Zipper flower

I had a large amount of open white zipper left over from my wedding dress so I stitched together a flower while searching for some veil inspiration. Recycling craft materials is very satisfying and, who knows, it could be incorporated into the headpiece??

A Guest 'Book'

Rather than a guest book, we will (fingers crossed) have a guest quilt.

Thankfully I have borrowed a Grand Calibur from a friend which has saved me some cutting time. Alfie sleeps while I cut squares:

Two sizes are cut in separate colours:

The smaller squares are halved and then pinned to either side of the larger square:

These are stitched and the seams pressed. The edges are trimmed so that it is completely square:

Freezer paper is ironed to the back of the square which makes it easier to write on the front (I tested this theory on a corner):

Masking tape around the edges will stop guests writing/drawing on the seam allowance. One down, another 80 to go... Pictures of the finished product will appear after the wedding!

Cross it off the list

A few finishing touches and it's now complete:

A bouquet for a bridesmaid

My bouquets have been quite a process, it started with the thought I didn't want a "traditional" bouquet combined with my housemate in London and his vintage button collection.

I started by painting three polystyrene balls (the one for me is slightly bigger than the other two). The stems are made from an old wooden broom handle, sawed and sanded, and I've glued them into the base of the balls:

A lace bouquet holder was stripped back to the plastic base. I then covered the top with 'leaves' and the bottom with 'stems':

Many hours of cutting felt flowers produced this bounty:

Which then needed sewing together:

After some experimentation (with hidden pins), I chose to use my hot glue gun to attach the flowers to the ball:

I think the base still needs some leaves which overhang so my brain is running overtime. The flowers also seemed a bit flat to me so I added some wired pearls. What do you think? 

Letterbox

Who wants an ivory letterbox when you could have an orange one? Two coats of paint later:

Plywood letters were covered with gold glitter and attached to the front of my box with a hot glue gun:

In hindsight, I think the 'D' is back-to-front but it just provides a bit of added character :-)

There are a few finishing touches to be made but this project is nearly finished.

Buttonholes

Some time ago I completed four buttonholes and needed to make two more before the task could be crossed off my 'Projects to Complete' list.

I cut the felt out using a paper template and layered them over each other:

Punching small holes through the felt, each was threaded onto a piece of wire:

The wire was then twisted at the back:

If the wearer does not have a buttonhole, I wanted a nice finish to the stem so that it could be pinned on. To do this, I used a soft plastic covered wire and twisted it around the other wire:

 Some stitching detail on the leaf completes each buttonhole:

My little collection:

For the ladies only

I made my friend's garter last year so tonight's project wasn't *too* experimental.

Rummaging through my craft boxes I found what I required:

- lace 

- ribbon

- elastic cord

- needle and thread and 

- scissors

I threaded the elastic cord through the ribbon and threaded it all back and forth through the holes in the lace.

Sewed all the ends together and ... ta-dah!