Category: Miscellaneous Projects

Your flower girls are probably pretty cute already, so just think how cute they’ll be when you put these ribbon flower headbands on them. Prrreeettty darn cute. Yup. Plus you’ll get to use a hot glue gun and that’s pretty fun.

Materials:

• Two lengths of ribbon
• Material
• Thumbtack or button
• Material scissors
• Pencil
• Hot glue gun

Directions:
Step 1: Draw a flower

Draw a five- or six- petal flower on the left (ugly) side of the material.

Step 2: Cut out flower

Cut out your flower and turn it so that the right (pretty) side of the material is facing up.

Step 3: Glue ribbon

Using the hot glue gun, stick one end of the ribbon to the center of the material flower.

Step 4: Fold and repeat

Fold the ribbon over and direct it onto another material petal, gluing it in the center as you go. Repeat this step until you’ve made ribbon petals that match all of the material petals.

Step 5: Make stamen

Stick the thumbtack or button to the center of the flower.

Step 6: Stick ribbon

Using the hot glue gun, stick the second length of ribbon to the back of the flower. You’re done!

Step 7: Repeat

Make more, until your flower girls are as adorable as adorable can be.

Spring is finally here and that means spring weddings! Glorious events full of color and light. Get right into the spirit and transform your wedding venue into a spring paradise by making these DIY delicate crêpe paper flower place cards.

They’re a breeze to craft, easy to adapt to your theme, and will turn your wedding tables — or escort table — into a garden of spring magnificence.

Materials:

• Crêpe paper
• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Green cardstock
• A small glass, vase or bowl (for shaping the base)
• PDF printable
• Wire pliers (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: Cut out flower petals

There’s no real science or precision to this step – draw elongated petals on the crepe paper and cut them out. If you’re gifted — or confident — you could also cut the petals out without drawing them first. You’ll need four petals per place card.

Step 2: Place petals

One by one, place the petals around the tip of the floral wire.

Step 3: Prepare the tape

Cut a small (approximately one inch) piece of floral tape and stretch it lightly.

Step 4: Wrap tape

Stretching the floral tape as you go, wrap it around the base of the flower, then softly twist to fasten it into place.

Step 5: Shape the petals

Using your thumbs, gently stretch each petal from the center out, then smooth out the curve with your thumb. Slightly vary the length of the curve on each petal to create a more interesting look.

Step 6: Shape the wire

Using a small glass, vase, bowl or some other round shape, guide the wire into a circle.

Step 7: Twist the wire

Twist the floral wire around the stem of the flower to close off the circle shape.

Step 8: Print the leaves

Type your guests’ names into the printable PDF (or leave it blank if you’d rather write them in yourself), save and print onto green cardstock. For an extra special effect print some names onto dark and some onto light green cardstock.

Step 9: Cut out the leaves

Cut out all of the leaves – big and small – from your printed template.

Step 10: Glue leaves together

Place glue on the inside of the smaller leaves and glue the larger leaves on top at a slight angle. For an extra special effect, pair light and dark green leaves together.

Step 11: Prepare floral tape strip

Cut strips of floral tape measuring the same length as the small leaf.

Step 12: Glue tape to floral wire

Using craft glue, carefully stick the floral tape to the additional wire on the flower place card.

Step 13: Glue leaf to wire

Glue the smaller leaf to the wire and allow for the glue to dry.

Step 14: Trim the tape, clean the glue

Once the glue has dried trim the floral tape (and additional wire) around the top of the leaf, and wrap the floral tape at the base of the leaves around the stem. Scrape off any glue that has snuck out where it doesn’t belong.

Step 15: Repeat

Make more petals, shape more wire and glue more leaves until you have a spring flower place card garden.

One evening when I was elbow deep in cut-outs from Bridal magazines, I finally succumbed to Pinterest. I already had enough commitments, social-media wise, so I thought, do I really need another online addiction? Apparently, yes.

Let’s be honest: there is nothing better than Pinterest for seeing how a scheme is really coming together. And hey, my computer is running an awful lot quicker now I’m not constantly right-clicking on inspiring images and saving them to my wedding folder, and my living room floor is free of magazine scraps, too. Most of the time.

