Lovely Pretty Things: DIY Wedding - How to make your own heart Piñatas from Bespoke Bride

Hello and it is crafty Tuesday once again...ready to have some fun?

I absolutely love this idea. One of the things I realised in the past few years is that I never had a Piñata - what a terrible set of parents I have. With my Birthday fast approaching I am hoping that someone in my family will either get the hint to buy or make me one.

But these are also a fantastic idea for your wedding! Not just a wonderful creative decoration but one that can double up as a fun game for adults and children. Tie it all in with your colour scheme, pop a personalised label on there and you have something fabulous for people to enjoy or take home.

Lets get creative.

Love Katie x

All images and words are courtesy of Bespoke Bride.

So I know Cinco De Mayo is over but who says we can’t have our own little Mexican Fiesta whenever we want? I for one absolutely love Mexico and what I also love is pretty little things that contain lots of yummy sweets and treats! AKA piñatas! Making your own mini piñatas is not only easy but is also the perfect favour for your wedding or would make for some great decor/party fun! Here’s what you’ll need to make these little beauties:

// Card (I used a cereal box) // Tissue/crepe paper in the colours of your choice // Sweets // Scissors // Sellotape //All purpose glue // Ribbon // Glitter (optional, but deep down, we all know it’s absolutely necessary) //

1: Using a stencil or free hand, cut out 2 heart shapes (the same size) and a long piece of card about 4cm wide.

2: Cut your ribbon into 2 strips of the desired length and tape one to each of the hearts.

3: Tape your long thin strip at a 90 degree angle to your heart.

4: Tape the other heart on top and be sure to leave a small gap for your sweets!

5: Fill the heart with treats and glitter!

6: Tape up the little gap so you now have a secure cardboard heart filled with goodies!

7: Tissue paper time! Cut all of your colours into thin strips and create a fringe effect.

8: Starting at the bottom of the heart begin to layer your fringed tissue paper with glue! Be sure to leave the fringes free from glue though!

9: Continue until the whole side of your heart is covered!

10: Repeat on the other side of your heart and then trim around the edges to make the heart shape prominent again.

11: Time to cover the sides! Start at the bottom again and work your way up until the top, middle of the heart.

12: Once you’ve reached the middle, start at the bottom of the other side of your heart and repeat until it’s completely covered!

And that’s it! You’re all done! Easy right? The best part is cracking it open though, especially since you know what treats went into it!

Much Bespoke Love

Jess x

Lovely Pretty Things: How to make a Hanging Floral Chandelier by Design Sponge

Hello again my lovely crafty people. How are we all today? Ready for the latest in all things Wedding?

Today we have a wonderful feature which will add that special something. It would brighten up any wedding and would work particularly well if you are having a barn wedding.

So here it is. As always drop us a line if you make these for your wedding.

All images and content courtesy of Design Sponge.

Hanging floral arrangements are everywhere right now, and they are a really beautiful way to show off flowers. They are perfect for events such as a bridal or baby showers, or a special birthday or dinner party. This is a also a great way to still allow for a good amount of flowers even if your venue/room doesn’t have a lot of tables or surfaces!

Most of the hanging arrangements I have seen out there are either in floral oasis or not in water at all. For me, it was important to find a way to have the stems in water so that the flowers would stay fresh longer. I don’t use oasis because it contains a lot of chemicals. I also wanted to be able to use more delicate flowers and not have to limit myself to just sturdy flowers. We created a chandelier-style structure using floral water tubes and as a result, the arrangement we made lasted for days rather than hours. -Ingrid from Tin Can Studios

Click through for the full how-to after the jump!

Materials Needed

For frame:
- Decorative punched sheet metal with holes big enough to push through a stem
(we got ours at Lowe’s)
- 4 pieces of simple wood trim
(we used salvaged wood)
- Tin snips
- Hammer
- Nails
- Tack
- Strong twine or rope
Alternatively, attach the sheet metal to an old frame if you don’t feel like building one!

For flower arranging:
- 3” floral water tubes with rubber caps (the type we used is made of recycled material and can be found online)
- Sharp floral clippers
- Seasonal flowers (we used lisianthius, ranunculus, blushing bride and viburnum)
- Vases with water for your flowers + to fill water tubes
- Clear soda, such as 7-up (not diet)
- Saw horse legs or two chairs to balance the frame on
- Strong twine, wire or rope for hanging the arrangement

Steps:

1. Start by building the frame. We built ours with scrap salvaged wood, but if you have an old frame, that is perfect, too! The easiest way to make the frame is to overlap the wood at the corners and nail the wood together. Then cut your sheet metal with tin snips, this is easy but keep in mind that the edges can be a bit sharp. Attach the metal to the frame with furniture tack, it will easily go through the sheet metal. Make sure everything is stable/sturdy enough for hanging.

2. Condition your flowers by removing all of the foliage and cutting them with sharp floral clippers. Immediately put them in clean vases with water. You can add a dash of clear soda, like 7-up, to help the flowers last a bit longer. Let the flowers drink for an hour or so.

