See the Flowers Smiling

When I think of high school graduation, I immediately think of flower leis and more flower leis and the smiles that peek over the abundance of flowers. Times have changed though and purchased leis can be pricey during graduation time. Also many graduates go to grad night celebrations where they are not allowed to bring their leis. While I love giving handmade leis I don't like the thought that they might end up in a refrigerated plastic bag or in a pile collecting dust for the next decade. While trying to figure out how to infuse my graduation gifts with the congratulations that a lei symbolizes in Hawaii, I spied very realistic (foam?) tropical flowers at Ben Franklin Crafts. The packaged plumeria flowers especially made me think of small kid time in Hawaii where plumeria leis were the common person's choice. (Pikake flowers were for proms.)

Since I usually give graduation cards with money, I thought I could attach the foam plumerias to my card to give it a flower lei feeling. I also found the printed flower velllum paper (Allure Paper) at Ben Franklin Crafts. There are many tropical themed cards and vellum paper in this line of stationery. The card blank used was from American Crafts, but the envelopes that came in this package should have been cream colored like the card blanks. I lined the envelope with the same vellum used on the card so that it would be a bit more elegant. Vellum tape was used behind the floral vellum and Fabri-Tac was used to secure the plumerias. The word 'congratulations' was embossed so that the ink would not smudge on the vellum. The words 'see the flowers smiling' came from a Hero Arts clear stamp set. I think the sentiment is appropriate for graduation celebrations and is something that we should all train our hearts and minds to do.