DIY- Bird cake toppers

Here's how to make your very own cute Birdie cake toppers. They'll look gorgeous on top of your wedding cake!

You will need:

Assorted fabric- I found mine in the quilting section at Spotlight including tulle for the veil.

Some nice sharp scissors, some pins, a pen or pencil, a sewing machine ( or a needle and thread) and some old pillow stuffing. ( you can buy stuffing from spotlight also.)

Bits and pieces to decorate with. Glue. Skewers.

Think about your colour theme when you choose your fabric.

1- Sketch a bird shape onto fabric. Make it bigger than you want it, as once sewn it will be smaller. Also exaggerate the shape as it will be less sharp when you've finished.

The size should be in proportion with the size of your cake.

2- fold fabric in half and pin in place so that when you cut, you cut 2 shapes at once.

3- place fabric pieces back to back so the bird will be inside out. Sew around edges leaving a 2cm gap along the bottom.

4- Turn the bird in the right way (this is a little tricky).

5- stuff with polyester stuffing. Make as fat as you like. The sew the 2cm gap closed.

6- For the bride I made a veil by cutting a 7cm square piece of tulle and gathering it one end which I sewed onto the girl bird.

7- Decorate with strings of beads, diamantes, feathers, buttons or black headed pins for eyes etc. Be creative and use your theme!

D.I.Y Clutch.

I have made 7 clutches of varying sizes in varying fabrics, in the past two afternoons.

I have pieces of fabric and old clothes, I get bored, and I decide to make something. This time it was simple fold-over clutch purses & trinket bags.
I like to think of myself as a creative person, but am not so sure that I actually have any "mad skillz". I pretty much just make the project up as I go.
Most of them I will probably gift to friends. I'm not sure what I will do with 7 clutches!

The reason I tell you this, is because I think it is an awesome Idea for DIY Brides! How about giving your bridesmaids a little clutch each? Big enough to hold essentials for the day {lip gloss, compact} and she can re-use it for every day, popped in her handbag to keep her makeup together!

As I said, I have no mad skillz, I literally created a rectangle, from two coordinating fabrics, {with interfacing to stiffen them} and took it from there!
I decorated with buttons and lace, and am pretty happy with how they came out.
There are a couple larger ones {which would fit passports and tickets/travel info. Cute way to keep organised when going overseas!} and wee ones {which fit mascara, pens, lipgloss, etc.} and a really tiny, cute one! {perfect for keeping your tampons from spilling all over the place from your handbag!}

Heres a few pictures for you to have a looksie at.
I am rather proud of my achievements!

This clutch is super soft, so that it can roll up to hold pens & a notepad, or whatever tickles your fancy, and ties with a little black ribbon! {see below!}

This one was an old t-shirt which I got hair dye all over. Shame. But it's now a handy travel pouch!

Pretty handy, don't you think?!

And Oh-so easy.

{With my amazing paint skillz}, I have drawn a couple of diagrams for you.

Two pieces of co-ordinating fabric. Mine were about 30cm by 20cm. {If you are making them for bridesmaid gifts, Why not tie them in with the theme for your Wedding?}

And two pieces of fusible interfacing, cut to size.

Iron the interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric.

Pin the two pieces right sides together.

Sew around, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and a 2 inch gap so you can turn the bag right side out. Which, coincidentally is your next step. =]

Turn your bag right side out. 

Fold and iron the gap in on itself, and ladder stitch the hole together. Or you can cheat and machine along the whole edge in a pretty stitch, like a zig-zag or similar.

Decide how far you want to fold the bag. Have a good play around to get the proportions right, you don't want to fold the bottom too far and then have a tiny top that barely folds over.

Once you have decided, iron the folds, and then use a pretty stitch again, to sew the sides together.

Then fold the top over, iron, et voila!

If you like you can decorate it with buttons or bows, or even add lace..... possibilities are endless!

I hope that was easy to follow!

