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Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Veil Project

A while back when I first started think about veil's I decided I was definitely not big on them. Some girls pull them off great, some girls are dieing to have that elegant blusher and cathedral and me, well I sort of think they are a nuisance. I mean you wear them for the ceremony and then you take it off so really whats the point? However I decided based on tradition I wouldn't totally discount the veil as part of my wedding day attire.

Then as I was at the Bridal shop looking for my wedding gown of course with every dress you put on the add a veil so you can get the  "full effect" and I began to come around to the idea a little more. Then I looked at the price tag, 175 bucks for a simple no embellishment veil. I almost choked. really? I mean that seams like quite alot for some tulle right? not exactly a price I factored into my budget. So I started looking around the internet and found tons of tutorials and advice about how easy veils are to make. I figured "hey i can do this" so for a total of $20.16 and about 6 hours of my time I made my own veil.

I knew i wanted something simple and something with lace, just a one tier veil that will go under my hairdo for the ceremony and be removed for the reception, after all I already have a flower for my hair so I don't want to over do it. I took a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics and picked up some bridal white soft tulle (that happened to be on sale for .79c a yard) I only needed about 1 yard for a waist length veil but I got 2 yards just in case. Then I spent an hour and half staring at all the lace and lace trim in the store before I settled one. Then I made sure I had a sewing kit and white thread and some plastic hair combs and I headed off to get to work.

First I laid out the tool and used coffee cups ( worked, well for weights) to cut the tool in half and then in a slight circle shape on the bottom end.

Next I laid out the lace trim and pinned it to the bottom, I ended up deciding I didnt want quite a curve and preferred a straighter edge so I sort of improvised with my pinning. I the hand sewed along the top and bottom edges of the trim Lace onto 3 sides of the tulle, this took forever, i took care to match up the tool and the lace and follow along the lines of the lace with my stitches so that they weren't obvious when you looked at it.


After the bottom and two longer sides of the tulle were decked with lace trim it was time to gather and attach the veil to the hair comb. To make this easy I folded the veil in a fan style making sure the two trimmed edges were facing out and ran a need and thread through it. Then I held the thread and pulled on the tulle so that the top edge gathered evenly and nicely.


Then I simply sewed the top gathere edge to the hair comb and trimmed off the excess, However I didnt like the look of the cut so I used extra lace to wrap around the edge of the hair combso it looks pretty when its in my hair.

And that's that, the veil is complete, I have a few pictures of the final product but they don't really show what the veil actually looks like, aka its much better in person, but you can get the idea.


It took a little longer than expected but the sewing was sort of a tedious daunting task, im happy with the results though and im super excited I decided to make my veil rather than buy it, aside from the monetary gains ( a great way to save a couple hundred bucks) It feels more special cause I made it myself.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Im no longer a wedding DIY virgin...

Ive officially completed my first DIY project for the wedding (except for my Bridesmaids "will you be my" gifts, but more on that to come later). I was doing my browsing a Michael's today and decided there must be something i can do to kick off my DIY projects. so I decided to start with something simple, my bridal hair flower. I love the look of a white flower for a bride

I mean lets be honest how incredibly gorgeous is that? So i began doing some research on these babies thinking oh this is awesome a gorgeous accessory i can find for like 10 bucks. WRONG. Bridal hair flowers run anywhere from 30-80 dollars. Talk about sticker shock. So of course i started thinking there's got to be a way to make that, it cant be hard, or maybe i can just buy silk flower and put it in my hair (the effect is not exactly the same FYI). So of course i found some tutorials online, did a little test run with a hawaiian lei flowers and some buttons i had laying around and decided I could totally make this.

Back to the present, I was at Micheal's craft store and picked up 
2 big white roses (@ 1.99)
1 pack of crystal beads (4.99)
and I headed home to get to work


First I pulled the flower head off of the rest of flower, usually these are just attached by those lieelt plastic pieces so its easy to pull them off, you can throw away the leaves/steam, no need for them anymore.

then I separated the roses into the individual petals, just pull them apart, they are attached in layers, mine had a few other plastic pieces holding it together so I pulled those out as well. ( sorry i forgot to photo this part!). Once the layers are pulled apart I took the layers from both roses and stacked them to my liking, making sure each petal was where i wanted it and I pinned it as I went along to make sure the layers stayed
After pinning all the layers i simply took white thread and stitched through the middle tightly several times and then I stitched each layer of petals a few times (where i had placed the pins) to ensure that everything was secure.

Lastly I took a piece of white fabric and stitched it once over the center of the flower (just to make a smooth pretty surface for the beads to be placed.Then I sewed each of the beads individually into the middle of the flower. At the end I glued all the threads on the back to secure it. 

The flower will be glued onto a alligator clip or hair comb for use, I havent decided how i will have a veil but I will have an updo with the flower in the side
When i was done i sprayed it with hair spray to just make sure it stays crisp and clean over the next year and I put it in a plastic bag and placed it in my "wedding" box. So there it is! my bridal hair flower for a total of 8 dollars and about 30 minutes of work, not too shabby eh?

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Just call me Martha Stewart

Wedding planning is making me super crafty. I'm not usually a very crafty person, I try to pain picture frames or bookshelves and other things or make fun gifts for people but i never really imagined myself to be a DIY type of bride. This has changed. just a month into the wedding planning and I've got a super long list of DIY projects that I'm sure will grow as time goes on. I'm very excited about all these projects and cant wait to really stretch my crafty brain. Anyways here is a list of the projects i plan to complete in the next year, and I will be chronicling the ins and out and how tos of them all.
Wedding direction signs
Centerpieces
Poms for decoration
Veil
Bridal Hair Flower
Flower girl head piece
Fan programs
Invitations
Save the dates
Out of town bags
Water bottle Labels
Favors
Ceremony aisle decorations
Table signs (sweetheart, reserved, buffet)
Sparkler Jars
Mr & Mrs chair sign
Flowers ?