Through the Looking Glass: Felt Flower Bouquet Tutorial.

 I come from a long line of talented women, my mother made us Halloween costumes for years, and my grandmother is a master quilter. Who has dedicated a large majority of her life to knitting, quilting, sewing and a multitude of other artistic talents. I wanted to honor them in my own wedding by creating a bouquet out of felted flowers. it might not be for everyone but i enjoy sitting down at the end of the night and creating a single flower which will eventually end up in a bouquet i am estimating will be about 40 flowers.

 It is important to have a well stocked sewing basket before you start. Have a few different colors of felt so you can have some variety in what you are creating. Best part is it does not have to cost you lots of $, just cost you in some time. As my wedding is a year and a bit away Time is something i have lots of.

 Start with cutting your basic shapes, in this case three circles. Then choose some thread either in a similar color or choose something with contrast.

 Next: you will stitch the first layer of felt to the base of your 'flower" I am using a simple stitch, but you could get as creative as you would like.

 Next: stitch on your top layer of the flower, (this would be the red layer) and make sure they are of equal distance on each side.

 As you can see in this photo every second stitch on the tan layer i am stitching through the first and second layer to create a 'petal' look. You can see one side is unfinished and one is completed. Petals can be placed closer and farther apart but i have found that two stitches per petal makes for the nicest fold.

 To make your flowers all unique and special, especially to create an over all visually interesting bouquet collect some vintage buttons, some crystals, and other things to make your flowers shine. 

At this point i roughly have 15 flowers made, here is a sneak peak of some different designs. I think the best way to make a bouquet is to try some different methods and see which flowers work for you. My bouquet will be stritcly fall colors, tones or white, tan, brown, dark browns and black.

Where it all starts, the Proposal.

 I've Always thought the proposal set the tone for the marriage, its something so special to the couple and it's something so unique and personal that for every couple its always different. Before out engagement i had day dreamed about what that would look like and how he would propose and i can honestly say that when that moment happens, its so much more magical and special than any of the day dreams you could possibly imagine!

 Calvin (Above) And I met five years ago at a local coffee shop. We started off as friends and he even took me to my graduation. Our romance started off slowly and over the years it has grown in leaps and bounds. He is not only my love, but a true friend and someone who i admire.

 We decided that for our 5th year anniversary we would take a trip to Victoria British Columbia and Celebrate our lives together with some beach combing and together time. We found ourselves on Beacon Hill Park and should you ever visit Victoria i would make the effort to go there and walk the grounds, not only as they well maintained but they are incredibly beautiful!

 This is the Beach that Calvin Proposed on, Beacon Hill Park.

 On our beach walk we found ourselves some new friends, this little crab was hiding in the rocks and had i not been looking down we might have stepped on him!

 A beach tradition for Calvin and I, something that we have done for years out at the Sushwap is to build a rainbow out of colored rocks and make a wish on them, we then leave the rainbow for someone else to discover in hopes that it might brighten their day when the find it. We decided it was only fitting that we made one on our trip and as i was taking photos of our creation, i turned around and Calvin was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. When we day dream about something, for so long, reality is certainly better than any of those day dreams combined. For myself i could not have asked for a more personal and meaningful proposal.

 Not to Leave you hanging, because i know you will want to see it. This is my engagement ring, a blue sapphire ring, with diamonds around the stone and down the band. Ever since i was young i knew i wanted a sapphire, perhaps influenced by the great princess Diana, or maybe because i am just quirky like that. Calvin picked out the ring himself and i think he found an amazing ring that is everything i could have asked for!

"Sapphires have long been used in engagement rings because the sapphire symbolizes romantic love, truth and commitment. During the 12th century, the crusaders would present their wives with sapphire rings to test their fidelity because the sapphire's color was believed to fade when worn by an impure or unfaithful woman. Many members of the modern British royal family have received sapphire engagement rings, including the Queen Mother, Princess Anne and Lady Diana Spencer."

 We made some new friends along the way Above is a small crab we found at the beach and Below is a sweet little squirrel that ran up to me from across the park no doubt to get his photo taken and to say hello.