Rock My Wedding » D.I.Y

Jar Of Hearts – Colour Options.

Adam@rockmywedding — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:30:20 +0000

Our Jar Of Hearts D.I.Y tutorial, which you can view here was really popular (thanks folks!) and we have been inundated with requests for the graphic downloads to be available in various different colour schemes.

Your wish is our command and today we have managed to put together for you a few of the most popular colour requests.

We have decided to use grey as a base colour and provide various options for the accent colour. We figured grey goes with everything, so by doing it this way, the colour combinations we’ve put together will be useful for as many of you keen D.I.Y W-day planners as possible.

We are still open to requests, so please feel free to leave us a comment with your particular colour ideas and we will do our best to add to the downloads available on this post in due course, so please check back regularly.

We have created a word document for the name card download so that you can type in your own guest names. All of the other downloads are .pdf files.

The font we used in this tutorial is called “Delicious” and you can get it for free from the brilliant font foundry exljbris.

We hope you find these free downloads useful.

Please do let us know what colour you would like to use for your big day, we can’t promise anything but we will do our best to build a resource right here of your favourite colour combinations.

Personally I can’t wait to see some of your interpretations of Jar Of Hearts. Remember, we are just as happy for you to recreate our idea’s verbatim as we are for you to give it a personal twist with your own ideas, designs and adaptions.

Just make sure you send some pictures in of your creations so we can have a peek!

Adam.

Jar Of Hearts.

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:23 +0000

Some time ago Vix, Adam and I sat around my kitchen table (it’s where all the magic happens you know..) to talk D.I.Y.

As in – innovative never-seen-before-we-invented-it-ourselves D.I.Y. Projects we can share with you gorgeous lot that are specific to these blue polka dot pages and that you can use for W-day.

This first “Jar Of Hearts” idea stemmed from my slight obsession with the Christina Perri song of the same name and… badges. I loves me a badge.

It started off as a quirky option for favours then developed into this whole way to get your guests talking during the wedding breakfast, a bespoke guest book, place card name AND favour fandango…It seems when I get a light bulb moment it becomes a full-on runaway train. Good job I’ve got Adam and his graphic skills to bring it all to life then…

And just like any D.I.Y project we will be creating in the future, we’ve got all our graphics as FREE downloads for you to help yourselves too as well as the step by step how-to.

We’ve got a few questions at the end of this post (as well as the opportunity to win cool camera stuff) so if you’ve got a minute we would really appreciate your feedback.

And as well as snapping Vix’s sexy 60′s face this week, Emma Case also took these amazing images of our Jar Of Hearts project – we even made her a badge and bought her a posh M&S sandwich as a thank-you…

Jar Of Hearts – What Is It All About Then?

…Ok so imagine you are a guest at a wedding, as you go to sit down at your table you notice your “name/place card” is part of some sort of task/game. It becomes clear that there is a “Jar of hearts” on the table (we recommend placing your jar somewhere near the table-centre) and that you have to choose yourself a badge (all instructions are on the jar label download so don’t worry about guests having to think too hard if they’ve had one or two glasses of Pinot…)

After selecting your badge and pinning it on you then have to think of some “Words of Wisdom” related to the badge label (we have love, life, lust, kissing…. a whole host of ideas for you to choose from in the available downloads) to write on your aforementioned name/place card.

A bit later on you can then pin your “words of wisdom” onto the associated canvas/pinboard (we recommend placing it by your cake/dessert/sweetie table or anywhere guests are likely to be having a nose…), not only does this provide lovely memories of W-day for the bride and groom (they can keep the canvas as is or perhaps glue the cards into a pretty book etc) but you also get to read everyone’s “words of wisdom” as the evening progresses…

Cool eh?

Now as with all things RMW it’s about doing it your way so please don’t feel you have to follow this Jar Of Hearts D.I.Y idea to the letter. For example, you may already have place cards that match the rest of your gorgeous stationery and not want to add any extra graphic/fonts to your table – there is no reason why the whole Jar Of Hearts game can’t just be on a table of its own for guests to play as and when during your reception drinks or well into the evening festivities.

And you don’t have to make a canvas – provide a pritt stick and guests can glue their cards into a lovely book of your colour scheme/choice (They always have a great selection in Paperchase)

In fact you don’t have to do the words of wisdom bit at all- just have a jar of super cute RETRO (!) badges for your nearest and dearest to help themselves to just for the craic.

