DIY Bride™ | DIY Projects & Tutorials

Real Yudu Project: Alie’s Save-The-Dates

Published: February 4, 2010Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

DIYer, Alie from Borrowed Turquoise, was kind enough to share her gorgeous DIY save-the-dates she made with her Yudu screenprinter.

Alie printed vintage hankies for inclusion with her STDs. How utterly beautiful are they? She also gave a good review of the Yudu. Please check out her full post here.

DIY Bride Alie's Handkerchief Save-The-Dates

Alie's Save-The-Dates Printed With Yudu Machine

Valentine’s Treat Bags

Published: January 20, 2010Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

The wonderfully talented and creative Kathleen from Twig & Thistle has made available 2 downloadable projects on her site to create the adorableValentine’s treat bags below. Click here for the Goodie Bag and here for the Brownie Bag.

Treat Bags from Twig & Thistle

Brownie Bags from Twig & Thistle

Felt Flower Wreath From Purl Bee

Published: January 15, 2010Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

Have I mentioned how wreath-crazy I am? I love wreaths year ’round, for any and every occasion. When I saw this uber adorable felt wreath over at Purl Bee – I admit it – I squealed. Wouldn’t this look adorable at your wedding? Perhaps on the church/venue doors. Or mini ones on the backs of the bride & groom’s chairs? Hmmm….

Check out the full tutorial at Purl Bee: http://www.purlbee.com/felt-flower-winter-wreath/

Fused Plastic Table Numbers

Published: January 11, 2010Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

So you haven’t quite changed over to canvas and reusable bags for your grocery shopping. Now you have, oh, 30o or 400 hundred bags stuffed under your kitchen cabinets and aren’t quite sure what to do with them. If you’ve got bags, an iron, and some spare time have I got a solution for you!

James from Plastic Rapt (etsy shop) shot me an email that pointed me to his terrific tutorial for creating table number from fused plastic bags. I thought it was quite clever and wanted to share this eco-friendly project with you recycling types!

You can find the full tutorial over at Firefly Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties.

15 Ways To Repurpose Your Mom’s Gown

Published: December 30, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

Ah, your mom’s wedding gown. You know – that 1980’s polyester monstrosity with poofy shoulders so large they’d darned near swallow your whole face that’s lurking in your folks’ basement? Yeah, that one.

Well, kiddo, she kept that for you to wear on your big day. That’s right. Just for you! While the thought of a full-on Dynasty-themed wedding, complete with appearance by Joan Collins in her glorious Nolan Miller-d glory, makes you giddy for a split second, we all know there’s no way your beloved is gonna go for it.

Or maybe mom’s gown isn’t so bad. You actually love it but it’s too small or too short and can’t be altered to fit you. Maybe it wasn’t properly preserved and it’s now damaged and irreparable. Don’t fret. There are creative ways you can use mom’s gown in your wedding. While these suggestions mean cutting up her gown, you will be creating new heirloom pieces that can (hopefully) be used for generations to come.

Hello, ring pillow. Wedding gown fabrics make fabulous ring pillows. Ring pillows are also terrific beginner DIY projects. Check out the ring bearer pillow from vintage lace tutorial at CraftStylish.
Hankies and pocket squares. Depending on the fabric of your mom’s gown, hankies and pocket squares for the wedding party are easy, elegant ways to repurpose the dress. Cotton is best for hankies; silk for pocket squares. Consider adding a bit of embroidery, beading, or ribbon trim to add a bit o’ pizazz.
Bouquet wraps. Strips of fabric from a beaded bodice look stunning rapped around the stems of your bouquet.
Harvest the lace and incorporate it into your own gown or veil.
Make a garter. Download our easy garter instructions here.
Hair accessories! Cover inexpensive plastic or wire headbands with the fabric, lace, and embellishments. Use buttons and embellishments to create one-of-a-kind hair pins (see my new book, The Crafty Countdown, for hair pin instructions).
Make fabric flowers. Perfect for headbands, bouquets, corsages. Tutorial coming up soon!
Cover the front of an album, guest book, scrapbook or book of faith.
How about a purse? Check out Better Homes and Garden’s instructions here.
Incorporate pieces into a chuppah.
How about something for the flower girl(s)? Line or cover the petal basket. If there’s enough fabric, how about an entire dress or skirt for your girls? See my new book, The Crafty Countdown, for a fabric flower girl basket project.
Cover vases or votive holders with fabric and lace for stunning centerpieces. Check out Martha’s version here.
Make a sash for your gown.
Bib necklaces are super hot right now. If your mom’s gown has embellishments grab them and create your own, a la Vera Wang, and save $800.
Cover boxes for use as card holders. Project Wedding has a fab tutorial here.

Ruffly Felt Garland

Published: December 7, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

Kristen, over at the uber-cool Domestifluff blog, posted a tutorial for a gorgeous ruffly felt garland. Wouldn’t this be a lovely addition to wedding decor? Tutorial here.

