My Loved Ones With Me at The Altar

My bouquet charm was the last wedding craft I made, but the first one that I had planned for. If I remember correctly, I believe I literally snuck it in the night before we left for Playa del Carmen, MX. When I first saw the idea in a craft book (I wish I remember which one!), I knew I just had to have it!

Having our wedding in Mexico came with a sacrfice - that sacrifice was not having all of our loved ones with us at the altar. But...I was able to fulfill my childhood dream of having a Spanish wedding and Todd was able to get his beach wedding.

My grandma (my mom's mom and the first woman in my charm) and I use to talk about what my big day would like. My grandma (Marcelina Alicia Urusquieta) was born in Mexico City and use to tell me all about the customs of her native country. Of course I never dreamed that she wouldn't be with me at my wedding! Afterall, she was supposed to be one of my bridesmaids - right next to my sister who was my matron of honor.

My grandma died several years ago, so I when we planned the wedding, of course I knew she wouldn't be there physically, but I had always thought that my grandparents (on my Pop's side) and our buddies Obie and Deuce (Westhighland Terriers) would be! When I realized that this wouldn't be the case, we were both sad. I had always pictured my grandparents sitting in the front row and thought Obie and Deuce would have walked me down the isle next to my father.

I know there are thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of brides who will find themselves in the same circumstance. Having your loved ones with you during your wedding (in real life) is definitely the ultimate, but when it's not possible here's an idea that I hope will cheer you up - it cheered me up. ;-)

Here are my memories that I have of my picture charms on our big day.

I carried with me pictures of my two grandma's, my grandpa, and Obie & Deuce throughout the entire day. While we were all getting ready, my mom carefully wrapped the charm around my bouquet with ribbon. While we were waiting to begin the wedding march, me and my Pop kept taking peeks at our loved ones and we talked about what they must be doing at that very moment. When I walked down the isle I was consious that they were with me. When I was at the altar, Todd and I had a moment to spend just looking at them and shortly afterwards he told me how happy he was that I had made it. (Of all of the wedding crafts, this was his favorite.) After the ceremony we spent even more time holding the charms and talking about how much we loved those pictured in it. The added bonus was that it was a great way to share the memory of our loved ones with our wedding party and our guests as they came up to see the pictures and to hear our stories.

I purchased the little picture frames at Michael's. It was a picture charm bracelet kit. Instead of making their suggested design, I came up with this quick beaded weave made of black beads and crystal beads that came with the kit. Unfortunately, I can't find this kit anymore at Michael's! I'm so bummed! But here's a site where you can purchase something similar from.

http://modernchoice.com/

This is one heartfelt wedding craft that you'll be so happy you spent the time on!

If you make this craft, please do share!

Happy crafting!

Sincerely,

Celina Baginski
HSW Editor

PS If you find this kit, email me and tell me where!! celina@handcraftedseasonalweddings.com

Beaded Rings as Bridesmaids Gifts!

Bridesmaids gifts are important.
It's your chance to tell the most important women in your life just how much they mean to you. These are women who have shared tears with you, maybe a sister who's pulled your hair out a few times, the girlfriend that you got caught with as you were sneaking out of the house late at night or maybe the girlfriend that you got a speeding ticket with (or two). These women have been through a lot just by knowing you! They deserve something extra thoughtful and special from you. Say THANK YOU in a big way!

So over Memorial Day, I made a couple of beaded rings that I think would make perfect bridesmaid gifts! As a matter of fact, I've been wearing the all fresh water pearl ring every day since! But before I start talking about the rings...I must write down a few of my fondest memories that I've shared with my bridesmaids. ;-)

Here are just a few things that my special bridesmaids and I have been through together.

1. Amber, my little sister...oh, god...the memories... From packing each others underwear with Barbie doll clothes in an attempt to lessen the sting of the spanking we new was coming our way to me helping her learn how to breast feed for the first time by strategically positioning her 10lb boob (like I have a clue! I'm 33, recently married with no children). What haven't we been through together?



2. Diane and I go back about 8-9 years and together we've cried on each others shoulders too many times because some asshole was an asshole again, we've shared gallons of booz together, lots of hikes together around beautiful Colorado and we're currently planning our Girlfriends Extravaganza party in honor of the long awaited SEX IN THE CITY movie!!!