It is pretty straight forward if you have an idea of what you want. Feel free to play around with different ideas,  even round the end with a plate before sewing to make a scalloped top fold!

 Happy sewing!

Cost saving tips for your wedding

Sorry guys,this one is more words than pictures. I guess you could say it is an article. Its packed with useful advice for brides on a budget.

These days it has become increasingly important to keep to a budget. The last thing you want is to begin a new marriage with a debt hangover. Its important to be reasonable about how much you can afford. HOWEVER, there is absolutely now way that low budget = low class!! All you need to do is use initiative and be creative... which is the most fun part of wedding planning anyway right??
A few friends have queried me about this so here is my advice!

The three most integral elements of your wedding will be
1-your venue
2-your food (and drinks)
3-your photographer

To save on your venue the most obvious way is to think about who you know that might have a location you can use, from a lovely sprawling garden to a beautiful old barn. Think outside of the box when you consider this. Old theaters, schools, parks, rural rivers and forests all make glorious locations for weddings.

You need not pay thousands for traditional venues. Remember that specialized wedding venues will charge 'through the roof' prices because... well, they can. They know brides will pay almost anything to get what they want! Also note that marquee weddings are NOT an inexpensive option. You have hidden costs like hiring all your tables, tableware, chairs, even flooring etc, which all adds up.

-backyard wedding pictures here and here -farm building wedding pictures here

Your food is a very important aspect of your wedding. People will talk about it for weeks, wether good or bad.
An idea to keep your catering costs down is to have a tea party or champagne and canape style reception. Think about having your ceremony just after lunch and hosting the reception in the afternoon. That way you can avoid serving a full meal. The general rule is serve nine or more different types of canapes for every four hours of party.
For cakes, the easiest way to save is to have a relative who is a great baker do it for you. No doubt they would love to be involved. But, if you don't know anyone with the skills required, go for someone who decorates from home. They are far cheaper that commercial cake specialists.

Here are some small local(NZ) cake decorators. creative cakes, Ali's celebration cakes, funky cookies and cakes

The photographer. OK so this one is a little more difficult. Your photographs are so important as they are your permanent visual link to your day. It will go by so fast that you wont remember a lot of it until you have seen your pictures. TRUST ME you do not want to skimp in this area. If you have a friend who can fill this position thats great! Be sure to meet with as many photographers as possible until you find a balance between the style you want and what you can afford.

Other ways to save.

DIY is obviously a good way to keep some money in your pocket, just be aware of how much you are taking on.
Some ideas are:

-Use garden flowers loosely bunched in vintage teapots or glass vases. Alternatives to flowers include succulents, feathers, potted plants. Blooms can be a huge expense and florists charge the earth.

- The Warehouse sells fantastic "wedding candles". They are lightly scented and come in boxes of 12. They are cost effective and look lovely on the tables.

- Its obvious, but keeping your guest list to a minimum keeps costs low. Do you need that big wedding you wanted when you were eight? This can help in areas such as catering, favors, alcohol, tables, chairs and table wares, flowers... actually, in most areas.

- Borrow, borrow, borrow, ask, ask, ask. I found that after I had spent a lot of money on vintage silverware, some people I knew offered to lend me theirs for the day. Before spending, ask around. People are honored to help out in any way when it comes to weddings!

- Certain liquor outlets in NZ have a service where you can hire a trailer full of alcohol. You only pay for what is used, so leftovers aren't an expensive waste. This is a fantastic initiative.

Some pictures of chic, budget friendly ideas...

Mismatched bridesmaids. Its likely you can find some real bargains in vintage stores.

They may like to buy their own dress. If they choose it, chances are they will wear it again.

Garden flowers loosely arranged make a real impact.

Canapes make a good low cost alternative to a full meal.

Just make it clear on the invitations so guests can eat before hand.

These cute potted herbs would double as table decorations and favors.

What could be more cost effective than Twigs in vases! Get vases here.

Groupings of candles can be a very inexpensive way of making a statement. Even better when the sun sets!

Hope this has been inspirational!