Crafty Weekend

I headed to Owensboro last weekend to help my mom with some wedding crafts she had underway. But before we even got to what we had planned, we came up with another project: handmade boutonnieres. It all started when mom found these on Etsy. I loved how intricate and detailed they were, and how small they were. (I've never been a fan of the huge rose or calla lily overtaking the lapel.)

Our first reaction with stuff like this is generally "We can make that!" so we spent the better part of Saturday browsing Hobby Lobby, Joanne's and Michael's for the perfect flowers, leaves and feathers. Then we spent the better part of Saturday night putting them together. Notice the floral carnage on the kitchen table:

The thing you need to know about my mom is that she can make ANYTHING. She weaves baskets, she grows her own gourds, dries them and dyes them in the most beautiful colors. For Christmas, she made my brother a leather holster for his tomahawk, and last year she did knife sheaths. As a kid, I had a handmade hair bow to match every outfit. She grows a garden in the backyard and cans salsa and pizza sauce. She knits. She sews. She makes jewelry. So it goes without saying that she's putting her crafty touch on the wedding as well.

Here's the final product:

I kind of wish I had a lapel and got to wear one of these!

Our Sunday project was managing the wedding monster that was slowly overtaking my bedroom. Bistro lights for the barn roof, muslin for draping, ribbon, grapevine Mom has collected off the farm - all of this had exploded on the floor but ended up perfectly boxed and organized!

Then we did an inventory of vases for the centerpieces. I originally had this wonderful idea to use my mom's vintage cut glass vases, but then we quickly realized we needed to raid my grandmothers' collections as well and then round things out with some antique store finds. It's been really fun to hunt for the perfect things, and I hope we end up with a beautiful hodgepodge on each table.

Here's the idea (with lovely fresh flowers instead of our sad boutonniere remnants):

Finally, I'm putting you all on "swan watch." The kissing swans below were one of Mom's unauthorized flea market finds. I have forbidden them at the wedding but she is determined. If they are spotted, they must be immediately removed from the premises.