Category Archives: DIY

Save the Date from a Lovely Mate!

Over the weekend I caught the ‘pinning’ bug (yes, i’m behind the times with this one) and managed to lose several hours of my life on Pinterest. It was worth it though! I got lost in a world of amazing wedding imagery and unusual ideas. I was totally blown away by some of the ideas for creative wedding invitations, such as 3D glasses for a pop-up invite, and the old school Viewmasters complete with wedding details on the film reel. They deserve a post all of their own… I can feel one coming, watch this space!

viewmaster

Viewmaster Invitation by melangerienyc

Being a sucker for an original idea and a bit of creativity I was thrilled to receive a beautiful handmade save the date from a lovely friend of mine called Jules. I know that DIY projects can be time consuming but they sure do stand out from the crowd. Having received a few save the dates recently (lucky me!), this was one of my favourites by far. It has also been one I have treasured the most as I can appreciate the time and care that that has gone into making it. Yay for handmade!

Jules has kindly let me share her save the dates with you and I think you will agree they’re pretty flippin’ fabulous…

savethedate savethedate3 savethedate2

 

The luggage tag idea is great as it means guests can hang them up, not only as a reminder, but to display the pretty handiwork. This has been hanging on my heart shaped notice board along with various other special photos and memories since I received it. I really love the little reindeer button to symbolise a winter wedding.

If you fancy giving something similar a go, maybe with your own unique twist, then here’s where you can find all the bits n’ bobs…

❤ Luggage tags, buttons, and paper heart cutter from Amazon

❤ Glitter  – stuck on with spray mount (from any good craft store or try ebay)

❤ Save the date stamp from Not on the High Street

Attach the heart by running it through a sewing machine. Sew the buttons on by hand or use a blob of craft glue to save time.

Go and get creative! And do write in with your own DIY creations to help inspire others.

Michelle xxx

How to Make Hanging Heart Wedding Favours

Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched

Happy Saturday all! Here is a DIY tutorial for the weekend. Tiny Tatty Hanging Hearts! They are super cute and very easy to make. Spray some branches with white paint, decorate with fairy lights and hang all your little hearts from the branches. Leave a sign next to the tree asking guests to take a little piece of love home from the day. I have called them tatty as they don’t need to be perfect. They will look pretty however rough around the edges they are. Your guests will appreciate the thought and enjoy having something handmade to take away from your day. They also double up as Christmas tree decorations. Great for this time of year!

You will need…

  • Fabric of your choice. I love ditsy print (if you haven’t already noticed!)
  • A pencil
  • Scissors
  • Needle and Thread
  • Pins or a few sewing needles
  • Lace, ribbon or twine
  • Sewing Machine (optional, but probably faster!)
  • Wadding (or cotton wool)

Step 1: Using a pencil draw out a heart shape on the back of your patterned fabric. If you don’t have a very steady hand or you want all of your hearts to be uniform shape and size then create a cardboard template to draw around first and then use this every time. I like the idea of having quirky hearts all different shapes and sizes so I am just going to go ahead and sketch all of mine straight on to the fabric. If you are doing it this way then you can just fold the fabric over, pin it, and cut out two hearts at once. Remember to allow for at least a 0.5cm gap between the edges of the fabric and your stitching.

Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 2: Cut off a strip of lace or twine that will be long enough for hanging the heart when folded over. If you want to be very precise you can measure them out so that they are all the same size. Again I like to bodge it keep it quirky with different lengths.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 3: Place your folded lace or twine on to the wrong side of the fabric on one of the hearts. The loop should be at the bottom of the heart and the open ends at the top.  Pin any lace or twine out of the way to avoid stitching through it.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 4: Pin the other heart on top. The right (patterned) side of the fabric should be facing inwards for both pieces, and your lace or twine should be sandwiched inside.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 5: Begin stitching around the edges either with a sewing machine or by hand.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 6: Leave a 2-3cm gap in the fabric so that you can fill it with wadding or cotton wool.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Step 7: Turn the little heart inside out so that the pretty side of the fabric is now showing. Gently poke a pencil into the corners of any difficult to reach bits. Stuff with little pieces of wadding (you could even use cotton wool) and stitch up the gap by hand.
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Ta Dahhhh!
Experiment with different coloured fabric, lace, ribbon and twine…
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
 As always I would love to see your creations. Please do get in touch. You never know, you might end up being featured on the blog!
Hanging Hearts Tutoral. ©Handmade & Hitched
Michelle x

DIY Wedding Gift Idea: Floral Wall Art

I am in the process of moving house at the moment so my life currently revolves around packing cardboard boxes and adapting to living in an apartment that is becoming increasingly bare. I am in no way, shape, or form, a hoarder so it has been easy for me to decide what to sell or giveaway and what to take with me to the new place. I have been in a quandary however over what to do with a rather large vase full of paper roses that I created a couple of months back. How can I justify taking a load of rolled up old book paper with me that is probably just going to get squashed in the move? By creating something pretty out of them of course!
Here is what I came up with, a cute piece of wall art that would make a lovely wedding gift and this cost me no more than £5 in materials needed. You could even personalise this by writing the names of the couple and the wedding date underneath. If your handwriting is anything like mine, and it looks like a spider has crawled across the page with its legs dipped in ink, then you could type this out and stick it on.
Paper Rose Wall Art

Here is how I made it…

You will need:

Step 1:
Cut out a square of white card big enough to fit behind the cardboard frame that is inside the box frame. Stick double sided tape (or use glue) along the back of the cardboard frame and fix your white card to the back.

