diy brooch bouquet: part ii

5.12.11

After lots of serious DIY business yesterday, we’re ready to finally reveal the finished product:  my wedding bouquet!  And without further ado, here she is.

Don’t let all the glitz and glam fool you, folks — she may be sparkly, but she’s not all fluff.  Let me tell you everything that’s going to be walking down the aisle with me on the big day.  First, we have a healthy helping of vintage brooches from my Aunt Sandy’s collection.  She’s been collecting jewelry forever, and taught my sister and I everything we know.  She sat down with me over the holidays and told me about each piece as I dug through her collection.

Then, we have some goodies from my sister’s jewelry box (most of which were gifted to her by Sandy).  My big sis was kind enough to let me borrow some of hers for months on end while I’ve been working on the project.  And on top of that, she gave me a blue brooch for Christmas, which is in a very special spot on the bouquet as my “something blue.”  I arranged it so that when I look down as I hold the bouquet, the blue brooch is the one I see first.

Up next, we have a pin of my Auntie Eileen’s, who passed away when I was in elementary school.  Her maiden initials were E.M., which also happen to be my Mom’s and another aunt’s.  She had a set of pins in the shape of her initials, and the E is nestled in the bouquet, marking the presence of my Mom and her two sisters.

And finally, my Mom and I came across a piece of my Grammie’s tatting in a craft closet.  It was just the right size to grace the front of the bouquet’s stem and finish everything off.

I can’t say how happy I am with the way that it turned out, and how glad I am that it started as something just pretty and became something so significant.  It’s not often that I finish a project and can’t think of any improvements, but this one — for me — is just perfect.  xoxo

diy brooch bouquet: part i

5.11.11

I’m pretty excited to share this one — I’ve been planning this project since a couple of weeks after Mr. Lovely proposed, and actually working on it for about four months now.  And she’s finally finished.

I came across some amazing bridal bouquets online,  made not from flowers but from vintage brooches, and got totally inspired.  I love the idea because it’s kind of funky and new but also presents a chance to include things from the past in the wedding ceremony, so I tackled it.  Here’s how you can tackle it, too.

Find two sturdy, medium-sized silk hydrangea flowers from a craft store, and wire them together with floral wire.

Collect bunches of vintage brooches and wire them.  Very carefully wind floral wire around the base of each brooch, then twist the wire around itself, leaving a wire “stem” about 12 inches long.  Wrap the stem with floral tape.

Using the hydrangeas as a base form, insert the brooches on their stems one by one into the silk flowers.  This can be pretty painstaking, because you’ll need to decide where each brooch should go aesthetically, and hold the bunch of stems firmly together while you’re inserting each new stem.  After you’ve inserted them all, secure with a few layers of very tightly wound floral tape.  Trim the stems to a uniform length.

Using a 1-inch wide silk ribbon, wrap the stems, securing the ribbon with hot glue.  To make a collar for the bouquet, sew a gathering stitch along one side of a length of 2-inch silk ribbon.  Cut, gather, and sew the ends together to make a ring of ribbon.  Slide this up the stems of your bouquet.

I chose to finish my bouquet with a few extra little touches — but that’s enough for today!  Come back tomorrow to see the final product, and to hear exactly what I included in mine.  Until tomorrow, Lovelies!  xoxo