What You Will Need

Badge Maker – You can buy or hire one, or send your designs to Everybody Loves Badges.
Badge Bits – If you are making your own.
Heart Cutter.
Glue – Either traditional glue, sticky strips or double sided tape.
String – Or ribbon or cotton.
Pen.
Scissors or a scalpel. – you do get a neater edge with a scalpel!
Steel Ruler.
Paint – to paint your canvas to match your theme.
Pins.
Blank Canvas.

(All of these items bar the badge-maker are available for a few quid each from Hobbycraft, or any other stationery/craft store)

Step One – The Jar… any old one you fancy really, lid or no lid – we chose to tie the top with some parcel string that we also used for our Words of Wisdom canvas “bunting”. Ribbon, lace or floral print material would look equally as ace. You then need to cut out your jar label downloads, we recommend a scalpel for an even finish but if you’ve got a steady hand then sharp scissors will do the trick. Our downloads have cutting guides on them to help you.

Step Two – Sticking The Label On…. With regards the glue – we found the sticky strip dispensers work the best as they are accurate, non-messy and allow you to re-position a few times! But of course you could also try double-sided tape, just make sure you hold it down firmly to ensure its well and truly….stuck

Step Three – Cutting Circles…. If you are considering buying/hiring a badge maker then this is the fun part – you literally just need to get the circle cutter bit of the kit and start punching out your badges. We have a selection of words available on the downloads but that doesn’t mean you have to use all of them, you may just want to have all your badges with “Love” and “Life” on for example.

Step Four – The Actual Badge Making Bit… simple and straight forward – honestly. And if you don’t feel like making a hundred-odd of them by yourself then how about asking your best girls/boys round for tea, cake and a bit of decor creating?

Step Five – The Name Cards… again easy peasy, just download, type in the names you need, print and cut out. Again you don’t have to have a mixture of the two colour ways – if you prefer the grey border with a bit of yellow then just have those or vice versa.

Step Six – “The Words Of Wisdom” Canvas… These come in a range of sizes, a plain canvas actually looks fine – especially if you choose to decorate with a patterned ribbon/buttons/something with a bit of colour. We decided to paint ours grey to match in with the colour scheme and make the mini heart bunting “pop”. Again the bunting is optional, a length of lace or string on its own would work just as well.

The little heart cutter we used was from Hobbycraft and was about two quid, we figured not only does this “mini bunting” provide a guideline for where guests need to pin their advice but it also looks…..pretty. We simply glued the hearts to the string, after mentioning it in the last paragraph I’m sure an assortment of buttons would be super cute too…

The “Words Of Wisdom” heart-shaped canvas header label is available in downloads and just needs to be cut out and stuck on.

And Voila….here is a bicycle-T-shirt-wearing me and my example of a badge-donning “words of wisdom” writing guest. I’m guessing some of the pieces of advice might be a bit silly… but that’s what makes it fun right?

Here is where you can get hold of all of the graphics that we used in the tutorial. We have created a word document for the name card download so that you can type in your own guest names. All of the other downloads are .pdf files.

The font we used in this tutorial is called “Delicious” and you can get it for free from the brilliant font foundry exljbris.

So…what do you think? shall we do more of these types of things?

And regarding the colour options, we’ve concentrated on a yellow and grey scheme however Adam has also provided a delicious pink and green version. If you REALLY want to use Jar of Hearts for W-day but none of these shades are appropriate then drop us a comment with the hues you would like.

Providing we get enough requests we’ll create you some alternatives.

You can view different Jar Of Hearts colour downloads here.

Oh and don’t forget the Lomography goodies you can win by leaving us some love…

Big Fingers, Legs and Arms Crossed You Lot Like It Love

Charlotte xxx

Floral Headband Pretty – D.I.Y Friday

Vix@rockmywedding — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:00:15 +0000

Happy Friday everyone!! Phew! been a long week this one and I’m so ready for a nice glass of vino tonight!

Welcome to DIY Friday and I am happy to say that my DIY posts will be a more regular feature from now on… woop woop!!!

So, Charlotte and I were thinking how nice it would be to be able to make your own headband floral pretty (or for your best girls…), so I set to work and here it is. And it’s so very easy……..enjoy and please let me know of anything you want me to have a go at for future posts.

You will need:

Some material of your choice
Some fabric scissors
Needle and cotton
Some beads of your choice
A pen/ pencil
Plain plaited headbands (H & M are great and only £1.99 each)
Mini safety pins

Step 1.

Fold your fabric into squares ( think about how many layers of petals you want)

Step 2.

If you fancy it you can draw a flower shape or alternatively just use our downloadable template

Step 3.