3. Balance your sheet metal frame between two saw horse legs (or two chairs or tables). Make sure it is stable.

4. Fill the floral tubes with water by dunking them in a small bucket or vase. Attach the rubber caps to the tubes.

5. Take a flower and push the stem through an appropriate hole in the sheet metal. Once your stem is through the metal at a height you like, push it through the hole in the rubber cap and into the floral tube (above the metal sheet). We started by putting our flowers in the middle, then worked our way outwards. For an ombré effect, start from the left and move to your right. Hang each flower at different lengths so that each bloom is showing and not hiding another bloom.
Only push the stems halfway so the end of the stem stays in water, avoiding the air pocket above the water surface. Have the tubes filled to the brim, some water will squirt out when you push the stem into the tube. The water does not leak once the tubes and stems are in place/upside down. What is extra great about this frame/holder is that you can easily move your flowers around by pulling them out and pushing them back in another spot. Just be careful with more delicate stems!

6. Once you are pleased with your design, thread a piece of strong twine or rope through the corners of the frame and hang it from a couple of hooks in the ceiling!

Well conditioned flowers will last for at least one full day in normal temperature, the one we made lasted for three.

Lovely Pretty Things: How to make your own Wedding Pom Poms from Once Wed

Happy Tuesday beautiful people. How is life? How is the Wedding?

Time to dig out the craft box again for the latest post in all things Wedding DIY. Today is one which I myself had a dabble in when I had my Bridal Shower except I made them with tissue not tulle. Everything was made in pink and white and it did look stunning once I added in my fairy lights, streamers and the bunting.

Why not get super creative? We want images of your creations if you do it! Its very simple, very quick and rather cost effective if you shop around and are savvy with your materials.

Tutorial and all images courtesy of Once Wed

DIY Wedding Pom Poms

Laurie really enjoys working with tulle, but admits it’s easy to overlook the beauty of the materiel because it is typically used in all the wrong ways. She really wanted to find a way to incorporate it so people could see it’s lovely airy/ethereal qualities and I definitely think she accomplished her goal with this DIY. Like with so many of Laurie’s other projects, there are endless amounts of color choices and variations to complement your color palette perfectly. I can’t decide which version of the project I love better?

What You’ll Need
Tulle ( 6″ wide) (One 25 yard spool will yield 9 poofs)
Fabric coated wire
Stick-on rhinestones ( 10 – 12 per poof)
A scrap of heavy card stock
Fishing line
Scissors
Wire cutters

Directions
1. Cut a length of tulle, two and a half yards long.

2. Cut a scrap of card stock 4 inches by 6 inches.

3. Wrap your length of tulle around the width of the card until you
reach the end. (see fig 1)

4. Carefully slide the tulle off the card. (see fig 2)

5. Cut a 2″ piece of coated wire and twist it around the center of
the tulle bundle to create a bow shape. (see fig 3)

6. Slide your scissors through the tulle bow loops and carefully cut
the ends. Repeat on the other side. (see fig 4)

7. Begin pulling the tulle layers towards the center. Fluff and
shape your poof. . Trim any extra long pieces to make your poof
round. (see fig 5 and 6)

8. Stick your rhinestones randomly on the poof. Give them a good
squeeze to be sure they stick. (see fig 7)

9. Repeat the steps above to make a collection of the poofs. (see fig 8)

10. To hang individual poofs, thread your needle with a length of
fishing line and knot the end. Run it through the center of the poof
and hang. (see fig 9)

11. To make a garland, thread your needle with a length of fishing
line and knot the end. String your poofs on the line and knot the
other end. (With two spools of tulle, I created a garland about four
and a half feet long.)

 

Enjoy little crafters :-)

 

Love

 

Katie x

Lovely Pretty Things: How to make your own brooch bouquet from Wedding Ideas Mag

Hi-hi people. Welcome to Lovely Pretty Things this Tuesday. How are you? Have you tried any of the projects we have featured yet-  if so we would LOVE to hear all about it.

Today we have found a brooch bouquet tutorial. Personally I love flowers, I love their smell and colour. But what I love even more is sparkly shiny things. I am a human magpie with glitter pumping through my veins.

One of my Brides made her own and she did an excellent job. Her colour scheme was black and gold and she made a lovely brooch posy filled with gold, diamante, black and bronze detail. The end result was stunning and it is a lovely momento to keep after the wedding.

The only thing I would like to say before you go full steam ahead is that she said that hers was incredibly heavy to carry all day. She said its bit like carrying a weekender bag around whilst trying to be a Bride. So maybe don't choose things that will make it super heavy.

Well enjoy and happy brooch hunting :-)

Love

Katie x

Tutorial from Wedding Ideas Magazine
All photos courtesy of Wedding Ideas Magazine

Things you’ll need

Brooches

The more the merrier! You will need around nine brooches for a small posy, but the more you have, the bigger the bouquet can be.
Most charity shops and eBay sellers are now wise to the demand for vintage brooches, which means they cost more than they used to, but don’t get disheartened! Ask Grannies, Mums and other family members for vintage heirlooms that they no longer use. One really lovely idea is to ask every guest at your hen do to bring a brooch for you (you can be strict with your colour scheme if you want, or give them free reign, if you’re after for a more eclectic look). Otherwise there are plenty of new brooches available that capture the vintage vibe.