This is not one of those times, and Pinterest – I hold you responsible. For I have been unable to scour the wedding section of late without coming across a lovebird here and a vintage birdcage there, to the point where I was becoming a little concerned that I had not hopped onto the lovebird trend. So I hatched a plan (pun intended) and looked to create both a fun guest book alternative and incorporate a birdie element into my own wedding plans. So, my living room floor was once again covered in cut-out pieces of paper.

These little birdie cards are ideal to leave at each of your guest’s place settings for them to fill out a “tweet” for your alternative guest book.

Materials:

• A few pages from an old book (I had a spare Twilight book which will also be dutifully sacrificed to make confetti)
• Scissors
• Black pen (biro or other such pen with a fine tip)
• Red felt pen (or Sharpie)
• Pencil
• Kraft card
• Glue stick
• Ruler
• Letter transfers

Step 1- Simply use your home printer and print out this swallows_template onto a few pages (each printout will contain enough birds to make 6 cards).

Step 2- Along the bottom of the page, draw and color six small hearts.

Step 3- Cut out the birds, leaving a few millimeters, or about 1/8 inch, around the bird and carefully cut out the heart shapes.

Step 4- Divide your Kraft card into your desired size – I cut an A4/Letter card into six equal pieces for ours.

Step 5- Arrange your pieces along the top of the Kraft card  – two birds facing one another with a heart between them – until you are happy with their spacing, and then glue into place.

Step 6- Taking your letter transfers, and using a pencil, carefully print your names underneath the birds.

Step 7- Using a ruler, draw several lines across the card leaving a small gap at each end.

Step 8- Again, using your transfers, print LOVE along the bottom center of each card.

And there you go – your lovebird guest book cards ready to be filled in by your guests.

To tie the theme together, why not provide a vintage birdcage for your guests to post their complete cards, and make a small sign with instructions “be sweet and leave a tweet” in front?

 

Happy Valentine’s Day lovers! What a fantastic day to get married. Yup, V-day has gotten us all inspired, so we thought it’d be fun to put together a special wedding inspiration board to honor this most loved-up of days.

It’s just the thing if you’re planning to tie the knot on February 14th with cupid at your side. And if you’re not? No worries! Just put together your own inspiration board. Here’s how:

Quick disclaimer:
I used a German version of Microsoft Word to craft my masterpiece, but don’t be scared off — you can achieve the same sort of magic by following the visual cues on your own computer.

Step 1:
Open up a new Microsoft Word page and insert a photo you’re inspired by – it can be anything, just make sure that it features your wedding colors. For the Valentine’s Day inspiration board I started with this photo of a gorgeous headpiece by Teeki.

 

Step 2:
Now draw a color swatch by selecting the shape of your choice from the start menu. Since it’s Valentine’s Day I went with a heart (cupid is thrilled). Next, using the format menu, turn your shape into a solid color.

Step 3:
Look at your inspiration picture and change the color of your shape to match one of the colors in your photo. Make sure to get rid of the outline using the option in the format toolbar.

 

Step 4:
Create three more hearts (or circles or squares; we don’t mind), and change their colors to reflect those in the photo.

 

Step 5:
Look around the internet and fill the space with other images that match your color swatches. Try to get a bit of variety — flowers, hair, shoes, cake and details — for the best results.

Step 6:
Fill the area with seven or so images, save and grin; your inspiration board is finished!

Valentine’s Day Inspiration Board:

 

Sources:
First row: Red Riding Hood Poms – Pom Love, Red White Heart Rattan Lover Fairy Lights – Marwin Craft, Love sign — iTagStudios, Flowers – Aaron Phillips Second row: Headpiece – Teeki, Red bow shoe clips – Maryanka Studio, Table setting – Blush Printables Third row: Wedding shoe heart stoppers – Mon Amour Boutique, Raspberry stripe straws – Pebbles in my Pocket, Teacup – High Tea For Alice, Stationery – Parrot Design Studio

But there’s no need to stop there. Play around with different color combinations and pictures until you’re all inspired out.