Cut the flower shape out

Step 4.

Layer the flower petals and arrange as you wish to (neat or a bit haphazard, we prefer the latter)

Step 5.

Load up your needle with cotton and stitch through the centre of the flower and attach beads and/or buttons of your choice.

Step 6.

Ruffle the petals and if you want a more shabby-chic looking flower then you can pull away the edges of the petals to losen the weave to give a frayed effect

Step 7.

Use a mini safety pin to attach to your headband

Other ideas…

You can use multiple flowers on a band for a more statement effect or glue to kirby grips and use as hairslides. I also like the idea of using these flowers (mis matched fabrics would look cool!) to decorate favour boxes or even added to string to make unique chair back decor.

And if you want a non-wilting (and personalised) buttonhole then these make a great alternative.

I have already told Charlotte I am making loads and having them all the way up my W-day ailse (she just doesn’t know she’s the one helping me make them all yet….)

Top Tips.

Spray starch will help stiffen the petals and you can also use your iron to give the petals some creases in the right places. Also don’t forget to look in your wardrobe for unwanted clothes as these can be useful, the green ones are made from a summer dress I don’t wear anymore.

Finally for those that like a bit of sparkle why not get some flitter (extremely fine glitter) and give the petals a touch of glitz!!

Voila…………please excuse my rubbish hair, I’m going through the “too long too short” stage AND trying to grow out my fringe so at the moment every day seems to be a bad hair day.

Lots of Friday love

Vix

click the icon to download the template for this tutorial:

Sow Me. Grow Me. Love Me.

Vix@rockmywedding — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:00:24 +0000

Give the gift of plant life people!

So then, I was having a think about favours and how it would be a great idea to give the gift of a lovely flower of some sort…. and I came up with the idea of giving a bulb or seeds depending on the time of year you are getting married. For instance, this time of year would be great to give Daffodills, Tulips, Crocus, Hyacinths and if your having a Spring/Summer wedding why not give Strawberry Seeds or my (and Jenny’s) absolute FAVOURITE… Sunflower seeds??

For this example I have used Tulips but you can get some great deals on other bulbs this time of year from your local garden store.

You will need:

A small or medium sized bucket ( I used Medium) 85p or a small plan pot 59p both from HobbyCraft
Some bulbs – mine were £3.99 from Homebase for 10 bulbs
Card / luggage tags – available from craft stores
Some fabric and/or paper napkins
Some ribbon / String
Some transfer letters – available from craft stores

Step 1.

Make a label. I used simple brown card and cut out a heart shape (we have a downloadble template available at the end of the post if you like this idea) I then used letter transfers to write my words, you could use these as name places instead if you prefer to – use a hole punch for the ribbon to loop through.

Step 2.

Wrap a bulb or two depending on the size of your bucket in either some fabric or a napkin, the GB ones here are from tesco and they were really cheap for lots of them! You could use News print which would look great for a more rustic look.

Step 3.

Tie the ribbon around the bulbs and loop the tag in, then tie a bow.

Step 4.

Place the bundle into your chosen vessle and mess about with it to create the right height/ width that you require.

There you go! once your guests have sown and grown your bulb they will think of you and your special day every year when the flower appears and they can use the pot to plant it for an indoor bulb. There are loads of ways you could use this idea, think of where you are from, eg Wales – Daffodills perhaps? England – the great British Strawberry etc!

What do you think???

Much love

Vix

Oh, and click the pdf image to get a heart shaped template, complete with the words Sow Me Grow Me Love Me…

D.I.Y Friday… Mix C.D. Place Settings

Adam@rockmywedding — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:00:52 +0000

Music is such a big part of your wedding day, and many of you are spending more and more time deciding what live music you’ll have, and also what your wedding playlist will be.

It’s common now to ask your guests for suggestions for the playlist on your Save The Dates. It’s a great idea as it makes your guests feel like part of the celebration from the word go and it helps to ensure a jam packed dance floor on the big day its self.

A nice touch for your favours would be to give guests a selection of tunes from your playlist on a home made mix cd… so why not build the whole thing into your table decor?

Today I am going to show you how to make places settings that double as a cd holder and all you need is one sheet of A4 paper for each place setting… you don’t even need a pair of scissors!

Here Is One I made Earlier…

First of all, to make life super easy for you lovely people, I have popped together a Word template for you to download (we love a free download at RMW). In the document you can see where all the text needs to be in order for it to all fold up correctly. Feel free to use my design and of course you can adapt it to suit your own colour scheme or theme.

