Picnic 2009

One of the first things I think about when it starts getting warmer is eating outside!  I love when restaurants in the city open their patios and you can sit at a table outside and enjoy the sun.  It's so fun to pack up a lunch and get friends together for a picnic out in a park.  Just thinking about it is getting me excited for sandwiches, potato salad, and homemade desserts.  Before packing up your picnic this summer, break out your Fiskars tools to create some great accessories for your outing.  I've got some ideas for you to help you put together a perfect picnic.

Invite your guests to your picnic with this fun invite.  Starting with the basket, I trimmed a small piece of cardstock for the base then punched strips of cardstock using Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, punching both sides of the strip. 

Measure and trim the strips to cover the basket both horizontally and vertically, then weave them together over the base.  Adhere down the ends of the strips as you weave.  Use the Fiskars Twist & Flip corner rounder on the bottom of the basket.  Cut the rim of the basket from cardstock and round all the edges with the Twist & Flip and adhere to the front of the card.  Add letter stickers and stars punched with the Fiskars Pop-Up punch.  Trim a handle out of cardstock, rounding the top corners and adding two brads where the handle meets the rim.  To create grass, punch green cardstock with Fiskars Weave it to Beaver border punch and use Fiskars Microtip Scissors to cut blades of grass.  Adhere the grass and basket to a patterned paper card and round the bottom corners.  You've created a fun invite that guests won't be able to resist!

Instead of wasting paper plates and plastic silverware, pack along a set of dishes that can be washed when you get home.  I made a cloth case to hold a set of silverware and a plate for easy travel.  Sew the case together from two big pieces of fabric with batting in between for cushion. 

To decorate the front of the case, trace butterflies from my Fiskars Butterflies 2 Shape Template onto fabric.  Once they are cut out with fabric shears stitch them with batting on the front.  Use your Fiskars rotary cutter to easily cut smaller pieces of fabric to create pockets on the inside of the case.  Create a small pocket out of fabric and stitch it to the left side of the case.  Add stitched lines to make pouches for silverware to slip in. 

Cut a bigger piece of fabric and pin it on the right side of the case and pin.  Add some ribbon and velcro to finish off the inside.  Place the wrong sides of the fabric together with a piece of batting on top and stitch around the edge, leaving a small space to pull the fabric through to flip right side out.  A perfect and adorable way to stay green and transport reusable dishes to your picnic.

Another easy way to transport your food is in a reusable sack.  This is great for kids to pack a sandwich and some chips in for the picnic.  Use two pieces of fabric for the outside of the bag, and two pieces of fabric for the inside of the bag with a layer of batting in between.  With your Fiskars rotary cutter trim the fabric and batting into a vertical rectangle, then trim a small square out of the bottom right and left corner. 

On the front of the bag trim out an extra pear from the fabric and stitched it on over top of batting, then added buttons for decoration and one for the closure.  Stitch on a small loop of ribbon onto the back of the bag.  Stitch together the sides and bottom of the outside of the bag & batting.  Pull the bottom corners up so the bottom seam lines up with the side seam and stitch to create an envelope flap.  Repeat this on the inside of the bag. 

Place the outside of the bag into the inside of the bag with the right sides facing and stitch together, leaving a small space to pull the fabric through to flip right side out.  Press the creases with an iron to help the bag stand up.  And now you're all set to fill it with your favorite lunchtime goodies.

With your leftover scraps you can create some easy and fashionable napkin rings.  I trimmed leftover strips of fabric on both sides with Fiskars pinking shears.  I started at about 1.5x3 as the base.  I trimmed another strip to about 1x3 and stitched it over top, gathering the fabric as I fed it through the sewing machine. 

One more strip about .5x3 was stiched on top also gathered as it was fed through.  Three different colored buttons were handsewn onto the center of the napkin rings.  On the backside I added velcro to keep them closed and easy for you to reuse again.

Accent your table with adorable embellishments made using Fiskars tools.  I spiced up this simple pitcher for apple juice with some punched shapes.  Start with a cardstock strip for the base and add two strips of patterned paper punched with Fiskars Scallop Sentiment.  Stitch them together and adhere around the pitcher.

To create apple accents, use squeeze punches Fiskars That's Amore XL hearts and Fiskars Mint Condition M leaves then hand cut stems.  Adhere them onto white scallop circles punched with Fiskars Cameo Apperance XL.  Also add a He Said She Said XL word bubble for a fun note.  It'll definitely encourage your guest to drink up and enjoy.

I hope this article has give you some ideas for getting out there and enjoying a delicous meal outside.  You'll have as much fun crafting as you will at your next picnic.  Happy Summer!

By Kelly Purkey