Paper Straws: 14 Pretty Straw Ideas....

Are you all as crazy about these lovely, vintage looking paper straws as I am?

I love them....they take an ordinary drink and make it extraordinary, don't you think?

Did you know that one of the top suppliers of paper straws in Canada and the US right now  is a Canadian company called Greenmunch, which is located about 30 minutes away from me?

Greenmuch has the most amazing collection of party ware supplies including paper straws ,beautiful treat bags,  baker's twine, mason jar accessories, and lots of other things.

On Monday I received a goodie box from them and it felt like Christmas to me because I love pretty things.

Among the things they sent me was an assortment of coloured straws....which totally me inspired me to play with them and see what I could come up with for decorating them.

I came up with several different looks and ways for decorating them.

The possibilities are limitless though.

 The first idea I had was to decorate the straws with
WRAPPED CANDIES.

 I picked up a few adorable wrapped candies from the local candy store.

How about this cute ladybug?

 Or this whimsical butterfly?

 Or how about a car? Perfect for a little boy's birthday party.

 Then I had a look at HARD & SOFT CANDIES for little accents.

I tried out lifesavers on Greenmunch Cocktail Straws! Yummy!

{Be careful not to overload the straw with too much candy or it will flop over and right out of the glass  .I speak from experience! Ha!}

 And spicy red lips on a gray-striped cocktail straw....

 And licorice all-sorts looked fab on this pink cocktail straw. Best of all, fresh licorice all-sorts are soft enough that they can be easily pushed on the straw with a little pressure.

 And how about peach rings on this Greenmunch Milkshake Straw?

 Or blue raspberry rings on a yellow milkshake straw...

And here's an important note about adding candies to straws. Since you are adding an edible, I think the 'glue'  you use should be edible, too, of course. Most people are going to pull those candies off the straws and eat them. You don't want them eating anything hurtful or dangerous. Here's what I used for 'glue': I made a simple sugar syrup with 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup water and boiled it until it was thick and syrupy.Then I 'glued' my candies on the straws, laid them on waxed paper and let them dry. The glue holds the candies on the straws and is perfectly safe to eat!

***

The next thing I played around with were PAPER ACCENTS. Here are some ideas I played with.

I cut these  mustaches out of black cardstock....this would make for a super fun party!

 And next I broke out my paper punches that I have been hoarding for years for scrapbooking.

My favourite flower punch made a great accent for this drink. I also punched a small circle to add for the center of the flower. And here's something I learned: a standard hole punch is a size that fits perfectly on the Greenmunch Regular Size Paper Straws. Awesome! You can cut or punch paper accents with a regular hole punch and they fit!

 And then I used a bunch of different sized circles to make this little accent.

 And then I pulled out the square punches and make this cute geometric accent...

 And then I attached a pinwheel for this Greenmuch Milkshake Straw for a fun look.

{You can see my tutorial for making pinwheels here.}

 And straw flags made out of cardstock are a fantastic accent.

{You can find how to make a straw flag by visiting here.}

There you have it.....14 pretty ways to decorate paper straws to make any drink look that much more delicious.

If you are looking for PAPER STRAWS or other fun party items such as the treat bags below,  be sure to visit GREENMUNCH.CA

And lastly....a HUGE thank you to Joy & Phillip at Greenmuch for supplying me with these wonderful straws and other goodies which I will be sharing with you soon!

This post is linked to these great parties:

Six Sisters's Stuff