My fingers hurt. But they're pretty.

One of my most favorite crafting projects seems to be making fabric flowers. I made them for Meghan to cheer her up, I made (a ton of) them for a friend's wedding as table decor, and I knew I would be bringing them in to my wedding somehow. (friend's wedding setup below...)

I started playing around with a bunch of types of fabric: laces, silks, and even a good bit of muslin just for the sake of fun (and to see how the fabrics responded to being made in to flowers). I took inspiration from these bouquets, but I wasn't quite bowled over with the idea of an all-brooch bouquet. But I still wanted a good bit of bling represented. So off I went on some thrifting adventures to purchase brooches, with a $5ish limit!The inspirations:

I used fabrics from a good friend's wedding dress remnants (little did she know), lace inserts from my mom's wedding bouquet, and some plain ol' good and simple fabrics I found at Jo-Anns. (I later added some pearl sprig-things for a bit more texture.)

After each flower was crafted (sewed), I glued on a circle of felt (with two holes cut) to the back, inserted the wire stem, and glue-gunned the heck out of them. Some of them got brooches, some of them were just fine without. I made enough of these flowers to start forming my bunch, saw what was missing, and filled in the rest.

From past weddings, I knew that heavy bouquets are THE WORST. Especially for the maid/ matron of honor. So I wanted it to be fairly small. Hand-size, if you will. So, um, yeah. Here she is.

Heartfelt thanks

I can't wait to get pictures from Meghan of her walls FILLED with hearts. Thanks to everyone who participated/ is planning on participating. As you might have guessed, one way I am deal is through doing. (Another is through writing, which is weird. I have a hard time expressing myself verbally, but am totally willing to share with you through written words.)This may end up being a long post, as there are two things I want to cover. But hang in there.

First, my feelings toward my brother and Meghan. The more that I talk with people about this, the more they are impressed with how Adam and Meghan are handling this situation. Obviously, I know Adam better, so I'll start with him. My heart bursts (sometimes, it feels literal) with pride about how strong and courageous he is. I've grown up knowing that when you love someone, you love them when they're sick and when they're well. Dad and Mom taught us kids this. But Adam- wow. He met Meghan when she was well, but know he loves her more deeply despite the fact that she's sick. I've said it before, but I want to meet and marry a man that is a perfect combination of my Father and Brother. Adam has shown grace and poise through this all, and is still able to have joy in his life. Meghan, I got really excited about you when you guys were still in Korea. Adam wouldn't talk about you for the first couple of months that you were dating (probably because he knew I would freak out... in a good way, and he didn't want to be bombarded by a million questions). I love to see Adam happy and settled, with a woman that challenges him and is fun and joyful, strong and courageous. I get excited when just the two of us get to hang out and have jokes that Adam gets creeped out by. (I hope we can hug and murmur into each other's ears for years to come.)

Secondly, as I mentioned before, one way I handle is to do things. So one of the first projects I decided upon came naturally to me. I've been working on making flowers for the past couple of months, so this was another great way to make some crafty goodness. So here they are. A bouquet of some kind of silky and satiny flowers. I can post about the steps to flower-making later, but here they are.




















Leaving you with some truth-

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:3.

*k

Scraps.

I love projects that utilize old scraps of craft projects gone by... And I also love the vintage feel and handmade quality of home made items. Therefore, I love these flowers. Knitted flowers and fabric flowers alike... One day, I will post ones of my own creation. But in the meantime, I will post ones of others creation. Happy weekend!!