3. Wendy and I have been friends since high school (yes, it's already been 16 years). Together we shook our pom poms in sync with our hips (but Wendy, for some reason every time I look at old dance pictures your poms are always going one way and your hips another...we need to work on that). We rode the streets hanging on to the waists of our men, wind blowing in our hair and praying to God that we didn't crash because we were wearing daisy dukes and no helmet - yes, it's true. We were crotch rocket biker babes at the prime age of 17-18 years old. LOL I can't say anymore because even our mom's still don't know all of the messes we got ourselves into.
   
   
4. I met Kim at the ripe age of 30. She lived in the corner house and neighbors often witnessed me walking down the block in her direction carrying pitchers of margs and only carrying two glasses. Together we've already gotten the label of "boozies" from my new husband. As Wendy's husband likes to say...we've gotten our swerve on zillions of times. LOL We've laughed so many times that I don't think I've ever (almost) peed my pants from laughing so much.



5. Caren is Todd's little sister, yet incredibly wise for her age. I've enjoyed seeing her grow into herself over the years and she's turned into one heck of a remarkable woman. I'm thrilled that she's moving out to Colorado next month so we can become even closer. I'm not sure if she knows what she's getting herself into (because she's about to see alot of me!), but I can't wait. It'll be so nice to finally have family out here and I'm so excited!

So here's my point...I'm sure that you have your own funny, crazy and memorable stories of your own. So treat your bridesmaids to something special. You can absolutely create a wonderful gift on any budget!

Pearl & Light Blue Ring

The first ring that I made on Memorial Day was illustrated in Bead Fantasies IV, by Takako Samejima on page 17-19. This wasn't the easiest ring that I've ever made, but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

This ring would be most appropriate for a Spring or Summer wedding.

Fresh Water Pearl Ring
This ring was soooo easy! I found the design in the book titled Beads, Buttons and Bijoux, by Nathalie Delhaye on page 32 - 34. The instructions said to use seed beads, but instead I chose approximately 3mm & 4-5mm fresh water pearls for my ring. I love it! I wear pearl earings alot so this ring ties my earings and my grandma's diamond and pearl necklace together perfectly.

This ring is good for all seasons! Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter.

So there ya have it ladies! Pick the one you like most. Don't forget to make yourself one too. ;-)

Happy crafting!

Sincerely,

Celina Baginski
HSW Editor

Bridesmaids Necklaces As Gifts

(all pointing to my sister's big boobies)

My first wedding project (and one of my favorites) was creating necklaces for my bridesmaids. At first I had no clue where to begin, but I came across an awesome beading book written by Takako Samejima. Her designs were different from all of the other designs that I had seen before and wow were they gorgeous! I was immediately inspired and thought to myself, "This is no big deal. I can surely figure this out."

Well, let me tell you that creating these little suckers was no cake walk. For starters, it took quite awhile just to learn how to read the diagrams and to understand the concepts behind "weaving." I started first by creating a necklace for myself as practice. I went to several bead stores and picked up beads as closely matched in color and in size as the necklace I chose in the book to make. That was time consuming, but not as time consuming as making the first piece. I had to start over 3 times and over a period of 3 days I had put in about 13 hours.

OK, so the good news is that once I figured out that seed beads are not created equally (there are several sizes), figured out that I needed VERY thin nylon thread and a very thin needle (because you have to weave in and out of the same bead several times) and figured out how to read the diagrams I have gotten to be quite good I must say! To make the same necklace, I went from 13 hours to 1.5 hours per necklace. Not bad!

The fun part is that once I got over the learning hump, I've been able to make many more designs out of Takako Samejima's books as well as others without much effort at all! And, of course now I'm hooked. I love beading! My sister and I have both made several pieces of jewelry including necklaces, bracelets and rings. I definitely know for sure that I'll keep beading for years to come - no kidding!

The very best thing about this gift is that my briedsmaids LOVE their necklaces. The colors of beads chosen go with just about any outfit and they've been able to wear them over and over again.


Happy crafting!

Sincerely,

Celina Baginski
HSW Editor

Resources: Takako Samejima is the name of the jewelry designer mentioned in this article. She has a collection of books that are titled Bead Fantasies. There are 4 books in her collection. Bead Fantasies I, Bead Fantasies II, etc. If I remember correctly, the bead necklace that I made for my bridesmaids came out of Bead Fantasies II.