A Handmade Hen Party

You may have noticed that I've had a little break from blogging for a few weeks during April and May. One of my very special friends is getting married in under two months and I have been busy preparing things for her handmade hen party.

Three very organised bridesmaids got together to plan a weekend of celebrations. Playing to our strengths, we decided to each take on a different part of the weekend to organise, I decided to take on the creative plans as I had a few ideas up my sleeve that I'd been planning for some time.

My aim was to create memorable additions to the fantastic weekend we had planned for her and create a few bespoke things that she could keep. Using colours that the bride-to-be loves I decided to build a theme round these colours and create a set of unique handmade items and decorations for the weekend. I'm thrilled to let you know that the weekend of celebrations went very well and all my handmade touches added to the fun events we planned for the weekend.

My favourite handmade hen party items were these pretty ribbon rosettes or ribbon brooches that I hand stitched and designed myself. Using purple, sage green and lemon yellow ribbon, I created 14 rosettes, one for each of the girls who were coming to the weekend activities. I wanted to create something pretty and glam that we could all wear at the various parts of the weekend to show we were all coming together for a special reason. The handmade ribbon rosettes were also a lovely present for each of the girls to take away to remember the weekend.

I made simple handmade paper chains using the same three colours. I used thin coloured card and cut strips measuring 8 inches long by 1 inch wide. I used my paper trimmer to help cut up the strips as I made around 8 to 10 metres of paper chains to decorate a room. I stapled the chains together for speed and used a small stapler. I also sourced pretty pearlescent purple and ivory coloured balloons and tied them together with purple ribbon.

I created a handmade garter as a special gift for the bride-to-be. I knew she didn't have 'something blue' so I made a pretty garter using pretty baby blue ribbon and tied striped ribbon into bows for extra details. I hope that the handmade garter will be something that can be handed down in time and be someone's 'something borrowed' and 'something blue'.

All of the events during the party weekend were a surprise for the bride-to-be. Before every big event over the weekend I handed her a handmade card providing details of what was happening next. These cards were created using pearlescent purple and yellow paper and card from Paperchase and some pretty mint green washi tape. I used a circular paper punch, scalloped circle punch and a Martha Stewart Butterfly punch to create a layered design on the front. Using green pearlescent ink I created a stamped message inside, punched some butterflies, and wrote a different message in each card providing more details of each stage of the weekend. I wanted to make sure that there was a record of every special event organised for the weekend so she could look back and remember.

In addition to the handmade items I collated photos of the bride-to-be from all of the girls who were attending the weekend, the friends spanned various stages of her life so we had a fantastic selection of photos. I added the photos to the album and asked all the girls to write messages on card to add to the photo album. We didn't fill the whole album with photos as we wanted to leave space for photos of the weekend that could be added later on. I tied the photo album with a big purple ribbon rather than wrapping paper. I really do think we managed to create a truly special present to hold her memories.

To make the day even more personal we created a menu of food filled with things the bride-to-be loves. We also created her favourite mojito cocktail using home grown mint from my courtyard garden.

I really loved creating a range of handmade items for the weekend. I've never created as many different things for one event before and I'm proud of what I have achieved and the new skills I've learnt. The time spent planning and making all of the items, as well as all the thinking I did about the little details over the past few weeks was really worth it. In addition to the fun activities and the great company we shared over the weekend, the crafty items I made added to her memory of the details of the weekend. I love it that the bride-to-be has some keepsakes to remind her of her special hen party weekend.

Over the next few weeks I'll write set of step by step instructions for how to make the ribbon rosettes and also instructions of how to make a handmade garter, so that you can make them too!

2012 :: A year in review

Last January I wrote a post, New Year, New Projects, about the things that I hoped to achieve during the year. I started my blog in November 2011 with this post about my desire to start a new chapter in my life and get creative. I wrote about my crafty beginnings which sparked a list of things I wanted to learn over the coming year. I'm super proud to show you a summary of what I've managed to achieve this year.

I had a busy year of making...I learnt to knit a chunky scarf when I started my blog... 

I attempted to start crochet...I didn't have time to continue with it, but maybe this year!

I took the plunge and decided to start knitting a cable cushion cover

During a patchwork and quilting taster session I got hooked on patchwork and buying fabrics...

I said goodbye to my Mum's sewing machine and invested in my own new sewing machine...

I made a quilted patchwork sewing machine cover

Made my first patchwork quilt and wrote instructions of how to make the quilt...

I made a cushion for a good friend

 Designed and made my own Christmas Patchwork Stocking and made two just in time for Christmas!