Click the icon above to download your fully customisable word template.

Colours, fonts, images – even the paper you choose will have a huge impact on the final item. Think shiny elegant paper with a slender font for contemporary chic, or hand made papers and stamps for rustic DIY. Also, consider how you could personalise the place settings to reflect you, or even your guests – it would be immense to totally personalise the text, images and even the playlist on each place setting. How over the moon would your guests be if they each received a totally bespoke item?

How It’s Done.

Right then, I’m going to use a print-out from the free template download in order to show you how all the folding works. You will see that this place setting is for the fictitious marriage of Adam (me) and Kylie (Minogue), and of course a certain blog queen herself has been invited along to celebrate our big day.

I have used brown parcel paper – I love it and it is so cheap, especially if you buy it by the roll. I cut a sheet of A4 from the roll at an angle to get the lines of the paper running diagonally…

Blank side up, place the centre of the cd hole over the centre point of the shorter side of the paper.
Fold the top and bottom in so that the cd is fitted snugly in the centre.
Carefully fold the cd over toward the centre (make sure the cd doesn’t move too much!)
Fold the other side in so it’s snug against the exposed edge of the cd.
Unfold again. (dead simple this stage)
Fold the corners inline with the folds you did in stage 2.
Tuck the folded edge in between the cd and the paper.
Hey presto! 1 down… 124 to go (based on a wedding with 125 guests).

The Finished Article.

As you can see below, the text all lines up on the front and back to show off your wedding branding, the place setting name, and of course the playlist. If you are using our template you may have to tweak the positions of the text boxes a bit as all printers are a little different. Top tip hold down cmd on a mac or (I think) ctrl on a pc when moving text boxes around in Word – you have much more precision over your movements if you do this.

Simple As That.

So that really is all there is to it. Of course there are a million different uses for these cd covers, but If you are looking to engage your guests, if music is important to you and you are stuck on ideas for favours, I may well have just killed three birds with one stone!

Of course if you do decide to make your guests a mix cd, please make sure you pay for all the music you use!

Have a great weekend folks,

Adam.

P.S Vix…. see if you can top this D.I.Y Mother!
P.P.S An extra special post coming up tomorrow people…

Hanging Hearts – Friday D.I.Y

Vix@rockmywedding — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:36:41 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome to my first DIY post!

Hanging hearts are a really cute addition to any wedding day decor and they are also lovely to have about the house…

We have more than a few dotted about, they are so easy to make and can be very versatile. Read on to find out how to make them yourself folks!

*All D.I.Y Images by Charlotte O’Shea

You will need:

Material of your choice
A pen
A pair of sharp scissors
Needle and cotton / sewing machine
Some wadding
Some ribbon that goes with the material

Step 1:

Fold the material in two so the pattern/print is on the inside and draw a heart shape. You can download our heart shape here.

Step 2:

Cut out the shape leaving a small space (about 5mm) around the shape lines.

Step 3:

Stitch along the line of your shape leaving a small gap for stuffing.

Step 4:

Turn inside out and stuff with wadding.

Step 5:

Stitch up the remaining gap.

Step 6:

Cut the ribbon to size (however long you want it to hang) and stitch it into the top of the heart.

Step 7:

Hang!!

You can be really creative with these, why not make tiny ones to go around napkins / knives and forks or larger ones and pin them to the backs of chairs, you could also make them for favours/place settings by stitching names onto them….

*Images courtsy of Lillian and Leonard, see the whole Peony Perfect Wedding here.

The same process can also be applied to different shapes like stars, birds or letters – the possibilities are endless!!

Feel free to download our shape templates, just click on the one you want.

Enjoy!

Vix

P.S Also good for W-day statement jewellery…..

D.I.Y. Friday – Rubber Stamp Stationery

Adam@rockmywedding — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:00:12 +0000

I am about to show you a really simple and effective way of making your own totally bespoke and unique wedding stationery. All you need (in increasing quantities) is imagination, patience and time…

And the cost? Let’s just say you could be sending out 75 hand finished invitations with change in your pocket from £30.00.

I think your guests will go giddy for these hand crafted invitations. And of course it helps that the “home made” look is just so hot right now…

This the stamp (above). It was purchased from Stamps Direct, a company who’s main focus is to manufacture the sort of stamps that you might use at work. Stamps that say “private and confidential” or “URGENT” on them.

If you ask nicely though, these guys will create you a rubber stamp from any artwork you send them, and they also stock a good range of coloured ink pads. All you need to come up with is a design.