Step 2:

With your card now fixed securely to the back of the frame start positioning your flowers. You will probably fit about 9 good sized flowers into the frame.  Play around with the design before sticking the flowers down to make sure as much of the white card is covered as possible.

Step 3:

Once you are happy with your design start to glue the flowers down. You may need to squash them down onto the card a little so that they fit snugly.

Step 4:

Once you have finished sticking all your roses down allow the glue to dry while keeping the frame on a flat surface. If you frame the picture and prop it up at this point the glue will run and you will spoil all your hard work (yes, I did make this silly mistake!).

Step 5:

Decorate the edges with adhesive gems and add any personalisation such as text to the frame. Above or below the flowers would probably be the best place to add names and dates.

Ta-dahhhhh!

Paper Rose Wall Art

What wedding gifts have you made or would you like to make for a happy couple? I would love to hear from you. You can leave a message in the comments box below or catch me on facebook and twitter.

Michelle x

How to Make a Ring Pillow

Here’s a little tutorial that I put together based on my own ideas of how to make a ring pillow. I’m a big fan of pretty vintage style fabrics so this is what I have gone for. You can use any kind of fabric you like for your own designs. I’ve also decorated my cushion with little flowers but you could use something a bit different like sparkly buttons or gems. Get your creative thinking cap on and give it a whirl.
You will need:
  • A sewing machine or needle and thread if you are doing it by hand.
  • Your choice of fabric
  • Lace
  • Ribbon
  • Fabric flowers
  • Wadding
  • Scissors
  • Tape measure
 
 
1. Select your fabric and lay it out ready to use
 
2. Measure out two squares. I’ve gone for 8″ squares as this seems to be about the standard size of a ring pillow but the size is really your choice. You may want to iron your pieces at this stage too if they are very creased. I found that the pieces creased when turning the fabric inside out so I opted to iron them once I had sewn them together.
3. Measure out a piece of lace twice the size of your square so that you can fold it over like this…
 
4. Sew half of the lace on to the patterned side of one of the fabric squares by running a stitch straight down the middle. The other half will be hanging off the end of the fabric at this point.
 
5. Now that the lace is attached fold the other half over and pin it on top of the stitched lace. The loose piece of lace will create your handle.
 
 
6. Place the fabric pieces on top of each other so that the patterned sides are facing inwards.
 
7. Sew the pieces together leaving a 2-3″ gap so that you can turn the fabric inside out (the right way round again).
 

 
8. once you have turned the pieces the right way round make sure that the lace is on each side of the cushion. If both pieces are on one side then pull the loose piece round to the other side. You can iron any creases out of the fabric taking care to avoid the lace as it may melt under the heat of the iron.
 
9. Sew your piece of ribbon on to the side with the lace stitched down. Put a few stitches in the middle of the ribbon to attach it to the cushion. You will attach your rings to this ribbon. Sew your flowers over the top to hide the stitching on the ribbon.
 
You may want to do this part before sewing your pieces together but I prefer to do it this way so that I know it will be symmetrical and my flowers will be exactly in the middle of the cushion. If you leave a big enough opening so that you can get your fingers inside the cushion then you should be fine doing it like this.
 
10. Fill with wadding by breaking small pieces off and making sure that you push it into the corners.
 
11. Sew up the opening by hand and you’re done!
 
You should be able to slip your hand underneath the lace on the back so that this can be used as a handle.
 
The ring pillow complete.
 
And if you want to know how to attach your rings here is a little tutorial that I found. http://hanabrides.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/how-to-tie-wedding-rings-to-ring-pillow.html
 
Happy Wednesday 🙂
 
Michelle x

DIY Decorative Jars

Aren’t jars brilliant! I’ve just reminded myself of the Fast Show with that quote and now I’m sat here giggling.
I’m hoping that by the end of this blog post you may never want to throw a glass jar away again, or at least just hang on to a few of them to pretty up your home. Glass jars are so versatile and if you’re planning your big day and thinking of going down the DIY route then they can be used in all sorts of ways for dressing your venue. Here’s just few ideas…
  • Paint them different colours and fill them with flowers to match your theme.
  • Decorate them with ribbons and patterned paper and stick a wooden spoon in them with table numbers on.
  • Use jewellery wire to tie around the tops and make handles, fill them with tea lights and hang around the room or from trees if you’re having an outdoorsy wedding.
  • Fill them with small favours and leave a note next to the jars telling guests to help themselves.
  • Put pens and pencils in them next to your guest book as a nice finishing touch.
  • Fill them with confetti for guests to use
  • Use them to collect money for a good cause and put a little note next to them letting your guests know how their money will be helping.
  • Use them for drinking out of as a quirky alternative to glasses and cups

I could go on, the list is endless!

Anyway, I wanted to show you how easy it is to make your old jam or pasta sauce jars (or whatever was once inside) look amazing. I decorated the jars below in literally minutes (it’s that easy!) from old scraps in my craft box. The larger jar was made by layering up different types of ribbon and the little jar was made by wrapping a strip of lace around the top and attaching some pre-cut shapes. On both of the jars I have secured the ribbon with double sided tape. This is surprisingly strong and stays hidden keeping your project looking tidy. The hearts and butterfly are cut out of pages from an old book using a shape cutter and they are also attached with double sided tape. I stuck a little silver gem on the butterfly to add some sparkle.
So there you go! All you need is some old jars, a bit of ribbon and some double sided tape and you’re away! To get your jars looking sparkly clean and label free before you start decorating them just pop them in the dishwasher and then peel any extra bits of label off while the glass is still warm. The labels should come off easily this way. Warm soapy water and a good scrubbing brush will also do the job.