I got back into paper crafting and made some cards...

I started gardening and planted some plants and flowers and watched the garden bloom

 With the awful weather during the summer we still had a little crop of fruit and veg to eat!

I was given my dream window boxes and added some summer and winter flowers to them...

I made a few things for our home...I created my own labels for our spice rack

...learnt how to make sloe gin

and did a bit of upcycling, making coasters from wall tiles 

I spent a little bit of time in the kitchen cooking and baking...

Well, what a year. I'm so very proud of what I've managed to achieve. There haven't been many years where I feel that I've developed so much, I've learnt so many practical things and achieved so much! 

Thank you so much for following my journey so far, I really appreciate all your comments and visits you make to my blog. I hope that you will join me during 2013 to see what I get up to, I've got some great things planned and I'd love to share these with you.

Making cards using fabric and a touch of spotty bunting!

As well as getting stuck into knitting my cushion cover and starting my top secret project, I got stuck into making a few cards to try something a bit different…Spurred on by the fact that I couldn't find cards that I liked, I decided to make my own! On my commute to work I found the ideal time to plan out in my head my ideas for each card, I wanted each to be personal and special for those who were going to receive them.

Early this week the cards safely arrived at their destinations so I can now share them with you! I made two cards to celebrate two big milestones. My friends were celebrating the birth of their baby girl and another friend celebrating her 30th birthday. Having procrastinated over the draft designs I finally sat down and had a play with my paper stash!

The new baby card was created to match the colours of the nursery, green and yellow. I created the card with a dual purpose to say congratulations and as something simple that could be framed and added to the nursery wall if they wanted.

 So here it is....

I bought a set of alphabet clear stamps recently and used these to stamp a letter on each part of bunting. I knew that the colours would fit with the nursery so I added a birth date to the card too to make it even more personal. I love using confetti in cards so using a craft punch of two feet I created confetti in a range of pretty pastels.

My ideas for the 30th birthday card were a little different! I wanted to try and use fabric rather than paper. Purely for the fact that I had much nicer fabric in the colour I wanted rather than in my paper collection. I traced a '3' '0' and created templates to help me cut out the fabric. I used some iron on webbing to make the fabric stiffer so that I could easily cut out and stitch the fabric. I cut a rectangle of fabric to mount the 30 on and cut the edges with pinking shears.

I used hand applique to attach the '30' to the background fabric, using metallic blue thread. I then machine stitched using straight stitch the rectangle onto a white card. I loved adding fabric and paper together on a card so I will definitely try this again with other projects!

Here's the final card...

I was so pleased with both cards...I love adding a little bit of matching ribbon to cards I make to finish them off and make them look pretty. I just need to start making them earlier next time as I was a little late getting them in the post!

What cards are you making at the moment? Do you like using fabric to create cards?

The year of change...a new chapter begins!

I love autumn, a season of change and the chance to learn something new. The year so far has brought plenty of changes in my life and it is now about to change even more…

In January I put my job and career on hold for three months and went travelling. It had been an important goal of mine for a number of years. During the trip I went out of my comfort zone, took on new challenges and saw so many fantastic places. Whilst I was away I had time to reflect, being away from my normal routine and the city I have lived in for 10 years. Every day of my trip I gained a new perspective of what the day to day could hold and discovered a real appreciation of what made me happy.

Being away from home I realised that my job does fulfil my need for new experiences and challenges. I love the working environment I’m surrounded by every day, however something big is missing in my life. This is the opportunity for me to be creative, to have real hobbies and interests that make me tick.

I want to change that and it got me thinking...when I was younger I enjoyed dabbling in creative hobbies, however I let my interest in them slide to other choices I made. I rarely gave myself chance to flourish creatively…So in April I came back refreshed from my trip and started thinking about the next chapter in my life.

After a summer of getting my head together, I have made a decision to embark on a set of new goals to challenge myself. I want to reinvigorate my passions that I had but put on hold, clear out the clutter in my life and start something new. I want to learn new creative and practical skills to grow into a queen of domesticity! My aims and goals are to teach myself new crafts, build on my passion for interiors and home styling, learn to be a great gardener and become a brilliant baker!

I hope that through The Pink Button Tree I will be able to share with you my journey of learning crafts, home styling, gardening and baking. Each week I hope to bring you updates on my projects, my thoughts, my tips and my inspirations.

This autumn change is happening…I’ve planted a new seed into my life and I hope you will join me as I grow my passions and start creating. I’d love for you to follow me through this new chapter in my life and leave your comments.