Real Brides: Veronica of My Hands Made It

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend! Today is the last day of our Real Brides guest blogging series, giving you a last peek of a real wedding spin off. Our guest blogger today is Veronica, from My Hands Made It, who you may remember from this DIY wallpaper table number rosette she sent us a few weeks ago. She has three projects to share with you, so let’s get started!

The one major factor contributing to our debt-free wedding is some serious DIY-ing. Not one aspect of the wedding has escaped my hands (except for food – I don’t do food). I initially thought ordering flowers wholesale and creating bouquets the day before the wedding was the way to go – so thrifty! But then I started imagining the day before the wedding – my entire lunatic family running around decorating the tent, moving furniture (we’re getting married at my parents’ house), setting up tables, etc. And I expect to sit in the middle of it all and make bouquets? That is so not happening.

Then I came across this tutorial by Tresa Edmunds of Reese Dixon. She makes flowers out of organza by melting the edges of the fabric. *light bulb* Maybe I could make my bouquets after all? I got to work, changing the process a little, and made five bouquets for $30. AND they were all ready six months before the wedding. True. Love. Now I’m here to show you how to make your very own.

Materials Needed:

– Polyester fabric (I used a combination of poly chiffon and linings – anything will work, but it must be polyester)
– Floral wire
– Needle and thread
– Candle and lighter or match
– Scissors
– Styrofoam cone (I used a 6? cone)
– Feathers (if desired)
– Felt (if desired)
– Floral tape (if you’re desiring feathers and felt)
– Tissue paper or fabric
– Ribbon (if desired)
– Straight pins

Step 1: Begin by cutting four layers of fabric in a general flower shape. I used three layers of pink and one layer of green (for leaves). There is no need to make these perfect – the more oddball, the more natural they will look later.

Step 2: Light your candle and one at a time, gently hold each layer of your flower above the flame – focus on the edges and be careful not to get too close. The heat will melt the edges and dimple the centers – play around with different techniques to create different shapes.

A Vibrant Destination Wedding on Kona Beach in Blue & Gold

Step 3: Cut a small slash into the center of each layer (your flower petals) then curl the end of a length of floral wire – larger than the slashes. Drop each petal onto the wire.

Step 4: Grip the petals around the curled wire and with your needle and thread sew a few stitches through all layers, securing your petals and creating a flower shape.

Step 5: To add feathers, simply wrap the end of each feather to floral wire using floral tape. Couldn’t be easier and the feathers are so fantastic peeking out from between the flowers. For even more dimension, cut leaf shapes from felt and secure to wire with floral tape. Gray felt makes a great faux Dusty Miller.

Step 6: Insert your flower, feather and leaf stems into the flat end of your cone. Wrap the cone in tissue paper or fabric (a vintage hankie would be crazy cute) and secure with straight pins. If you wish, add ribbon, also securing with straight pins.