Warm pink tones:

Sources:
First row: Table setting – Blush Printables, Bouquet – Jessie Owen, Table setting – Midwest Family Life, Flowers – Aaron Phillips Second row: Orchids – Venson Kuchipudi, Jewelry – High Tea For Alice, Headpiece – Teeki

Cooler pink tones:

Sources:
First row: Headpiece – Teeki, Cupcake – Incredible Toppers, Invitation – Parrot Design Studio, Headpiece – Teeki Second row: Boutonniere – Flower Factor, Rustic love pendant – Vanessa Handmade Unconventional Jewelry

 

Many, many thanks to all of the wonderful creative minds who’ve allowed us to use their images.

With the new age of Pinterest and Etsy, you can no longer just call your best girlfriends and ask them to be a bridesmaid. You need to come up with a clever, unique way of making them a part of the biggest day of your life. That’s where I come in. I’m about to break down into a step-by-step tutorial for a creative, fun way that people will oohing and aweing over. The best part, there is a chance to win this rhinestone tank, just scroll all the way to the bottom for details on how to win!!

The tutorial is broke into two parts. You can either stop at part 1 or move onto part 2.

Part One: Make the Rhinestone Iron-On Transfer

 

Materials:

• Hotfix Rhinestones size 3mm
• Hotfix Transfer Tape or Paper
• Tweezers
• Mirrored image of Text you will be using
• Tape (not pictured)
• Scissors (not pictured)

Directions:

Step 1

Open up a Word document and choose font and font size. For a reference, I use a font size between 160-200 pt depending on the length of word. Remember, you need this to fit nicely on an article of clothing, so you don’t want it to be too small or too big. After you’ve typed your word out, copy (Ctrl + C) it.

Step 2

Open a Paint program or a similar program that will allow you to mirror an image. I used Paint, so that is what I will be explaining how to do. Paste (Ctrl + V) your text onto the Paint canvas. Using the image below for guidance, find the rotate button and flip horizontal.

Step 3

Your text should be mirrored now and look like the image below. Print image.

Step 4

Take your transfer paper and place it over mirrored text. Cut the transfer paper to fit over the mirrored text, leaving a little margin of space on all sides. Save the left over transfer paper for another project.

Step 5

Once your transfer paper is cut, cut your mirrored text down a little and tape it to a desk or table.

Step 6

Peel off the white backing from the transfer paper. Set aside the white piece and tape down over mirrored text the clear side, sticky side UP.

Step 7

Dump a bunch of the rhinestones onto your work surface . If you prefer to be a little neater you can use a paper plate to keep the rhinestones contained. Using your tweezers pick up one rhinestone, jewel side down, and trace your text. You should be looking at the black side of the rhinestones.

Step 8

Keep tracing until your entire word is covered by rhinestones. Take the white backing of the transfer paper that you set aside and place over your rhinestones. Carefully press to secure all rhinestones on sticky side of transfer paper. Remove the tape from the clear transfer paper.

Now you can stop here and give them just this rhinestone transfer which they can iron on their own piece of clothing…..or you can move on to step 2. Step 2 involves more supplies, so I included another supply list for this step.

Part 2: Make the Rhinestone Tank Top

Materials:

• Rhinestone Transfer (the one you just completed in Part 1)
• White Box (I bought mine at Target in the Christmas Clearance section, but have seen them at the Dollar Store)
• Scrapbook sticky letters
• Scissors
• Tissue Paper
• Tape
• Wrapping Paper (Target Dollar section always has cute paper)
• Iron
• Thin towel or wash cloth (not pictured)
• *Optional* Ribbon (not pictured)
• Tank Top or T-shirt
• Iron Board

Directions:

Step 1

Pre-heat your iron to the cotton setting. Remove white backing from transfer. If any rhinestones stick to the white backing or come loose, just use your tweezers to place them back where they belong.

Step 2

Place the rhinestone transfer on the tank top in desired location sticky side down. Make sure to place it where you are going to want it because you will not want to lift it up and replace it as it could damage the transfer.

