How to Make Buffet Food Markers

When you’re hosting a party, something that you’ll need to do is identify the foods that are being offered for your guests to see. These flowery food markers are a pretty way to label your buffet and potluck dishes.

One of the things I learned while growing up with limited resources is that no matter what, you can make your surroundings homey. Early on I discovered that I could forage for pretty wild things like wildflowers, greenery, and twigs, and everything I gathered was free and could make things instantly better. Homey, in fact. The magic in that for me was that when I was developing my ability to make something out of nothing, I didn’t know any different. It was just the way it was and I wanted to be surrounded by pretty things, so I discovered my own ways to do so. And you can too. 

I love hosting family dinners at our house or having friends over and I find true joy in special little touches that make our gatherings just a little more meaningful. When I was on a walk the other day, I couldn’t help but notice all the blossoms and wildflowers on our property and thought how cute they could make the little food markers at an upcoming barbecue.

I’ve found that the best, long lasting blossoms are the flower buds that are still tight and haven’t blossomed or hardy little wildflowers:

To get started, find any paper markers you’d like to use or cut your own from a slightly thick paper – something like cardstock:

Pen or watercolor the names of the dishes you want to label:

Punch little holes, center the flowers between the punched-out holes, and stitch the flowers into place:

Place your markers in front of each dish or attach to large bowls with doubled over or doublestick tape.