Champagne poppers are marvels of simplicity, festivity, and engineering, and I had my heart set on having a big bowl or vase of them at my birthday party. Unfortunately, the red/yellow/blue/green poppers did not quite work with my pink/teal/silver/gold color scheme...
I searched for champagne poppers in "prettier" colors, to no avail. There were a couple silver options but they looked very wedding-y. Though there are great deals on bulk poppers online, once I factored in shipping it was the same price to buy them at Cliff's Variety in the Castro, and way more fun. There they cost $3 for a pack of 12, and I bought 4 packs. This is one of those projects that might seem...crazy, but it was lots of fun. Of course, it helps to be really, really excited about champagne poppers, turning 31, and the excellent garland from CONFETTISYSTEM for Urban Outfitters (sold out, unfortunately).
- The supplies I used were: letter stamper (this one is by Provo Craft), gold stamp pad, homemade champagne glass stamp, craft glue stick, and lots of scrap paper in pinks and blue.
- Cut your paper in strips the same width as the poppers' labels, and long enough to wrap around with about an inch of overlap. I used my little Fiskars slide-cutter because I'm hopeless with scissors.
- Stamp, sticker, draw, or write on each of your strips of paper, keeping in mind what portion of the paper will actually show once it's wrapped around the popper. The word "champagne" fit perfectly with just a little space to spare. Let them dry, if needed!
- Apply a thin, even amount of glue to the back of a paper strip, applying generously on what will be the outside end.
- Wrap the paper around the popper, pressing the end on firmly. Be sure to start with the blank end so your design shows, and be sure to glue it on right-way-up!
- Repeat many, many times!
- I would love to do this again using gorgeous papers, such as the ones you see in the last photo. You could find the absolute perfect paper to fit your occasion! The fleur-de-lis, candy, and apple papers are Italian and available (along with hundreds of other designs) at Flax Art & Design on Market, and the chandelier paper is by Julia Rothman for Hello!Lucky.
- These would also make great place cards, with a guests name written on each one!
Images: Tess Wilson
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cute (if slightly weird) idea, but i laughed at the meticulous instructions for how to... cover a label with your own label.
For a second there I thought AT was going to tell us how to make the poppers themselves from scratch...
Step 1: Obtain the following materials. String, FFFFg black powder (ask at your local gun store), film canister...
Um, you still have the unwanted red/yellow/blue/green poppers, just with a better wrapper. I thought there would be a bit of spray painting involved to cover the offending plastic.
I'm not even sure what a champagne popper is - perhaps its similar to a Christmas cracker?
Really though, AT is getting this desperate to write out 8 steps of instructions?
They look nice, but this seems a bit over the top.
Yes, I have to admit I don't know what a champagne popper is either.
I too thought there would be spray painting. It seems like it would be a quick and easy way to change the color. Then you could add a custom label. Or--even easier-- you could rip off the labels (if they come off cleanly), lay all the poppers on a drop cloth for a coat of paint, and either be done at that point, or just add a colorful/patterned strip of washi tape around them to go with your party decor.
For the record, I, too, am turning 31, and since I missed my shot at a big 30th birthday shindig (having JUST had a baby), I am making up for it this year. I didn't know what a champagne popper was until I read this post, and then happened to see a bag of them at the store the following day. Despite the fact that the instructions are slightly more detailed than they needed to be, I appreciated this post. Also, I don't think they need to be spray painted. I think adding the colored wrappers helps to make something more multi-dimensional than a perfectly coordinated "everything is a few colors" party.
when- I thought the same thing.