Wire

Silver or gold plated, non-tarnish wire in 0.6mm gauge. This can be bought at craft shops and online.

Tools

Wire cutters, flat nose pliers, scissors

Ribbon or fabric

Optional, but finishes things off nicely.

Masking tape

Strong glue

Such as superglue or a hot glue gun.

Instructions

• Cut a length of wire approximately 50-60cm.

• Take your brooch and thread the wire though the outer edge, (try not to buy ‘solid’ brooches, though you can twist the wire round the brooch pin if you have any) doubling it back on itself. Twist the two lengths together to hold fast and then twist the whole length of the wire, it doesn’t need to look pretty, but it does need to hold strongly onto the brooch.
• Repeat on the other side of the brooch.

• Then twist these two lengths of wire together to form your bouquet stalks. Twisting the wire can be tricky, and does take time, but persevere (it can help to hold the wire with the pliers and twist the brooch). Your brooch should be secure with no ‘wobble’ so that it will hold its place in the bouquet. At this stage it’s a good idea to wrap the wire in tape to prevent any nasty cuts from the rough ends of the wire (I write this wearing three plasters!).
• Repeat this for all your brooches.

• If you’re using any extras, for example feathers, sprays of diamanté or beads, this is the stage to add them. You can buy them already mounted on wire, and you can just twist them round your brooch stalks.
• Choose about three brooches to form the centre of your bouquet. Twist the stalks together gently, and build up the shape with your other brooches. This is the tricky bit and involves a lot of trial and error to get the shape and the effect that you want. Only twist stalks tightly together when you are sure that you have the look you want.

• Start twisting the stems roughly together to form the shape and design that you want.
• Use the wire cutters to trim the stems to the same length.

• Wrap the masking tape around all the steps to form your bouquet ‘handle’.
• Cover the masking tape with your ribbon or fabric – secure your ribbon using a dab of glue (super glue or, if you have one, a hot glue gun).
• If you want to use some fabric as a backing for the brooches, this is the stage to do so – lace and tulle look lovely.

Now you’re done. Enjoy your handy work and marvel in the fact you’ve just created a gorgeous bridal bouquet that you can show off you all of your guests, as you walk down the aisle.

Lovely Pretty Things: DIY Tutorial - How to Make a Birdcage Veil from Project Wedding

Happy Tuesday! Feeling crafty today?

I don't know whether you have got this far yet with your wedding plans or if your dress will work with a veil like this but, today I have stumbled across a lovely tutorial on how to make your own Birdcage Veil. My veil was the longest length one could buy because I had a dress that would rival Diana's train, so a birdcage one isn't really what would have suited me and my dress. I also have something that I wouldn't class as a phobia more of a flip out situation when it comes to tulle and net but more on that another time.

Its also worthwhile mentioning that my veil came with a designer name and pricetag. My veil cost my parents £212 and that was the half price price (yes that's orginal price of £425.00).

I also think this is quite straightforward, I am not saying you will go into millinary after your wedding but you could save yourself a penny or two.

Here you go

Love

Katie x

Project Wedding

All photos courtesy of Project Wedding


Materials:

2 feet of 18" Russian Veiling

Comb

Thread and Needle

Ruler

Scissors

Important Note: There are two sides of the veiling: finished and unfinished. You want the finished end to run across your face NOT the unfinished side.

Starting at point A start sewing in and out of the diamond shapes to gather the fabric. You'll continue sewing in and out on all sides until you get to point B.

Sew it to a hair comb.

After you attach it in your hair on the side of your head with bobby pins, then add an embellishment like a flower or feather to cover the comb.

Birdcage veils are made out of Russian Netting or Russian Veiling which is a millinery material. You can usually find it at a really good fabric store or online.

The veiling usually comes in three lengths 9" 12" and 18".

Isn't she gorgeous! If you just want a little coverage over your hair you want 9".

If you want it to cover your eyes, you'll want 12" and if you want it to cover your nose or chin you'll want the 18" veiling (cut it down to 16" to cover the nose.)

It comes in almost every color and you can also find veiling with chenille dots or pearls if you wanted to add embellishment in that way.

Lovely Pretty Things: DIY Printable Wedding Activity Book - from Lovely Indeed

Ola people. Two pieces of good news for you - one is that Monday is over with yey and the other that it is time for another edition of Lovely Pretty Things from Bliss Weddings.

We do love a good old DIY Project on the blog, in fact I champion those who can step up to the challenge of not only coming up with the ideas in the first place but those who do their upmost to incorporate them into their own Wedding.

I suspect that today's feature will catch on just as much! We are bringing you a very sweet idea for the Children an I Do Activity Book from Lovely Indeed

Here is a few snapshots as to what wonders await you. Visit their website and download the PDF and create your own.










Great idea isn't it? Its personal and the perfect way to keep the little ones quiet during the meal.

Love

Katie x