Tuesday 25 June 2013

If the tiara fits...


    Huge apologies to everyone - I am afraid I have been very terrible about visiting blogs at the moment. I am a bit caught up with commission work until July and am finding it difficult to keep up with everyone right now - I am only managing to post things because I set up all of my June and most of my July posts back in May - Keeping my fingers crossed that I could find challenges at the time of posting! I am hoping to return to normal blogging activity by the end of July and I am so looking forward to getting back to everything. Thank you so much for hanging on here and posting your wonderful comments - It means so much to me.


     Here is a totally different creation for you to see.......As I have mentioned in previous posts I got married last year.....finally! After two children and 13 years together we decided to take the plunge and make it legal!

    ...actually it was a lot more romantic than that. I finally got to have the wedding of my dreams....the beautiful dress, the flowers, lace, satin and all the gorgeous elements rolled into one perfect day....oh, and the gorgeous husband too (he eventually got used to the fact that I couldn't get out of the habit of calling it MY wedding day instead of OURS!)

    I knew when we began planning the wedding that we were on a very very tight budget....and I mean a 'barely there' budget.....bridesmaid dresses were bargains from eBay, my wedding dress was a gift from my maid of honour, shoes bought in a sale, I made the bunting with some help from crafty friends and got some second hand material for it, flowers gathered from hedgerows, decorations from charity shops...you get the idea - we also borrowed and begged (we would never steal!) and hunted for the best bargains we could get and it turned out to be the most amazing wedding. I know I have put the link on here before but if you are new to my blog and are interested by the sound of this bargain wedding then please take a look at this link - It is written by my wonderfully talented sister-in-law Alison (Butterfly) who took care of creating the wedding decor for me us.......

      I decided early on I wanted a tiara....and I wanted a handmade one. I went to several wedding fairs and was horrified when looking at the prices. I wouldn't be able to get one for less than about £100 and sometimes the prices were a LOT higher - I was NOT going to pay that much for something that I would wear for one day (and with hindsight I am glad I didn't buy one because I changed my mind about the tiara a few weeks before the wedding anyway and didn't wear one)

    Anyway....at this point I did want one....a double band Grecian style vintage tiara....and what do I do when I can't find what I want? I make it myself! And if I don't know how to make it?.....I learn very quickly! ;o)

               
 
I bought a basic silver tone double hairband from eBay for £1.00, I had some silver wire already in my craft supplies and my bridesmaid had given me a tub of pearl and crystal beads when I began planning the wedding - just in case they came in handy!



      I wanted a side decoration and had considered using a brooch, but after hunting around for one and dismissing them all as too costly I found a vintage style side hairband in a pound store....so for £1 I had the side decoration. It was cheap soft metal so was easily detached and applied to the band with wire


Online I found some instructions about attaching beads to hairbands and following it was quite simple....it took just a few hours to complete the tiara, adding in extra pearls to the side decoration.





















I had very painful blisters on my fingers afterwards, but that is a small price to pay for saving so much money.....so instead of paying about over £100 at a wedding fair I paid about £3 for this tiara and also had the joy of making it and learning something new. Sadly this tiara didn't 'fit'....as with all brides I changed my mind all the time and I eventually found a gorgeous crystal comb...but I did have a wonderful time making this.

























                   Hope you like it! I'd love to know what you think of my first attempt at Tiara making!



           This is a bit of an unusual crafty blog creation - so I don't think I will find many challenges that it could be entered into - if anyone spots any please let me know ;o) However for now I think I might be able to enter it at -


    Inspiration Emporium - Brides, Weddings and Anniversaries Follow on Bloglovin

15 comments:

  1. WOW,well first off, I hope you remember to breath shesh you are a busy woman so we'll here from you when you have time. Now the wedding, how fabulous you to do it all yourself on a budget that was fabulous. WHAT Miss butterfly is you SIL, oh my she is my mentor, and you are the bomb, your MIL is fantastic artist,what a talented family you are, fantastic...
    Now the tiara, you are just darn brilliant, I love you teach yourself things from on line, I'm a self taught person myself so I appreciate it in others. The Tiara is STUNNING and perfectly made, thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day, I'm heading over to look at the link, can't wait to see the decorations, hedgerow my favorite....

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  2. What a shame you ended up not wearing your band! Who knows, you may have occasion to wear it in the future (and of course there will be 'Proms' to come too!) Love the way it is all so evenly and beautifully entwined - I'm not surprised it took pain as well as effort. You have a family heirloom there now. Hope you are getting on top of all your work now. Hugs, Jenny x

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  3. If I were a jewellery-wearing person which as you well know I am not, I would covet this.....it's lovely. So delicate and beautifully balanced.
    xxx

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  4. I too did the wedding on a budget. I had $2000 to do everything. The dress I wanted cost more than that, so it was off to the sewing machine...lol...but I too had the best wedding! Those are the best kind in my opinion, so KUDOS to you, and all your helper bees, especially Alison! Funny thing is, I forgot to take my gorgeous bouquet down the isle as well, so I feel your pain. You can still wear this though, while I can never carry my bouquet again...bahahahaha!!!! Gorgeous make, simply stunning! I love all the blingy bits! A piece to cherish forever!

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  5. Fit for a princess and I know one very close to you who will hopefully wear this at some time in the future and bring tears to your eyes! Its so lovely Laura and you just have to keep it in the family. Love, Margie x

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  6. Fantastic creation Laura and a wonderful keepsake to treasure. TFS
    Annie x

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  7. A lovely story to go with your lovely tiara
    Rosie x

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  8. This is just gorgeous. You are so talented. I was married 25 years ago and it was all on a budget and homemade! The dress cost twenty pounds, but it was the best day of my life and people said they had a great time! Really enjoying reading these blog posts!Thank you for sharing your beautiful creations. Julie Ann xx

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  9. I think this turned out beautifully! I love the sparkles and the pearls. Thank you so much for joining in our June challenge over at Inspiration Journal. =)

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  10. Your tiara is stunning Laura, just a shame you did not get to wear it - although it will be lovely for your Daughter one day maybe? Our D2 is having a budget (second) wedding later this year and I think we will have lots of fun making things too. Hope you get on top of all your work soon. Hugs, Anne x

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  11. It seems there are many fans of the good old budget wedding, yes i had one as well, i was still sewing my wedding outfit the night before! I've now been married for 33 years and many of our friends still say it was the best wedding they'd ever been to. I despair of these youngsters that feel the need to go way over the top....... Still i digress, i love your vintage tiara, it's so pretty, has a rather 1920's style which I understand is going to be all the rage with the Great Gatsby film so you may get to wear it after all x

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  12. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW Laura the tiara is so very very beautiful.
    Great piece of art.
    Greetings Janny

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  13. Wow! That headband is gorgeous! I think you definitely should give it a wear every now and then - even if it is just around the house. Very clever making it yourself!

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  14. Oh Laura that is so beautiful !! Humm the Queendom NEEDS a Crown ... maybe I could "create" one using your idea !

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  15. Gorgeous...I did a similar thing for my daughter for her wedding bouquet and it was a lovely keepsake!
    Thanks for sharing with us at Inspiration Emporium wedding challenge!


    Sue Kment

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