Top 5 Feature: Cornflower Blue

It's Monday!  Time for our Top 5 Feature where fellow bloggers and budgeters share their top five tips on saving money on your wedding or new home.  Anything from decor to recipes, these bloggers have some really good and do-able ideas that brides and newlyweds can replicate easily.

Today we're so happy to have Cortney from Cornflower Blue contribute some awesome ideas for flowers and accessories.  She's got it down perfectly too by using specific flowers to save you money on all sorts of accessories.

Please stop by her blog and check out her ideas, she's a very creative lady who will inspire you to create something fun this week.  Take it away Cortney!

Here are a few tips for 5 DIY wedding accessories using only a few different materials. I used the "Emporium Vintage Fleuri Kit" in brown (the colors I used are perfect for a beautiful fall wedding). This kit comes with a variety of coordinating flower petals and stems. If you don't have access to kits like these, you can use silk or imitation flowers that you can find at major craft stores, discount stores and thrift stores. Buying them on the stems just means that you have to add 1 extra step and remove them from the stems before you start :-)

The first design is a layer of 4 different flower petals. I put the largest in the back and the smallest in the front. Attach them by using hot glue just in the centers of each petal. On the top in the very center, I glued on an old clip-on earring after removing the clip on part with a pair of tin snips. You can also use old buttons and brooches. If you don't have access to those you can always find fancy buttons or beads at any craft store.

When using the final product as a hair accessory, just glue the back of the flower onto a hair clip. If you would like to make it a little more secure, you can hand sew it onto the hair clip. (tip: if using these for the wedding party, you can use different buttons/brooches/earrings for the center to create a little variety and interest while still matching).

You can also use the same flower as a shoe embellishment. (tip: tell your bridal party to all wear a shoe of their choice in the color of your choice. Then add on this accessory to each shoe for more continuity without being too matchy-matchy). Glue on a clip-on earring blank base (available at craft stores) to the back of the flower. That way they can be securely fastened to the shoe while still being removable.

Feel bad for making your bridal party pay for their own shoes? Feel bad making them wear shoes that will most definitely cause blisters? Buy $2.50 flip flops at Old Navy or your favorite discount store in the same color and attach the flower that you made to each shoe to dress them up.

If you are not looking for a wearable accessory, these flowers are also great to accessorize your party favors. Small boxes of chocolate and confections are most common as give-aways at weddings, with a decoration like this on the top, your guests can bring home a beautiful souvenir that isn't going to wilt.

Using only one of the flower petals, you can easily make accessories such as the earrings above. There is a small hole in the center of the flower petal, so I took an eye pin (you can also use a head pin) and threaded it through the center of the flower petal and into a bead cap. The bead cap that I used for the earrings is pretty big, but bead caps come in a variety of sizes, which will all work beautifully. Using only simple jewelry making techniques, I made a loop at the top of the pin, I used the same technique to make a "link" with the yellow bead, attached the flower and bead together, then I attached them to the ear wire. These would be great for a bridal party gift!

Skipping the bead link step and the ear wire step, you can make an equally fast, simple and inexpensive boutonniere. I took one of the contrasting petals, folded it in half and hot glued it onto the back of the orange petals. You can then glue on a pin blank base (craft stores) onto the back of that petal and pin it on as a boutonniere.

Using inexpensive flower petals and some hot glue, you can make a variety of different accessories for your wedding. Happy DIY-ing your wedding!
Thank you so much!  Again, check out her great blog and follow her for more ideas!

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Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

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