Choose A Font

We don’t all have access to Photoshop but for something like this Microsoft Word will work just as well. Get creative with your fonts, maybe mix two fonts together or go for a big accent on key letters. You can find loads of free fonts online and I think Dafont has a great selection.

If you are using Word, Use text boxes rather than just typing straight into the document. Use a new text box for each individual word – then you can easily rearrange and reposition to your hearts content, just keep tweaking until you are happy.

P.S If you don’t know what “text boxes” are then you might have to enlist the services of that annoying little paperclip chap who pops up! Is he still around?

Once you are happy you can create a PDF or alternatively print your stamp design out and then scan it back in so that it’s ready to send off to the stamp peeps.

Choose Some Stock

Of course if you want to go super crazy D.I.Y then you could buy sheets of card and get busy with the cutting and folding. But if that sounds like a little too much work then there are loads of craft companies out there like eco-craft where you can buy cards that are ready to fold with envelopes and inlays. Here we have 120mm square recycled stock because these invites are going to have a rustic recycled look and feel.

Personalise

If rustic recycled isn’t your cup of tea then you can make some basic yet fundamental changes to your design to give the cards a different style.

Choice of colour, scale and stock will all have a massive impact on your final look. For example, if you go for a larger heavy card in a muted dark colour and place your stamp design centrally – you have a contemporary cool design that would suite a modern city wedding perfectly.

Adding A Final Touch

The more crafty amongst you may want to add some extra little flourishes to your design. If you have the skill and patience, adding little details here and there will take your stamp stationery to the next level. Let your imagination go and just do what you feel – It’s your day your way remember!

I’ll leave you with this idea. Let me introduce the smallest (and fiddliest!) bunting ever to grace these spotty pages. Details like this will really set your invitations apart from the crowd, your guests will want to keep them on display long after the last dance has been danced.

So there you have it, rubber stamp stationery on a shoe string – I hope this has inspired you all to get your craft boxes out this weekend.

One final top tip – now that you have your own stamp and your very own wedding logo, why not brand some other elements of your big day… you could even get a second smaller stamp made in your chosen style (maybe using just your initials) for use on favours, labels, name cards etc… the list is endless!

Have a great weekend folks, and don’t blame me if by Saturday afternoon you’ve managed to stick your fingers together.

Adam.

P.S If you want to grab the fonts and the & sign that I used in this tutorial click here to download them.

D.I.Y Friday – Colour Pop Your W-day!

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:00:09 +0000

Did you love this morning’s bold and colourful Big Day? You did? Excellent.

Because we’ve got a few little ideas up our blogging sleeves on how to make your own pretty affair zing with colour and cool. And it’s pretty much for free.

Of course if you’re opting for a softer neutral palette for W-day how about considering some rainbow brights for your Hen?

Oh. And this D.I.Y is all easy peasy too.

Result.

Colour Pop Your Dessert Table And Favours

If you haven’t heard of her already then you are missing out, Amy Moss of super Australian blog Eat Drink Chic is a talented stylist and graphic designer, and she dedicates a significant amount of time creating cute downloadables for her readers – lovelies just like you gorgeous lot.

Colour Pop Your Pop!: Are you considering a home-made bar area where guests can help themselves to some refreshing fizz? Well if you are you could label it all yourself with these fruity paper treats. Also could be used for fruit pies, sweet jars and anything else you fancy. You can download them from Amy’s blog EatdrinkChic here.

Colour Pop Your Icecream Parlour!: As you probably know, as much as we love a table full of cakes and candy we REALLY love an array of the cold stuff. Use these labels to describe flavours or tie an assortment to thin ribbon and make decorative sorbet shaded bunting. Delicious. Download from Amy’s EatDrinkChic pages as before.

Colour Pop Your Place Settings!: In addition to what could be a fairly simple name tag how about placing one of these adorable cards in each place setting? And by that I mean the one in the dress for every female invitee and the one in the trousers for every male. Unless of course you would just prefer to mix it up a wee bit. Anything goes y’know. Downloadable from EatDrinkChic as before.

Colour Pop Your Table Centres

Another great place to find D.I.Y is Project Wedding, there are a whole heap of ideas in there to suit any colour scheme, theme or style.

I am head over heels in love with these coloured vases that can be modified from the eye catching peach and rose hues to hot pink, sunshine yellow…… any shade you love basically.

All of the how to information can be found in the DIY section of Project Wedding. And yes, I am so going to find an excuse to make these sometime soon. Maybe we need another Rock My Wedding party, a big one with (blue polka dot) bells on.

