A Happy Wedding Gift

My cousin was married this summer.  It was a small, casual wedding.  She didn't have a shower.  I decided in addition to the typical cash gift, I'd give her something she could use for her home.

This is what me and my ladies came up with:

I'll just start off by saying, I don't have any work-in-progress photos.  Why?  Because in true Bambi fashion, I was buying the supplies the day before the wedding and putting this togeather at 10 pm.  We needed to leave at 9 am the next day to make the 4 1/2 hour drive to the wedding.  So yeah, nothing like last minute!

My shopping list for this gift was:
                 *A big, inexpensive, pretty basket...This one was $12
                 * A roll of leopard print ribbon
                 * A roll of black tulle ribbon
                 * Fake flowers I bought a small stem of yellow roses
                  and 1 stem of little purple roses...I'm always amazed how expensive fake flowers are!
                 *A big 11 x 14inch picture frame from the clearance rack
                 * Small package of gold tissue paper
I already had: craft wire, scrapbook paper, scrapbook letters and E6000 glue

The kids designed and glued the letters on the scrapbook paper.  They also helped glue the flowers to the frame.  I made the big ribbon bow with gold rose.  We used E6000 instead of hot glue.With these heat waves we have had, the hot glue would have melted right off!

I made a big, poofy bow and added flowers for the basket.  I twisted it all togeahter with craft wire and twisted the wire onto the basket.  She can take the flowers and bows off if she'd like.

We also got her some little gifts to put inside the basket.  The kids wrapped them in the pretty gold tissue.  We put the frame in there and I think it worked out pretty well. 

I'm not usually into the flower arranging and bow making crafts.  I'm not sure what got into me.  While twisting this big bow, I started having bad flashbacks of when I worked at a craftstore in college.  If the customer bought the ribbon at the craft store, we'd make them a bow for $1. 

I worked alone alot on the weekends.  Some of those old ladies would make me remake the bow 5 times and still not be happy with it. "No poofier!"  "Can't you make the loops smaller?"  "Is that as big as you can make it?"   I was so shy and quiet.  I'd just get nervous when they would come at me with those spools of ribbon. 

Finally you learn...
 I'd tell them the bowmakers don't work on weekends.  You have to come back Monday for a nice bow!   Ha Ha!

My bows are not much better today.  Now, I just stick a flower on top and nobody will notice!