooo cute, I will definitely steal your idea, if you don't mind

Well one girl!!!x

 

xoxo

[PaperBagPrincess]

So awesome!  If I didn't have 10 other DIYs to finish in the next 9 weeks, these would be on the list for sure. Great template as well!

[JessicaP2012]

 

Wow, great idea!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[bride5656]

Hello again skp1,

 

Just wanted to ask you a quick question Did you make logo yourself? And if yes then how did you do it?! I am sorry, dont want to be a paint, but I love your logo soooo much and would like to make similar one as well..))

Thank you so much once again

 

xoxo

[skp1]

Hi Amurka,

 

I did make the logo myself in Word.  In one of my many clipart searches I came across the palm tree - it wasn't a stand alone picture though - it was part of a group picture and I deleted the rest of it.  I just looked again the only way it will come up is if you search for "sunscreen" (that's one of the 3 items in the picture-I inserted it below so you can see).  Once you have it in Word, first make it the size you want then right click and chose "edit picture"  so you can delete the other stuff and change colors.

 

 

I downloaded (for free) the Honey Script font from Dafonts and used that for our names.  the rest is standard Word stuff - inserting text boxes and dotted lines.

 

Hope that helps - unfortunately I don't have a clean Word copy of the monogram - only in JPG now.

 

[bride5656]

skp1, goodness thank you sooo much for all the info!!! )x

I will try and do it this week and will let you know how it went lol ...hopefully it will come up just as pretty as yours )

 

you are super helpful thank you so much again sweetie! )

 

xoxo