DIY Escort Card Magnets

We’re getting close to the end of our contest, and the final entries are just as amazing as the first ones. Brittany’s DIY entry is a magnetic paper accordion wheel escort card project for her own wedding. You can also make your own magnetic board seating chart like she did for maximum DIYness!

What you’ll need:
For the tags:

– Scrapbooking papers in many coordinating patterns
– Plain colored scrapbook paper
– Round scrapbook punch (you can find it here)
– Paper scoring tool
– Zip Dry paper glue
– Hot glue gun
– Ribbon
– Printer-friendly vellum paper (https://www.paperandmore.com/clear_vellum_paper_29_acid_free_3.html )
– Glue Dots
– Sheet magnet (Avery makes a good one available at office supply stores, I got mine from a local print shop in large sheets)

For the display frames:

– Large picture frames (thrift shop)
– Plywood cut to size
– Magnetic paint (you can find it here)

The pinwheel is a basic scrapping/cardmaking flower pattern. There are plenty of online tutorials you can follow, but I’ll do my best. Use 12”w scrapbook paper squares. Cut into 1.5”w strips to make 3”w flowers. Use a scoring tool to score paper at .5” intervals. Fold, accordion-style, at creases. This is a good job to offer to EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Once strips are scored and folded, glue the two ends together to form a circle with Zip Dry glue. Pile up your little paper circles until you are ready to start making the flower.

Cut 1” circles out of plain colored paper and also out of sheet magnet. Place parchment paper on your work surface to avoid sticking your flowers down. Put a dab of hot glue on your plain colored circle and let it cool slightly. While it’s cooling, press your circle down flat to make the flat circular flower- this takes a bit of finesse, but you’ll get really good at it. Carefully pick up your hot-glued circle and press into the center of your flower. Put a little something on top of the flower to keep it flat- I used a small glass spice jar. Allow flower to cool completely, and it will stay perfectly flat. Turn the flower over and add a round magnet to the back with hot glue. Your flower is done!

To make your name flags: print out your guests’ names on vellum paper, allowing enough space in between rows to cut the names into strips. Cut your strips to a width just a smudge thinner than the ribbon you have chosen. Cut your name strips to uniform length (based on the longest name!), leaving enough space to tuck the flag into the flower center, then cut out the triangle at the end by hand. A bit time consuming, but it’s the best way to have perfect lines.

Using a glue dot, attach a single name flag to a your ribbon. Cut the ribbon off just a bit longer than the name flag, and fold/cut to make the pointed detail at the end of the ribbon.

Woodland Bohemian Wedding With A Crazy Cool Beer Stein Seating Chart

Get out your pretty magnet flowers. Take a name flag and adhere it to the center dot using a glue dot. Add one more paper circle to the top, covering the straight end of the name flag (but not covering the name! This is why you left extra space on your names when you cut them.). Once all your names are done, you can write the guest’s table number on the magnet side using a metallic Sharpie.

Make your display frames by removing the glass from thrift store frames. Spray paint if you want, or leave them distressed. Cut plywood to fit inside the frame and paint with magnetic paint- several coats. Carefully nail the plywood into your frame.

Arrange the escort flowers in alphabetical order onto your magnetic display frames – you may need several depending on the size of your guest list. Display the frames on decorative art easels- I found mine on CraigsList.

It’s a labor of love, but I LOVE these escort tags! Ask everyone you know to help, really, and plan on spending plenty of time on this project. For me, it was worth it!