Gifting the Bridesmaids: Monogrammed Handkerchiefs

Since I've been on a roll with monogram-themed gifts for my ladies, I couldn't resist the urge to throw in one more: a monogrammed handkerchief! There is just something about them that feels so sweetly southern to me.

Image via Southern Weddings, Photo by Divine Light Photography

So I went to my favorite website, Etsy, looking for floral handkerchiefs that could be embroidered. Like the photo above from Southern Weddings, I was really hoping that each of my 'maids would be able to have a unique pattern. Katie Moore of the MutantAngel shop, had so many options, and they're all hand-embroidered. With her shop you can choose the individual patterns you like or she can surprise you with one of her abundant designs. Being a little (or maybe a lot) type-A, y'all know I hand-picked every last one.

I loved the bright, cheerful patterns and I think the floral designs will be the perfect addition to our spring wedding as a bouquet wrap or simply to be held and catch tears of happiness.

Once I had placed an order for the ladies, I really couldn't resist getting in on the action myself. In the South, hankies are often passed down from generation to generation, and I really wanted a timeless, hierloom quality handkerchief should I one day have little girl to pass it on to. Once I saw the designs by SheriAngellCreations, my search was complete. Sheri, specializing in bridal hankies, also hand-embroiders.

The floral design appears on all four corners of the handkerchief, but my initials only appear on one side. This way, should I pass it on, it can be embroidered again with another monogram.

Are there any heirlooms making a special appearance on your wedding day? Did the ability to pass an item on to future generations influence any of your purchases?

Gifting the Bridesmaids: DIY Vintage Brooch Necklaces

I knew from pretty early on that I wanted to make my bridesmaids coordinating jewelry. Being that jewelry making used to be a hobby of mine, I knew I had the tools and enough experience that I could probably make it work. When searching for inspiration, I immediately fell in love with the DIY necklaces from Broke-Ass Bride and Martha Stewart.

Image via Martha Stewart          /            Image via The Broke-Ass Bride

Using their designs as inspiration, I created necklaces and bracelets that fit the style of dresses the ladies will be sporting. To get started, I first collected brooches from ebay. I had a saved search set up for "vintage flower brooches" that notified me of new listings. (I swear, my phone was going off once an hour!)

I'm a bad blogger and didn't take a picture of the entire collection

I also gathered the necessary tools: a kit of jewelry connections, jump rings, jewelry pliers, and super glue (not pictured).

I played around with the various brooches until I had combinations that I liked together.

Then I started to link them with the jump rings. There is no magic formula for this step. By trial and error I made links of the jump rings and connected them to the brooch backs until I achieved the spacing that I wanted. Sometimes one side had three jump rings and the other only had two. The size of the brooches played a big role in determining the correct spacing. On the end, I attached the end connectors.

Once I was satisfied with the spacing and placement, I superglued the brooches closed. I was a bit hesitant to do this step at first, thinking the girls might actually want to use the brooches after the wedding; however, when the backs kept popping open with movement, I knew it was necessary.

To finish them off I attached ivory ribbon. I was really glad that I went with this option rather than the rope or a chain. I think the ribbon adds a little daintiness and also allows the necklaces to be adjustable.

Because two of my lovely ladies will be wearing halter style dresses, I knew necklaces wouldn't be ideal. For them I made bracelets with matching earrings.

Sissy Hawk couldn't wait to model her bracelet.


I think I see a future career in hand modeling!

 Was having coordinating jewelry for your bridesmaids important to you? Anyone else DIY jewelry for yourself or your ladies?

Gifting the Bridesmaids: DIY Monogram Totes

I knew I wanted to gift my ladies a reusable tote bag to hold all of their goodies, but I found a lot of monogramable bags online to be fairly expensive. When I found this tutorial, I had the perfect solution! I pretty much followed Ashley's instructions, but I will still share what I did here.

Supplies:
Canvas bags
Paper Doilies
Adhesive Spray
Craft Paint
Brushes

I began by using the spray adhesive on the bottom side of the paper doily and positioning it to the corner of the tote bag.  I made sure to smooth the doily completely and that there were no areas that had not bonded with the canvas.

Then I carefully painted over the doily with black paint. I found out quickly that it is much better to be conservative with the amount of paint on the brush and have to apply two layers. Having too much paint can cause seeping in between the doily stencil.

Once painted, I let the bags sit for two to three minutes before removing the doily.

 



To add the monogram, I attempted two methods. I initially printed and taped a letter to Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencil Film and used an exacto knife to make a stencil. Because of the intricacy of the letters I was using, the adhesive stencil was a total fail. (If I was using block letters I think it would have been a different story.) The second method yielded much better results. This time I printing letters, cut them out with scissors, and traced them with pencil the old fashioned way. To keep the stencil in place I used the Krylon Adhesive Spray again while I traced.

To finish them off, I painted the letters to match the ladies' monogram champagne flutes. After they were dry, I used a block eraser to eliminate any pencil lines that were still visible.

Tada! Affordable mongrammed tote bags!

Did you want your bridesmaid gifts to follow a theme?