DIY flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow

My daughter recently got married and being the bargain shopper that I am, I went on a hunt for ideas.  I was at Hobby Lobby and saw that they were running their bridal items 50% off.  They were beautiful and a little pricey (I thought).  Then I got this great idea. . why not make the basket for the flower girl and the pillow for the ring bearer?! I love a good project!  I thought that I would share what I did.  

First of all let me tell you that at regular price the basket and pillow at Hobby Lobby were $29.99 each.  Had I bought both of them they would've been $29.99 together - still a little high. 

I purchased two baskets at Hobby Lobby for $2.00 (marked down)

1 yard of fabric (on sale) at $3.50 per yard

pillow at a thrift shop for .50 and a new pillow form (still in the bag) at a thrift store for $1.00  

You will also need batting and/or fleece to pad the basket and black sating ribbon to wrap the handle in.

I also added black and white lace around the edge and trimmed it in diamond wrap.

 Flower Girl Basket
1. Overlap basket with fleece and then glue.  (Don't show your daughter yet because she will get that scared look of "what are you doing" on her face?)  You can also pad the basket with stuffing  but do this lightly.  You want to give it some shape.

 2. Next make sure that you have enough of the fabric and do the same as you did the fleece but this time you will gather (or fold) the fabric to give it a more finished look. (Still don't let your daughter see it because she will still have that scared look on her face). Glue in the same manner.

 3. I ran a gathering stitch about an inch down from the rim of the basket and then covered it in black venice lace.  This will begin to give it some definition and again I would still recommend not showing it to. . . well, you know.

 4.  I had some pretty white lace that was gathered on both edges and I sewed it over the black venice lace. (Can you guess what colors the wedding is?)  The white ruffled trim is pretty with a white rosebud design going around the middle but because this is a more formal look, I decided to cover it in the diamond wrap.  (That is the same product that I used to cover the flip flops).  I also sewed it on. 

 5.  Next I added a round rhinestone embellishment

 6.  The last step was wrapping the handle of the basket in black satin trim.  The only ribbon I had was 1/4" wide.  It took more but it was easy to use.  I glued the handle in spots and began tightly wrapping the handle with the ribbon.  Pull gently as you wrap it to make sure there are no gaps.  Let dry.  Part of making things is using whatever you have around the house.  If you're like me, you may not throw much away and then can find something to help with your creative endeavors.
 Now you can show your daughter.  She will smile and say "it looks good."

 

The Ring Bearer's Pillow
I forgot to take before pictures, so I am going to attempt to tell you what I did.
Supplies: Pillow form or stuffing, fabric for pillow, fabric for bow and rhinestone button.
1. I measured the pillow that I got at the thrift store.  I realized when I took the (old) fabric off the pillow that it was stuffed with polyfil. (stuffing).  Because I wasn't using a pillow form, I didn't need to add to the outside edges.  I cut two eight inch squares.
2.  Next I measured and cut 2 eight inch squares of fabric for the bow. (I used velvet).  I sewed down two sides and left two ends open.  Turn right side out and press.  Gather the two ends that are open so that they measure 4-5 inches and then layer between the two eight inch squares that you are using for the pillow (right sides together).  Center the gathered edges so that there is approximately two inches on each side.  Sew three sides of the pillow and turn.  Press.  Stuff pillow and adjust polyfil until you are pleased with the shape.  Hand sew the closure.
3. Run a gathering stitch in the middle of the center fabric to make it look like a bow.  Next glue or hand stitch the jewel in the center.  Maybe you have a special brooch that was a grandmothers that you could use for something old or something borrowed.  
There you have it - a beautiful pillow and I like it even better than what we saw in the store.

Blessings!!
Linking with 2nd Time Around Tuesday.