The DIY Wedding- Stage 3

Originally when designing my wedding I was very ambitious and vowed to make everything myself... including my own dress. I wouldn't say I was overly ambitious because in hindsight I know I could've done it but to be honest I'm glad I didn't.  I did manage to make my own sash and my neice's Little Lady dress (I prefer that title over flower girl... it sounds too "hippy"). All the fabric I had purchased for the bridesmaid dresses that never came to fruition had to be used and will continue to be used for quite some time as I have YARDS (okay metres... stupid angloization).

I really am pleased with the way it turned out and Lydia looked fantastic! I love that kid.

The DIY Wedding- Stage 2

Growing up my Mom was quite the hostess. There were few Saturday evenings when we were home alone as our house became a social gathering spot for everyone after church. She would dress the table in the early morning adding little details like those vintage salt and pepper shakers or a well placed spoon. One fixture we were never out of was napkin rings of every imaginable shape and size. To this day I'm still fond of them so for my wedding although extremely low budget, as we've already discussed I decided to make some. I'll fill you in on the how to as well!

Materials you will need:
2"x 2" wood squares (I had an old stair rail that I carefully cut with a miter saw to a 1/2" thick but you will also find what you need at hobby and craft stores although England is lacking them quite horribly.)
hot glue and a hot glue gun
fabric of your choice
spool of matching thread
an additional embellishment of your choice ( I chose feathers)
twine
pinking shear

scissors

Step 1: cut your fabric into small circles ( I used my large spool of thread as a guide) as you will be using these as the petals of flowers. You will use 10 per flower bunch so calculate how many napkin rings you will need then multiply that number by 10. You will also need circles for the base of each napkin ring so tack on a few extra for that.

Step 2: Start heating up you glue gun at this point. Take your twine and cut strings 8" long, you will be using these as ties around the napkin rings.

Step 3: Now this is where having a quick hand comes in. Take a square of your wood and hot glue a small dollop in the center then place the twine across it and press down with your finger to secure. Next add a spiral of glue on top of the twine and place a single fabric circle on top and press down to secure. It should look like this:

Step 4: Flip the base over and inspect your handiwork. Is the twine in the center and attached firmly? Great! Now lets attach a feather across the center and towards a corner. Next glue one of your pre-made flowers (I used this tutorial from Oncewed  http://www.oncewed.com/23104/wedding-blog/diy-wedding/diy-miniature-fabric-flower-garland/ ) on top of the feather. Your feather should be poking out so that its visible but not sticking out too much. Unless you prefer it that way by all means. Let it dry and you're done!

That's all for now, the husband is home, happy creating!