Big Friday is D.I.Y Day Love

Charlotte xxx

D.I.Y Friday – Floral Fancy.

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:26:18 +0000

Afternoon lovelies. Do you remember Kirsty? she of the blog A Safe Mooring and beautiful RMW bride?

Well if you missed her delicious wedding the first time you can go take a peeky here and here. Then you can come back and see exactly how to make Kirsty’s amazing hair and bridesmaids sash florals.

Yup. She’s giving us the whole step by step how to.

Genius.

* Images courtesy of Lillian and Leonard

Kirsty: I’m thrilled to be back on the polka dot pages of Rock My Wedding to share with you my simple guide to making a DIY fabric flower. I am by no means a seamstress or crafty goddess, but when I couldn’t find a hair flower for my wedding that I liked and that would match the tricky colour of my dress, I decided to have a go at making one myself. It turned out to be incredibly simple and was one of my favourite parts of my outfit – I liked it so much that I even made matching flower sashes for each of my bridesmaids. And believe me – if I can do it, you definitely can.

Once you have mastered the basic technique, there’s no limit to what you can do with these: from a colourful corsage for the mother of the bride to a chic and unique buttonhole for the groom. You could even use several small brightly-coloured flowers to decorate your table plan, or give them as favours to your female guests. It’s a cheap and easy way to make a big impact, and nothing beats the feeling, when your hairdresser, seamstress or wedding guest admires your hair flower for the umpteenth time, of saying, “Oh, this? I made it myself…”

What you need:

Fabric. You can go creative and colourful, or stick with elegant and understated. Layering different fabrics will give you a really textured finish. Silky, slippery fabrics will sit flatter and tend to be a bit floppier, while stiffer fabrics like tulle will give more oomph and shape. I went with layers of silk and organza that I got on sale in a local fabric store. If you are having your dress altered, try asking your seamstress if you can keep the leftover scrap fabric.

Needle and thread. The thread should blend in with the colour of the fabric (but I’ve used hot pink so you can see what I’m doing!).

Sharp scissors. Fabric scissors are best, available from John Lewis.

Paper for your template.

A few pins.

Something to fix the flower to. A hairclip, a headband, ribbon to make a sash (grosgrain works well – don’t forget to hem the ends so they won’t fray). In this example, I’ve used a pin to make my flower into a brooch, which again are available from John Lewis or any haberdashery shop.

Something for the centre of the flower. For my flower I pulled apart a vintage earring I picked up on ebay for a bargainous £2.50, but you could use pearl beads, a vintage button, crystals – anything you fancy.

Step One

Make your template. You will need three different sizes of template to make one flower: small, medium and large. The final size of the flower will be a little bit smaller than the largest template, because the fabric will be scrunched up, so make your template a bit bigger than you need. Click here to download a template for my 14cm-diameter flower. Alternatively, if you’re feeling creative, have a go at drawing your own.

Once you are happy with the size and style of your template, draw or print it out (ordinary computer paper will work fine) and cut out one of each size.

Step Two

Cut out your fabric layers. To cut out the layers, fold the fabric once or twice, depending on how thick it is, then pin the template to the folded fabric. This way you can cut out two or four layers at the same time (the cutting-out step is the most boring one, so any way to speed it up got the thumbs up from me!).

Once the paper template is pinned in place, carefully cut around the outline of the template. Don’t worry about following the lines exactly; after all, flowers aren’t perfectly uniform in real life, so a few wobbly edges will only add interest. Similarly, the fabric edges might fray a bit, but again this just gives it a bit of texture. Plus, if it’s too perfect, nobody will believe you made it yourself…

Depending on how puffy you want your flower, you will need 4-8 layers of each size. If you are using more than one type of fabric, make sure there is a mixture of fabrics at each size. Alternatively I reckon it would look fabulous to use a dark, densely-coloured fabric for the small layers at the centre of the flower, say a deep pink, and graduate out to a lighter shade, like a delicate blush shade, for the big outer layers. Let your imagination run wild!

Step Three

Assemble your flower. Lay the fabric layers on top of each other starting with the largest on the bottom to the smallest on top. Stagger the layers as you go so that the petals are all nicely overlapping.

If you are using different fabrics, play around with the layers until you are happy with the order. Layering organza and tulle over silk adds depth and a bit of shimmer.

Try turning some layers over so they are “wrong” side up, to add even more variety – I did this with one or two of my silk layers, and the contrast between the shiny silk and the matt underside works really well.