Step 3

Place the tank top on the iron board. Place your THIN cloth or towel over the rhinestone transfer. Place iron on top of cloth and use firm pressure for 45 seconds. DO NOT GO SIDE TO SIDE WITH IRON. Make sure to heat entire rhinestone. If you need to move iron make sure to pick up iron and place down on next spot. Repeat until entire transfer has been covered twice.

Step 3

Turn tank top inside out, apply heat to each section of the transfer for 30 seconds. This draws the glue into the shirt. So make sure not to skip this step. I do not use the towel on this step.

Step 4

Turn tank top right side out and place iron directing on transfer for another 30 seconds.

Step 5
Run your hand over the rhinestones to make sure none are loose. If any appear loose, apply direct heat for 8-10seconds.

Step 6

Grab the lid of the white gift box and using your scrapbook letter stickers, spell out “will you be my…”

Step 7

Line the base of your gift box with tissue paper. I used white, so that it would not be distracting and take away from the tank top. Place your tank top in the box and make a little card explaining what you are asking. I was lucky enough to have talented graphic designer, Alanna Mehrtens, design a cute little “Be my bridesmaid” card to include in the package.

Step 8

Close up the box and wrap it in any wrapping paper you’d like. I always find really cute paper in the dollar section at Target. There you go, now just repeat for all the special ladies in your bridal party. Want to win this exact one? Enter here! Or visit my Etsy Shop to purchase this tank top.

Giveaway begins Wednesday, January 23, 2013 and ends at midnight ET on January 31, 2013. Winner will be announced January 31, 2013.

The holidays are almost here and it seems most people are in the midst of shopping for their loved ones (except for the few that did ALL of their shopping on Black Friday)! We, at The East Coast Bride, believe that every gift should include something handmade, whether it is the actual gift, the card or even the tag. Knowing that a part of a gift took time and thought is a fantastic feeling, for both the recipient and you!

We’re thrilled to share three easy DIY Christmas card ideas with you. Don’t worry, these are not labor intensive; however, they will still make a statement and shine with the holiday spirit!

 

Materials for all cards

• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Kraft paper (Download this Christmas card template – cut in half and folded) – sized and ready for an A2 envelope
• Optional: Glue gun for thicker paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Materials

• Red and white striped paper
• Red glitter paper

Steps

1. Cut the red and white striped paper to 2” x 5 ½”
2. Cut the glitter paper to ¾” x 5 ½”
3. Glue the striped paper to the bottom of the card with a glue stick
4. Glue the glitter paper (overlapping the striped paper about ¼”) with a glue stick or glue gun

 

 

DIY Ornament Christmas Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Materials: 

• 1 ½” circle cutter
• Red and white striped baker’s twine
• Glitter gold paper
• Green, red, and white paper

Steps

1. With the circle cutter, cut one green, red, and white circle
2. Cut trapezoids from the glitter paper for the top of each ornament. Ours were 3/8” on the bottom and 1/4” on top.
3. Cut a piece of baker’s twine 5 ½” and glue 1 ½” from top of card (we covered the string with glue from the glue stick).
4. Glue the circles to the bottom of the card, as shown, with the trapezoid tops.
5. Measure the space between the string and top of the ornament. Cut three pieces of baker’s twine to that length.
6. Glue the three pieces of baker’s twine to attach the ornaments to the string.

 

 

DIY Bunting Christmas Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra Materials

• Green, red, and gold glitter paper

Steps

1. Measure out your triangles as shown, two on each sheet of paper.
   • Measure an inch from the top corner – to the right and below.
   • Draw a line from the bottom inch and mark ½”.
   • Connect the ½” mark to the top corner and top inch mark for your first triangle.
   • Mark 1” from the bottom ½” ; connect this mark to the top inch and you have your second triangle.
2. Measure an inch from the top of the card and glue a triangle on each side.
3. Arrange your triangles on the card and mark each corner. This will ensure correct placement when gluing.
4. Glue your triangles.

 

If making your own card is not your thing, of if you need kraft paper ready for an A2 envelope, check out our Etsy store, EastCoastBride, for handmade cards, tags, and DIY materials!

