Good morning, weekend warriors! I hope everyone is having a great (and grateful) Memorial Day weekend!

Planning has been going a bit more smoothly this week. We’re so excited to introduce our new photographers, Andrew and Jessica Schaeffer, later this week. We also figured out the order for our ceremony, and worked on the music for the reception. Finally, I picked up a bunch of scrap fabrics over the weekend and came up with a nice DIY fabric flower that’s simple and can be used for a variety of purposes! I’m using it as a hair flower here, but it could also serve as a corsage (with a pretty ribbon sewn on it and tied around the wrist), a boutonnière, a flower attached to a sash for your dress, bridesmaids gifts, or anything else you can imagine! Here’s the info:

Depending on the size of your flower, these sizes will vary. For a 5″ flower, you’ll need:
-fabric pen (to trace circles onto fabric–use a cardboard circle as your guide)
-16 4.25″ circles
-8 3.5″ circles
-one 3″ circle of thicker fabric for the base
-sewing needle and thread

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Another gorgeous non-floral flower alternative. This Japanese Kusudama folded paper flower technique is lovely for small decor elements - or strung together as a garland!

{Tutorial part 1 and 2 via Whip Up}

Amanda at the Vintage Glam blog is holding a DIY contest and posting some beautiful entries!  I am over the moon for these positively lovely DIY wristlets and boutonnieres made from artificial flowers and other ephemera.

{Tutorial found here}

Found on the ever-fabulous iDIY blog, these tissue paper carnations are absolutely gorgeous!  The colored edge makes all of the difference and gives such a realistic look to these creations!

{Tutorial found at Folding Trees via iDIY}

Is it obvious that I love creating flowers from unexpected materials?  Becky from the fab Beetlegirl Design blog shows us how to create tulle blossoms that are perfect for adorning the branches in your centerpieces (or for adding faux flowers to your invites…  or to dress up a plain shawl…  or in a DIY headpiece…)!

{Tutorial found at Beetlegirl Design via Craftzine}

While doing a little registry shopping recently, I was floored to see such gorgeous silk flowers at Pottery Barn (of all places)! My previous experience with silks has been less than impressive, but it appears that they’ve come quite a long way in recent years!

These are luscious and fresh-looking, vibrant and lifelike, and the best part? They don’t die or wilt! Check out this batch of lovelies in our wedding colors. (oh the peonies!)

And these orchids are rich, buttery, pure goodness, all extremely cost-competitive prices compared to real stems! You could even snip these off the stem and hot glue them to centerpieces or scatter them on tables for an exotic effect that won’t tire through the night.

If you’re eco-minded and want flowers that will live on long past your wedding for reuse, want to DIY without worrying about perishables, or simply want to keep your wedding flowers forever…. I highly recommend checking out the silks available today. I swear, they even smelled real!

*all images from author’s personal collection

Gorgeous project found via Style Court - handmade chrysanthemums from Alabama Chanin’s Alabama Stitch Book.  These flowers are made from (believe it or not) cotton t-shirts.

{Tutorial found here, as seen by Style Court in Selvedge issue 23}

I believe I’ve mentioned my love for the blog One Pretty Thing before…  This time they have led me towards a new crush, Domestifluff, who teaches us how to DIY Pom Pom flowers.

{Tutorial at Domestifluff found via One Pretty Thing}

Hello lover!  I’m thinking… napkin ring?

E.

I’m absolutely over the moon for these easy, cost-effective, and gorgeous DIY organza flowers!  Not only would they be perfect as part of your centerpieces, but what about chair ties, or in boxed invitations, or as a headpiece… the possibilities are endless!

{Tutorial by Reese Dixon found via Whip Up}

Yesterday I featured some of our favorite DIY details from our wedding. Today, I’m focusing on our “quasi-DIY” details – projects that we assembled but didn’t make or used vintage items, but that we still count as DIY since we procured all the pieces. Just after we decided to have a vintage- and internationally-inspired wedding, I came across vintage-reproduction globes from Anthropologie that we knew would be great as reception centerpieces.

We immediately ordered about a dozen of these globes, and then spent a few months trying to figure out how to arrange them. During a trip to Ethiopia in January, I picked up one of these baskets, known as boat baskets or Gambella baskets, as a souvenir. Once I returned home, I realized that these baskets were a perfect fit for our globe centerpieces. Some friends of ours still living in Ethiopia were kind enough to send us a few extra baskets, but you can also find these baskets via ebay and other online retailers.

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A couple of awesome tissue paper projects for you today!

First up, Jennifer shows us how to make beautiful paper flower centerpieces!

Supplies needed:

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A beautiful project from Nicole, an Amy Butler-inspired fabric flower wrist corsage. She made one of these for each of the grandmothers at her wedding!

Instructions for making this beautiful corsage:

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