Step Four

Sew it up. Once you are happy with the placement of the layers, take your needle and thread and stitch through the centre point of the flower. Make a couple of stitches here to secure the layers together, then tie a knot and cut off the thread.

Now comes the tricky(ish) part. Fold your flower carefully in half across the middle. Starting about an inch or so in from the tips of the petals (depending on the size of your flower), sew along the fold using a really basic whip stitch (basically looping the thread over and over as you stitch along the fold. The picture really does say a thousand words here!). Don’t worry about stitching through all the layers – just catching the bottom few layers is enough to ruffle the flower up and give it shape.

Once you have sewn along this first fold, flatten the flower out and then fold it again at 90 degrees to the first fold. Sew along this fold in the same way as the first. The bottom of the flower should look like this:

And the top should look like this:

You can sew as neatly or as roughly as you like. Mine is (obviously) done quite roughly, my theory being that nobody will see the bottom of the flower so it really doesn’t matter! But you may have higher standards/better sewing skills than me (which wouldn’t be too hard). If you want a smooth, seamless finish on the back you could try gluing a circle of felt to the back of the flower.

Step Five

Time to add the centre of your flower. The options are endless here, so how you attach it depends on what you choose! The trick is to find the centre point of the flower, where you placed the first stitch in Step 4, and use this to guide you when sewing on the button/beads/crystals/a bit of lace appliqué/whatever takes your fancy. This step is optional – if you prefer the puffy, peony-like flower without anything in the centre then by all means move straight along to Step 6.

Step Six

Attach your, erm, attachment. Play around with your flower to see which way up it looks best and how you want it to fit into your hair/sash/whatever. Once you’re happy with it, turn it over and stitch on whatever attachement you choose – a hair clip, comb, brooch pin, sash, etc.

Step Seven

Adorn yourself with your new flower and prepare yourself for a deluge of compliments!

I don’t pretend to know anything about sewing or crafting (I think it’s quite clear from the pictures that I’m far from proficient at sewing!!) – this is just the method that worked for me, after a bit of trial and error. If you have any tips to improve the technique, or any ideas for colour combinations or ways to tweak the flower design to reflect your own unique style, I’d love to hear them in the comments. Oh and if any of you lovely brides out there decide to have a crack at making this for your own big day, I demand that you send me pictures immediately!

Kirsty x

* Image courtesy of Lillian and Leonard

Um…. Amaze.

Huge thanks to Kirsty for making masses amounts of effort to share her D.I.Y skills with RMW today .

So then lovelies, are you planning on making W-day pretty this weekend?

Big Organza Love

Charlotte xxx

A Perfect English Cuppa…

Adam@rockmywedding — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 06:30:22 +0000

Tea is one of those truly English things (well, since about the 1660′s at least!) and everyone likes it their own particular way. A little splash of milk for some, a gallon for others. Stewed for two hours, or just graced with the bag for a most fleeting infusion.

Once as a student I stuck a hefty great slug of Gordon’s gin into an Earl Grey as there wasn’t a more suitable mixer to hand, I really don’t advise that one – and my house mate Gordon was livid when he found out I’d been in his cupboard!

Anyway, I digress. My point is simply that tea is a very individual thing.

Today I present to you an insight into how Jemma and David Bronnert made their wedding as individual as (yet much more successful than) a piping hot gin based cocktail. Photography is by Victoria Phipps. Enjoy!

A Splash Of Vintage Tea

We wanted a relaxed wedding that had a vintage tea cup theme. We did not want many of the traditional formalities such as a top table or greeting line up, but still wanted that special feeling on the day. We also wanted to do many of the things ourselves to give it that personal touch so the majority of decorations were made by myself and family. We choose this style as we did not want everything to match as weddings sometimes do, with just one colour running through everything. My idea was to have things that didn’t quite match to give it that vintage feel. The tea cup inspiration came from my Grandad who sadly past away last year. He had many old tea cups, all shapes and sizes, with many being used at the wedding.

Spot On

I loved the fact that it looked exactly how I had imagined it. We had swing and Jazz music in the evening as people arrived and this gave a perfect feel to the day. I had prepared jam jars with candles in and a mixture of old material placed round them which were all lit. This gave a gorgeous look continuing my theme through to the evening. I wanted to create a relaxed atmosphere and for my guests to feel comfortable.

Quirky Colours And Cloths

Because we avoided a colour theme I loved the fact that everything was individual and slightly quirky. Even down to the table cloths that my Aunty found in charity shops to give that extra vintage feeling.