 

Tip: Use a rubber stamp to add the “Merry Christmas” message to each card.  You can also find rubber stamps with holiday messages to use on the inside of each card.  

 

What do you think, would you make your own holiday cards?

 

Keri and Krista are former east coast brides and friends from New Jersey who began their website, East Coast Bride together after realizing their mutual love for weddings. Recently they opened their etsy shop upon realizing their love for all things handmade. For more from Krista & Keri, follow them at http://theeastcoastbride.com and on etsy at www.etsy.com/eastcoastbride.

 

Guests who arrive from out of town are probably not going to know that there is an amazing Italian restaurant right around the corner from their hotel, or that they can get a massage or a pedicure a few hundred meters down the street. And, you can hardly be expected to stand at reception with a megaphone, announcing tourist attractions and introducing visitors to your bridal party. But there is a way to get around that – put it all into a nifty welcome booklet. Here’s how:

 Material:

–          Cardstock or paper (letter size: A4 or 8.5 in x 11 in)

–          Printer with ink

–          Crochet thread and needle

–          Paper cutter, exacto knife, or scissors, and a steady hand

–          Computer with Microsoft Word (or similar)

–          Glue

Estimated cost: less than $1 per booklet

 

Directions

Step 1: Decide which information you would like to include on your inside pages. In the sample, the pages are as follows:

• Page 1: Front cover
• Page 2: Welcome note and contents
• Page 3: Important and emergency numbers
• Page 4: Bridal party information
• Page 5: Pre-wedding event information and map
• Page 6: Tourist information
• Page 7: Hotel information and map
• Page 8: Back cover

Step 2: Create a new 2-page document in Microsoft Word (or similar), and divide the page into four:

1. Select the “line” tool from the drawing toolbar and, holding down “shift”, draw a line from the top to the bottom of the page.
2. Right click (or “control” click on a Mac) the line and select “format autoshape”.
3. Click on the “layout” tab on the left hand side then, under “horizontal alignment,” click “center.”
4. Draw another line and do as before.
5. In the “Format” menu use the “alignment” tool and select “vertical alignment,” then use the “rotation” tool to turn the line 90-degrees clockwise.
6. Create a text box that fits into one of the sections (don’t forget to leave space for margins), then copy and paste the text box into the other sections.
7. When all text boxes are aligned you can delete the original lines.

 

Step 3: Assign the pages to the layout like so:

Page 1 (Front page):

• Top left corner:  Tourist information
• Top right corner: Important numbers
• Bottom left corner: Front page upside-down
• Bottom right corner: Back page upside-down

Page 2 (Back page):

• Top left corner: Bridal party information
• Top right corner: Pre-wedding event information and map
• Bottom left corner: Hotel information and map upside-down
• Bottom right corner: Welcome note and contents upside-down

Step 4: Design each page as you like in Word, Paint, InDesign or a similar program – include as much information as you can.

Step 5: Print the front page onto a sheet of paper or cardstock, and then following your printer’s instructions, print the back page onto the back of the same sheet of paper or cardstock.

Step 6: Slice the printout into half width-wise, and fold each half in half.

Step 7: Place the two sheets together to make a booklet. Page four (bridal party) and five (pre-wedding event) should be in the center.

Step 8: Measure the crochet thread to be three times the length of the center of the booklet and cut to size.

 

Step 9: Leaving a 0.5-mm opening at the top and bottom of the center, draw dashes leading all the way to the bottom.

Step 10: Coat the last 5 mm of the crochet thread in glue and stick to the center crease of page 2 (welcome) and page 7 (hotel information). Then pierce the tip of the first pencil dash with the needle and pull the thread through.

Step 11: Careful not allow the pages to move and not to tear the paper, pierce both pages at the base of the first dash and pull it through. Repeat the other way and continue until you’ve stitched all the way down the crease.

Step 12: To finish off, only pierce through one side of booklet to the middle and pull the needle out. Trim crochet thread at 5 mm from the final stitch. Dip the end into glue, or coat with glue using a paint brush, and stick to the middle.

 

Step 13:  Admire your work!

 

What kind of information would you include in your welcome booklet?

