It's Kind of a Big Deal

OK. You saw the jewelry in Part 1. Now onto the hair accessories.

I wanted something special for my hair. I really wanted was to wear a fascinator, but I was honestly afraid I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Instead, I went for my next favorite thing - feathers. While I was shopping one day, I found a really pretty turquoise blue feather pin. I decided I was going to modify it to wear as a hairpin. The change from pin to hairpin went fine, but when i put the feather in my hair, it kinda stuck out all funny. It was too flat for my head and just looked weird. But I really wanted to wear feathers! I realized after modifying the pin that making one from scratch wouldn’t really be that hard. All I’d need is some feathers (obviously), felt, glue and a couple of bobby pins. Oh, and a little gem (or something) to put in the center.

It was a learning experience. I bought a few different types of feathers from, of course, Jo-Ann Fabric. I wanted something with a white base, but not something long and floppy like an ostrich feather. I settled on white marabou and natural guinea feathers. Let me tell you, it was raining feathers in my apartment. They were EVERYWHERE! My cat was in heaven. I wish I had found this tutorial before I attempted it since it gives you step-by-step instructions on how to make one yourself. It was a big hit.

Because some of you (okay, one of you) asked, here’s a picture of my Etsy wedding dress. I chose blue because this was my second wedding and I didn’t want to pretend to be virginal. HA! Classy. No, really I just wanted something a little different and more casual. The Etsy seller who made it is Jane Bonbon and I seriously cannot say how much I like her.

Ryan is a total ham.

When I got married a little over a year ago, I went into DIY overdrive. I wanted to look nice, but didn’t want the traditional long, white gown type of affair. It was my second wedding and I wanted this one to be much more low-key. I had my dress handmade by a designer on Etsy in a really pretty baby blue silk. I totally loved it.

Now, accessories…very important! There were SO many things I liked - pearl jewelry (I just love that generally) and 50’s-type fascinators. GAH! The list goes on and on. What I realized was that buying special jewelry and accessories is expensive. I used to make jewelry as a side business (notice I still have my day job), so I understand why. If you want the “real” stuff like gemstones, pearls, etc., the cost of supplies is expensive to begin with. In searching, I found the PERFECT necklace on Etsy. The problem - it was over $300. Yeah, no. Granted, it was made with real pearls, but I just wasn’t willing to spend that. I only paid $100 for my dress! I realized that I could give it a go myself.

The difference was in the supplies. While I would love to have a gorgeous piece of expensive jewelry to pass down to someone, I really just wanted something that would look good on my wedding day. So, off to Jo-Ann Fabric. I bought a few bags of different sized pearls (the plastic variety) and found a really pretty brooch from one of those shops in the mall that sells cheap jewelry. I also bought a fancy sterling silver hook clasp. All in all, I spent under $25. Here’s a back view:

Now, I know that some of you will say that you can’t do this. YOU CAN! Making jewelry really isn’t that hard. The toughest part is fastening the clasp to whatever you’re stringing the beads on. Here’s a little tutorial I found. You’ll be amazed at what you can create. I’m telling you…

Part 2 - Hairpins.

I was planning a party a while ago and was going to serve a lot of cupcakes. I didn’t want to use boring old trays. I took to the internet in search of ideas. I found lots of cute ones for sale. I even found directions on how to make cardboard tiered plates with fancy trim. Then I saw these. They were on Etsy for a LOT of money. After looking at them, I realized that I could make them myself for under $20. All you need are plates in various sizes and small vases/candlesticks/dessert cups to use as dividers to stack the plates. Oh, and epoxy, of course. It honestly couldn’t have been easier. You just glue them all together and step back to view the grandeur.

I won’t lie. The first one is made entirely out of stuff from thrift stores, but I splurged on the second one. Two of the plates are from Ikea and one is from Anthropologie (aka the cutest store ever). I’m actually going to re-use this one to house my jewelry in my bedroom. So pretty, right?!