Ivory Lace And Pearls

My dress by Miss Kelly was a very soft ivory material. It had a gorgeous layer of lace over the top of it with pearls sewn on. It was fitted going out slightly from the waist. I had a flat silver leaf tiara and a vale with a lace trim. I loved it because it had a vintage feel with the lace but still was very bridal and pretty. I loved the ivory colour and I knew it was the dress for me. I worked in Runcorn and used to drive past this wedding shop on a daily basis always having a quick peep at the beautiful dresses. When I went to look for dresses I had to go in and Barbara who runs the shop was so friendly and helpful. I was greeted with a glass of bubbly and the experience was made to feel so special. The shop was called Wife To Be.

Grooms And Maids

The groom wore a three piece suit which was very light grey with a shiny appearance. It was very fitted and Dave wore a crisp white shirt and grey silk tie. My three bridesmaids wore Dessy dresses that were a mocha colour. They all wore vintage hair pieces in there hair which were all different from each other.

My Friend The Florist

My best friend who was one of my bridesmaids is a florist which was very handy. We discussed the flowers and Emma knew I wanted a wild theme to the flowers with dashes of colour. In my bouquet I had hypnoses roses which gave it a vintage look and Dave had this rose in his button hole along with some dried lavender. I also had avalanche roses, ranunculus, stocks, snap dragons, dried lavender and wax flower. The smell was delightful.

Give Me Your answer Do…

The reception room at Inglewood Manor was decorated with a rose bowl in the centre with a wild flower arrangement. The flowers in this arrangement were viburnum, anemones, veronica, muscari and daisies. Surrounding them I had small candles with three tea cups on each table which also had single stems of a flower in. All tea cups were different, some with saucers some without. The napkins were collected from the venue a couple of days prior to the wedding and myself and my mother-in-law tied each one with pearls which was a lengthy job but well worth the effort! The favors were made up of ivory material, two different types, tied with ribbon and a pearl tie. They had mini eggs inside and again myself and my family made each of them ourselves.

Kissing You

We had My best friend singing during the actual wedding ceremony and she sang Kissing you by Desree. During the meal we had a Rumour playing which was very relaxed. For early evening and the evening do we had swing and jazz singer Ed Norris with his band Speak Easy. They started off very relaxed as people were arriving and chatting. It then got more lively as the evening went on with many guests dancing, even the oldies!

Decor

I wanted a vintage look and for the flowers to look rustic and wild. This was achieved and the splashes of colours finished it off perfectly. We also had two massive terracotta pots filled with wild flowers that set off the entrance to the ceremony room. The centerpieces were wild but looked perfect alongside the tea cups.

Some Magic Moments

I particularly liked our guest table which had some books and old teacups on it. Rather than a traditional guest book to write in we had willow in a vase and old luggage labels which people wrote on and hung on the willow. Straight after we got married our photographer whisked us off for 20 minutes and we walked up to the lake in the grounds. We had this time for just the two of us and this is where Victoria took the most beautiful pictures.

I had a suprise during my fathers speech – he pulled one of my old bibs out from when I was two that I had never seen! He had kept it all these years! The most moving moment would be without a doubt the actually ceremony and my husbands speech that brought a tear to my eye.

Pearls Of Wisdom

Make sure you enjoy the planning of your wedding! It is stressful at times but it’s all part of the fun. Also try and do as much as you can yourself as it cuts costs but also on the day you’ll have a real sense of achievement when you look round and see all the hard work has paid off. I would also recommend having those 20 minutes for just the two of you when first married as it felt very special.

Make sure you have trials of your hair and make up and that you are completely happy with your look. I wanted a fresh look with my make up and wanted my hair to be a certain way so I did spend a while finding the right people to achieve the look. When I did find them I had no worries on the day and was so happy with how I looked. It’s worth spending the time on this to get it right. And finally – my top tip is go to charity shops for tea cups and things, you can get some brilliant bargains!

Photography – Victoria Phipps

Flowers – Emma Tudor

Boutique – Wife To Be

Dress – Miss Kelly

Groomswear – Jasper Conran

Venue – Inglewood Manor

Entertainment – Ed Norris / Speakeasy

Well I hope this wedding quenched your mid week thirst for pretty, How amazing does the venue look in that last shot? And can anyone else feel themselves developing a longing to own some random fine bone china? Or is that just me?

Right, I’m off for a mooch around the crockery section of Oxfam. Bye for now peeps!

Adam.