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

Honey I’m Home!

helloworldImage by Oskay

Bonjour!… I’ve no idea why i’m starting with a French welcome. I’ve just come back from bonny Scotland so I should be all ‘Och Aye the Noo’ and other phrases of the sort.

Anyway, cutting to the chase – i’m back, woohoo! It feels good to be blogging again. I’ve had a little break while the lovely Tasha from My Cute Lobster waved her magical design wand over the blog. I’ve now moved from blogger to my own fantastic self hosted site! I’m hoping to continue working with Tasha to add a stylish wedding boutique to the blog and some other exciting features. Ssshhh! It’s all top secret for now!

Here’s a huge shout out to Tasha for having the patience of a saint while I changed my mind about design ideas every five minutes. Tasha is very professional and worked with me tirelessley until I was happy with the final result. Thanks Tasha!!! You can check out her website My Cute Lobster here.

So you might be wondering what I have been upto behind the scenes over recent weeks. Here’s a brief rundown…

    ❤ Not being 100% happy with the previous logo, I went for a brand new look. I wanted something clean and simple that conveyed the message of ‘Handmade’ and ‘Weddings’ and here is the result….

HandmadeandHitchedPNG_72DPI

 

Ta dahhh! What do you think?

    ❤ Creating a new blog design and going self hosted required way more effort than I had anticipated. Tasha and I did a LOT of back and forth messaging. Nearly 200 messages to be exact! We got there in the end though and look at the result! Being a complete novice to all website building things I had to faff around a bit setting up hosting, transferring domains and learning some very simple (and I mean SIMPLE) aspects of web coding. There is still so much to learn!
    ❤ I’ve also been getting my head around the business side of things, creating a plan for a super trendy wedding boutique. I’m a sucker for details, which has slowed me down while I create a humongous document. I’m sure it’s way longer than it needs to be, but hey, at least all the info is there for when I am ready to go. This might be a project that doesn’t get off the ground properly until next summer, but i’m chipping away!

So it’s on with the show… Do join me for a good old natter and some pretty picture sharing by using the social media buttons at the top and and bottom of the site! Some of my pages are new and looking a little bit lonely right now so don’t be shy and say hello!

Michelle xxx

Handmade & Hitched is Launching a Brand New Site

Morning all,

I hope you have a fun filled weekend ahead! There are some great plans being made for Handmade & Hitched at the moment, which means it is going to be a little quiet on the blog.  I don’t want to say too much until everything is finalised but there will definitely be a brand new site with lots of exciting new features. I’m also moving away from blogger and going self-hosted! How exciting!!!

Recently I have been trying to plan the future of H&H behind the scenes while continuing to write the blog. I’m a one woman show with a 9-5 job doing all of this in my free time (plus trying to maintain some kind of social life so that all of my friends don’t abandon me!) which means that things haven’t been moving forward as fast as I would like them to.

In order to improve the site and make things much more user friendly for you, I have decided to focus on the planning side of things and re-launch the blog when all of the updates have been made. All the content that is on the blog at the moment will remain the same and will be transferred over to the new site. So don’t worry if you have been featured, your post won’t magically disappear into thin air, you have my word!

If you’re a designer-maker or wedding stylist and you are working on a post for submission at the moment then please continue as normal as these submissions will be added to the new site. There are also some lovely real life DIY wedding stories on their way, and I would like to say a huge thank you to the brides for sharing these. They will be a great source of inspiration to others I’m sure.

Some of the main features for the new site will include…

  • Real DIY / Handmade Wedding Stories
  • Suppliers Stories (handmade products only)
  • DIY Wedding Styling Tips (from wedding planners, stylists, beauty specialists and other professionals)
  • Craft Workshops (specifically for weddings and hen parties or workshops that demonstrate how to make pieces for a wedding)
  • DIY tutorials (anyone is free to submit ideas but images must be of a high quality, and with a clear writing style)

If you have any questions in the meantime or if you would like to make a submission for the new site then please contact me by using the mail button below

Michelle

xxx

Handmade Wedding News from Around the Web

To kick off the week here are a few DIY / handmade wedding links from around the globe…
Real DIY / Handmade Weddings…
Handmade Wedding Fairs…
DIY Tutorials and Ideas…
Other Handmade Wedding News…
A brand new bridal shop opened in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada last November selling handmade products only! Check it out here; http://handmadebride.ca/about-the-bride/. They also plan to run an indie wedding show in the spring; http://handmadebride.ca/exhibitor-package-the-handmade-bride-wedding-show/.
Have a great Monday all!
Michelle
xxx

Whimsical Wedding Jewellery by Wishes on the Wind

Fancy a wedding day that is magical, whimsical and a little bit different? Once you’ve picked out the perfect dress, you need the jewellery that will compliment it perfectly. If you want your accessories to stand out from the crowd then I would seriously take a look at Wishes on the Wind.

 

Wishes on the Wind is a beautiful jewellery business owned by Lana Butters who confesses to having a “flower, plant and resin obsession”. Lana freezes pretty and delicate parts of nature in time by encapsulating tiny flowers and plants in resin and little glass globes. Besides making beautiful pieces for your wedding day Lana will also turn your wedding flowers into jewellery that you can wear and treasure forever. How romantic.

Real Pine Cone Orb Necklace, Earrings and Ring from Wishes on the Wind.

I love these tiny pine cones captured in resin. Perfect for a winter wedding or maybe a theme inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia.

‘Snowflake’ Cufflinks,Pressed Daisy Hair Pins and Forget me Not Orb Necklace from Wishes on the Wind.

Besides being elegant and unique, the cufflinks and ‘Forget me Not’ orb necklace above are perfect for your ‘something blue’.

Daisy Necklace, Real Flower Necklace and Red Rose Necklace from Wishes on the Wind

The three flower necklaces above ooze romance. Team them up with a vintage inspired romance theme.

Real Flower Botanical Necklace and Earrings from Wishes on the Wind.

And for those who can’t resist pretty pinks try these Gypsophila sprigs, otherwise known as Babies Breath, in hand-blown glass teardrop beads.

Wishes on the Wind is based on the UK but items can be shipped worldwide. You can find more information and whimsical pieces with the following links…

Website: www.wishesonthewind.co.uk
Etsy Shop: Wishes on the Wind
Facebook and Twitter