From Kristen at Domstifluff

DIY Letterpress Resources

Published: November 24, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

So, you wanna go the DIY letterpress route. Groovy!

Whether you use the L Letterpress or are fashioning your own printmaking contraption, you’re gonna need some supplies.

Custom Plates:

Lifestyle Crafts, makers of the L Letterpress, will soon be offering a custom plate service.
elum (creators of some of the most gorgeous letterpress stationery on the planet) is offering a letterpress platemaking service at Letterpressplates.com
Boxcar Press, respected letterpress gurus, also offer custom plates.
DIY Bride: stay tuned for our DIY platemaking tutorial.
Note: when looking for plates, you’ll want the KF152 type photopolymer plate. It’s best for the L Let and die cut machine presses due to its deep relief and plastic backing.

Inks:

Letterpress inks are expensive and because they’re sold to the letterpress trade, they come in larger-than-necessary-for-a-crafter amounts.

Lifestyle Crafts sells inks for the L Let in 20 colors. They come in 30 ml tubes for around $7.00 a pop. The colors water-based can be mixed. Nearly all of the L Let retailers sell the inks. Shop around for the best prices + shipping.
NA Graphics deals mostly in oil-based inks but they do have smaller sizes for the casual printer.

Papers:

Paper is extremely important in letterpress-type printing. It needs to be thick and cushy to be able to take the impression from the plate. Most letterpress operators use papers that are made of cotton rag. Beware that many printmaking papers are sold in large sheets, not in convenient 8.5″ x 11″ sizes. Below is a list of the types of papers (brands and lines) and resources where to buy. This is, by no means, a complete list but should keep you busy for a while.

Crane – Lettra 80# text, 110# and 220# covers
Crane - Palette
Fabriano Medioevalis
French Paper Muscletone 140# cover
Magnani – Pescia
Porridge Papers
Rising Museum Board
Rives
Neenah Classic Crest in 80# text, 130# and 165# covers
Somerset – white or natural white – 250 gsm (120lb)

Where to buy paper:

http://www.archpaper.net/

http://www.artpaper.com

http://www.atlanticpapers.com/

http://www.crane.com

http://www.dickblick.com/categories/printmakingpapers/

http://www.grungepapers.com/HandmadePaper.htm

http://www.keldonpaper.com

http://langdellpaper.com/

http://www.legionpaper.com/

http://www.frenchpaper.com/

http://www.mohawkpaperstore.com/shop-by-project/specialty-processes/letterpress/list-view?sort=asc&order=Weight&search=attributes

http://www.neenahpaper.com/

http://www.paper.com

http://www.paper-papers.com/

http://www.porridgepapers.com/handmade-paper.html

http://www.strathmore.com/

http://www.thepapermillstore.com/

DIY Letterpress, Pt. 1

Published: November 23, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

Hey DIYers,

As the L Letterpress has captured our attention, Lindsay Weirich at The Frugal Crafter blog has come up with a way to make similar debossing/letterpress set-up using her Big Shot die cutting machine, some masonite board, and duct tape. Ummm, can you all say ’super smart’?! Thought so.

Courtesy of Lindsay Weirich

This is a neat idea for those who already have a die cutting machine and aren’t looking to add another with the Lifestyle Crafts machine or starter kit.

From Lindsay: When I saw the home letterpress kit from Lifestyle Crafts I was intrigued but I wasnt about to spent $150 on a whim especially since I had a die cutter and zillions of rubber stamps already, they also have a starter kit that has the contraption that you use the printing plates with, ink and paper for $70 but that is still a lot of money in my book. So I took an old plexiglass cutting pad from my Big Shot, a piece of Masonite and some duck tape and made this:

Lindsay's How-To Shots of her DIY Letterpress

To see exactly how Lindsay did it, please hop on over to her blog post. Please do give her a hello and a thanks for sharing her talents with us!

The Brilliance of Pie in a Jar

Published: October 10, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

One of the most popular posts here was the cupcake in a jar project. Sadly it’s now gone (Don’t fret! It’s making an appearance in the upcoming Crafty Countdown book) from the site. I was really excited to see a variation on the “jar” concept with Our Best Bite’s tutorial for a pie in a jar. Pie, people! Loooove this idea. I’ve done bread in a jar but never got as far as pie because my brain juice ran out or something.

Pie in a Jar from Our Best Bites

Check out their tutorial here.

Fab Finds Friday: Garter Girl

Published: October 9, 2009Posted in: DIY Projects & Tutorials

Fab Finds Friday is a weekly showcase of some of the fabulous resources available to the wedding community. This week’s wedding goodness comes to you from Garter Girl. Products and resources mentioned in FFF are chosen based on their merit and are never paid endorsements. xoxo.

Juilanne from Garter Girl posted this great tutorial for creating a knit garter for under a dollar. Yes, under a buck!