Wedding Bells and Pretty Flowers!

Almost immediately after getting engaged, I went dress shopping.  Three stores, a lot more than three websites and countless dresses later, I found my dress.  Since the wedding wouldn't be until almost two years later, what was my hurry?  Pregnancy.  Back then I was fairly thin.  Right now I'm the size of a house (my excuse: I, like a house, do have a person living inside me).  And when I get married I will be thin again.  I have to be.  I'm too frugal to buy a dress and not wear it.  So the dress is more than just a dress, it's my inspiration to get back to my original size. 
Seeing as this is not a blog about weight loss, you may be wondering what my little story has to do with anything.  Well here's the connection, my dress is perfect... almost.  It's fitted in some spots and flowy in others, the perfect mix of modern and princessy.  It's just so me.   But there's this one thing I just don't love -   A flower (I guess) embellishment that just doesn't seem to go with the rest of the dress.  I wanted something bigger, more dramatic, more in line with the look of the dress and most importantly more ME.  How to make it more me?  Make it myself of course.  And that is why I came of with this hand beaded Swarovski crystal flower made from breezy chiffon, sparkling tulle and organza.

 

It took a little patience to come up with something I really liked.  The first flowers ended up in the trash, but I kept trying until I had something worthy of making my almost perfect dress into my prefect dress.  Now that I have the method down, I've been using these flowers for other projects as well.  I made two smaller ones to embellish my shoes (which will alsohave Swarovski crystals on them).  I've been experimenting with hair pieces, clips, fascinators, combs etc.  I haven't chosen a veil style yet, so right now I'm just having fun with different ideas.  

Anyway they don't have to be wedding flowers.  Use it as a DIY decoration in your home, make colored ones for your hair.  You could even decorate your Christmas tree with all red ones.  Use your imagination and get creative.  Here's how to get started: