OBTer JodiT looked at a lot of DIY birdcage veil tutorials before diving in to make her own, but found none to be *just* what she needed. So she meshed them all into one, added her own (very helpful!) two cents and put together this easy-to-follow tutorial for all you crafty mavens! – Offbeat Shrie

The first veil that I made was attached to a headband. This was easy to make and very easy to put on and take off (no fussing around with clips) but it was also not adaptable. I could change the length slightly by moving the headband, but that was it. I couldn't change the angle at all. I also played around with the single-gather type, gathering one long edge of the netting and attaching it to a single comb that would be worn at the crown of the head but I was not happy with how it looked on me.

What I made is a wrap-around veil: a length of netting gathered at the shorter ends and attached on both sides of my head. Here's how I did it!

Continue reading "How to DIY your own birdcage veil" →

OBT member/crafter Rachel took the advice of her photographer and crafted herself and her bridesmaids some pretty nifty feathery floral fascinators for her and her new hubby's black and red uber-stylish wedding. This is a step-by-step tutorial she put together (mere days after The Big Day!). – Offbeat Shrie

Materials

• Small hair comb (plastic or metal)
• Feathers, fake flowers, ribbons, decorations
• Hot glue gun
• Yarn
• Scissors

Step 1:
Take the yarn and small hair comb. Tie the end of the yard onto the end of the comb and hot glue to the comb.

Step 2:
Wrap yarn around the comb through tines. This creates a base to glue your decorations to. Choose a yarn color that goes with your decorations so that if any shows through it is not too obvious.

Step 3:
When you reach the end of the comb, tie off the thread and hot glue again to set it. Trim the yarn so that your comb resembles the image to the top and right.

Continue reading "How to make your own feathery floral hair fascinator" →

Offbeat Megan snagged this awesome idea straight outta the OBT and we both knew it would be a fab DIY post. It's so super-duper unique and, well… celebratory!

Michele (congrats on the recent wedding!) put this simple how-to together to share with all you OBB lovelies. You can customize them any way you want… so get printin'! (and show us pics of your own special celebratory flags!)

"Yay!" Celebratory Flags
By Michele

I made these “Yay” flags for our wedding, intending for people to wave them for us as we walked away after the ceremony. They ended up being such an integral part of the evening, with everyone waving and shouting “YAY” every time we walked by! And since I added our names and the date to the back of them, they also served as the only favor we had for our guests. It is a quick and easy project- I hope you enjoy it!

Continue reading "How to make your own "Yay!" celebratory flags, by Michele" →

After spying Donelle and Adam's glorious 8-Bit wedding, we fell head over heels for their DIYed Shrinky Dink boutonnieres, hair clips, corsages and "diamond" necklace. And we were downright impressed with the fact that Donelle came up with the idea and executed it to complete perfection!

Donelle, graphic design maven of 8 Bit Onion, was oh so kind as to give us a tutorial chock full o' pictures. Read up, DIYers… this is a how-to you're going to wanna see.

Continue reading "How to make your own 8-bit wedding accessories, by Donelle" →

How much do you love the custom fortunes Kate included in her fabric fortune cookie favors?!

Offbeat intern cohort Megan spied this great DIY wedding favor that the crafty OBT member Kate had great success with, thanks to the no-sew, easy peasy tutorial from Megan over at Brassy Apple. It's a surefire way to kick out a cute favor with your own flair in no time.

Brassy Apple's tutorial is simple yet will have the "oohh" impact. The look could vary based on your theme and your fabric, and who says you can't jazz it up with some felt, ribbon or silly pom poms?!?! Dare I say, bedazzle it!

To get step-by-step instructions for how to make these fabric fortune cookie favors, head over to Brassy Apple.

The whole wedding planning bonanza is a bit like thrusting your head in a cannon and waiting for it to blow… there is just SO much anticipation and worry. To DIY or not? Should you go all out or pinch pennies? What about decorations and favors?

If your head is swimming with possibilities and your palms start sweating at the mere thought of diving into the planning, take a look at these tutorials. They might just save your wedding — and your sanity!

Continue reading "Tutorials that could save your wedding" →

Uncommon wedding dresses may be a little more common than you think. A Chinese designer showcased a flowing wedding dress sewn almost entirely out of peacock feathers in Nanjing, China this spring and a Hollywood couple had a duct tape wedding at Universal Studios, complete with a duct tape suit for the groom, a duct tape cake and duct tape flowers… it was even sponsored by Manco (Duck Products) of Avon, Ohio!

This saavy bride definitely wore white… white wool that is. FROM HER OWN FLOCK! Talk about DIY!

Louise Fairburn designed the dress, which cost £1,500, and had a spinner and a dressmaker spend 67 hours constructing it with wool from her rare Lincoln Longwool sheep, Olivia.

The award-winning sheep-breeder and English "Little Bo Peep" wanted her dress to make a statement about wool, and that it's not necessarily only meant for home-knitted beanies. The smashing handmade wedding dress purportedly stunned her husband (who was also outfitted in a wool waistcoat as well) when he first saw his future wife walking down the aisle.

Want more zany DIY dress ideas?!? I though so. Check out this elegant and classy gown made out of condoms, or this fresh and stunning little prom number made out of coffee filters!

Oh and PS: Thanks to everyone who emailed us about the wool dress! There were lots of you.

The offbeat bride: Emily, Geologist & General Rock Geek

Her offbeat partner: Dave, Environmental Consultant

Location & date of wedding: The deck of my parent's cottage in central Alberta, Canada on June 5th, 2009

What made our wedding offbeat: We both really wanted to have a party with all of our family and friends. The actual ceremony lasted less then 10 minutes, but the party lasted for three days.

Continue reading "Emily & Dave's Rainy Cabin Potluck Wedding" →