♥ Wedding Goodies ♥

I used to be a high school teacher....and 2 of my former students are getting married tomorrow!!  I'm feelin' old, let me tell ya!!  The bride asked me to make all of the bridesmaid and flower girl hair accessories.....as well as her garter.  I've never made a garter before, but wanted it to be special for her!  So, at 3 a.m. last night, I put the final touches on everything and went to bed...I can't wait for her big day!!

 Hairclips for the flower girls, and headbands for the bridesmaids.

Not bad for my first-ever garter :o) Made with white dupioni silk and orange and teal taffeta rosettes.

Doesn't the orange just GLOW....kinda funky!!

No-Fray, No-Sew Rolled Rosette Tutorial

I've been asked many times how I make my rolled rosettes.  I'm not a big fan of the frayed look...I like it clean so I can see the fabrics better and honestly it just lasts longer.

Materials:
2.5" strip of fabric, length depends on how big you want your rosette.  I generally use 22 inches.
glue gun
small square of felt

1.  Fold the raw edges of fabric towards the center of your strip of fabric.

 Make a tight knot at the end of the strip.  Make sure you keep your raw edges folded in as you tie your knot.  The tighter you make your knot, the better your rosette center will appear.

2.  Keep your raw edges folded in as you start your rosette.  Hold onto the knot's tail and bring fabric down as you turn around the center.  This will help keep the center nice and tight.

Twist around the center and glue every 2 turns.  I keep my fabric flat and fold it around the center, keeping the top of the rosette tighter than the bottom.  Place a dab of glue towards the bottom of the fold.  This will help keep the glue from oozing out the top!  You can also use fabric glue, but I found hot glue is faster and just as good.

Here is a closer picture of how I fold my fabric around the center.  I just keep the raw edges folded in and keep folding around the center, gluing every 2 turns.  

3.  Once you have rolled, glued, and rolled some more you should have a rosette ready to finish!  Snip the tail of the knot you originally tied.  Take the last bit of fabric you were rolling and glue it to the underside of your rosette.

Place a bit of glue in the fold before you wrap to the back.

Now you're ready to attach it to your felt backing.  Put a generous amount of glue on the back of the rosette about 1/4" away from the edge.  

Press your felt into the back of your rosette, forming it up and into the rosette.  This helps the rosette keep it's nice rounded top shape.

Trim the felt around the felt backing.  If you glue right to the edge, you end up seeing the felt when it gets attached to a headband or whatever else you are embellishing.  So trim it 1/4" from the edge.

All done!

Weekend Projects

It's been a busy week, but great for getting things done!  My sister-in-law and I had a sewing day on Thursday which was so much fun.  I made a make-up bag, a coin purse, a bookmark for Emma and she made a super cute apron.  Saturdays this summer have been wonderful...while the rest of the week is so busy, Saturday has been a day to relax with my family and get some things done around our house.  So, this Saturday, I was able to get my kitchen curtains finished up and a wreath decorated for my kitchen door, the minis also made some cute cookie cutter art for the walls...they were so proud!  I have more on my kitchen to-do list, including painting my table, chairs, and china cabinet...but that will have to wait for another weekend!  I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest, just a great place to share ideas.

Can you tell I'm just a little addicted to making rosettes??

I had planned to work on my double wedding ring quilt top this weekend, too, but just ran out of time.  I seriously need to finish up some quilts first.  In a couple of weeks we are heading to TN for vacation, so I am planning to take along some quilts to finish on the road.  Binding goes by so much faster while you're on a road trip!  

Etsy Treasury--Land I Love

I love Etsy!!  I have several friends who sell their creations on Etsy but one thing I really love is that you can connect with so many great people all over the world.  One great feature is that you can create a treasury list of items in a particular theme.  It's so nice to be included in these treasuries!  One of my headbands was included today :o)



Head on over and take a look at "Land that I Love" :o)  I am loving that Captain America purse....that's the comic geek in me!

Rolled Rosettes

I LOVE making these rosette flowers!!  You can use any fabric and embellish however you like and they are just  too cute! I am personally not real big on the frayed look, so I make them a little different from those made all over the web. I made up a bunch for my niece and listed them in my etsy shop as well.



I used Amy Bulter's Lotus fabric for this rosette. And you can order freshwater pearls in just about any color...these are baby blue.



LOVE purple!!



Because every girl needs PINK!



I thought this one was cute for a birthday..the polka dots remind me of cupcake sprinkes :o)  I can't wait to send these (and a few more, lol!) to my super adorable niece!