Today’s feature is brought to you buy MIDORI.  Khris has used MIDORI’s products in her DIY Bride books, and she is a faithful fan of this company.  It brings us great joy to talk about Midori on the blog today!

Midori has long been a popular name among crafters worldwide, and now, Midori is getting involved in the wedding industry like never before.  Check out Midori Bridal. They have beautiful gift wrap and ribbons to match.  As I browse through the MIDORI website, I find myself thinking, why use paper when you can use ribbon?!  Take this wedding pennant banner, for example (pictured below).  Using ribbon instead of paper makes this craft much more elegant and sophisticated, don’t you think?

There a lot of beautiful ways to incorporate ribbon into wedding crafts – flowers, invitations, jewelry, centerpieces, favors, decor, and so much more.  Ribbon bouquets are becoming quite popular, and MIDORI Bridal offers a selection of luxury ribbon, gift wrap, and wedding accessories. Browse the 2012 bridal collections featuring hand-picked gift wrap and ribbons for seven different themes: choose from shabby chic, preppy, beachy bride, and others. These collections take the guesswork out of planning, allowing each couple a fun, simple way to add their own unique touches to their décor, favors, and DIY projects.

 

MIDORI recently introduced a great blog with loads of wedding inspiration: Midori Ribbon Bridal Blog   The blog offers images, tips, DIY tutorials, and real MIDORI weddings. Pop on over and look around. I thought the DIY ribbon backdrop idea was pretty neat!

Another favorite and super simple wedding craft is the spray-painted champagne bottles embellished with ribbon and gift wrap (pictured below). These fancy bottles can really dress up a table and work with any wedding theme from bling to elegant to shabby chic.  If you only want to make a few of these, place them on your gift table, cake table, or at the champagne fountain as an accent piece.

Here’s how simple these are to make: choose your favorite spray paint colors and spray the bottles with 2-3 coats, and once they’re dry, use swatches of your favorite MIDORI ribbon and gift wrap as accents.  The ribbon and gift wrap can be secured with tape, hot glue or fabric glue.

And….

MIDORI has a fantastic DIY tutorial for a silk flower – made entirely from ribbon – just for DIY Brides to use for decor, bouquets, gifts, or anything else!

MIDORI Dupioni Silk Flower

Supplies:

• Desired length of 2” MIDORI Dupioni Silk Ribbon
• Safety pin
• Needle & thread
• Artificial stamens, beads buttons etc. to decorate the center of the flower

1.       Lay the ribbon out horizontally and smooth it flat. Take a close look at the ribbon and notice the direction that the prominent threads run. These threads will create your fringe. Place your ribbon so that these prominent threads run from the lower right to the upper left.  *Mark the direction of the threads with a safety pin for future reference.

2.       Hold the ribbon with one hand near a ribbon edge. Use the fingernails of your other hand (thumb and index or thumb and middle finger) to gently pull at the prominent threads. Gently rake your nails over the edge of the ribbon pulling from left to right, separating the heavier, prominent threads from the lighter-weight, cross-grain threads.

3.       Using a double-threaded needle, sew down the un-frayed side of the ribbon by overlaying it in a circular motion until you reach to the center.

4.       To accent the center of your flower, add little trinkets of your choice with fabric glue or thread.

 

We want to thank MIDORI Ribbon for sponsoring today’s feature. This company is a great source for DIY wedding craft supplies, instructions, and inspiration!  We want to see what neat things you can make with MIDORI ribbon, so please get creative and share your work!

 

Quick links for MIDORI:

MIDORI Bridal Blog: http://bridalblog.midoriribbon.com/

MIDORI Bridal Homepage: http://midoriribbon.com/bridal-home/

MIDORI Bridal Collections: http://midoriribbon.com/2012-bridal-collections/

MIDORI Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midoriinc

MIDORI Twitter: @midoriribbon

MIDORI Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/midoriribbon/

 

This is a sponsored post, meaning we have been compensated by Midori for writing this review.  We firmly stand behind our review and recommendation and are committed to promoting only those companies we feel offer our community excellent products, ethical business practices, and outstanding customer service.