For You Friday - I Do's For Little Ones

This week's For You Friday are tips and ideas for you moms or soon to be brides who are having wee members of the wedding party.  Love is in the air this Spring so this may help you to avoid mid-nuptial bloopers or meltdowns with I Do's for the kids.

Monkey made her debut as flower girl in my cousin's wedding last September.  She was 13 months old and had yet to meet a stranger so I was pretty confident she would do ok in front of a lot of people but I still realized that she's 13 months old and unpredictible so it was mine and my cousin (the bride) to take steps to help Monkey be successful. 

Here's Monkey and the Beautiful Bride

1st: - Do Have a Dress Rehearsal:
Not the actual wedding rehearsal but a dress rehearsal for your child.  About a month before the wedding we started having Monkey wear her dress which was a tutu dress that I made, usually you probably will only need to do this a week or two before the wedding but because kids act differently to tulle I knew to start earlier than that.  You want the child to feel comfortable on the big day so having her wear the outfit for a little bit of time ahead of time will help ensure this.  You just may want to be sure to keep markers and grape juice far far far away from any white dresses or any color for that matter. 

Monkey in her dress playing a few weeks prior to the wedding

2nd - Use Book, Pictures, and Stories
Reading books, showing pictures, or sharing stories to psych your child up for any event will help build the excitement and know how.  Some books your child may enjoy are "Angelina and the Royal Wedding," "The Flower Girl/The Ring Bear," or "Alligator Wedding."

3rd - Ask For Help
You may be concerned about a toddler freezing up in the middle of the aisle when walking down.  But there are many ways around this scenario. 

• A bridesmaid could walk with her or even carry her down the aisle.
• Have the mom or dad or grandparent of the toddler/child seated near the front so she/he can see them and walk towards them.  
• Decorate a little wagon to have the ring bearer or a bridesmaid pull her down the aisle in.  You can even have a sign on the back of the wagon that says Here Comes the Bride.

For Monkey we had all 3 of these planned.  On the night of the rehearsal we would get a feel what we thought she would do best with.  If she wasn't into walking with the ring bearer then since I was the matron of honor she would walk down with me.  But we found that she would walk with the ring bearer and he was so good with her and patient. We had my mom, Grams at the front encouraging her along so she walked straight down towards her.  For a back up on the day of we had a wagon ready in case she wasn't willing to walk.

This is the wagon we decoorated just in case. 

I can't seem to find a picture of it decoarated but we covered it in white satin material and added flowers and ribbon, pretty simple.

4th - Keep It Simple
A young ring bearer may want to toss the pillow around like it's a toy, so have him carry fake bands in case of a football toss.  A young flower girl may not be ready to stand still through the ceremony so have a family member near the front to have her sit with them. 

During the rehearsal we found that she did not want to be on the stage.

Again we had Grams sitting at the front so once she walked down the aisle, the ring bearer just sort of dropped her off with Grams and he contined onto his spot.

5th - Remember that it's Ok if all doesn't go according to Plan:
Even if you practice and plan and think things through, a child is a child and something still may go wrong, like a missed nap or being hungry BUT it makes for funny stories to share with them when they get older and it does not take away from the most important part and that's the bride and groom becoming one! 

Monkey started showing signs of being tired.

We thought we had it all planned out, we had practiced, Monkey walked down with ease, (although she's a little OCD with cleaning and messes so we taught her how to drop the flower petals from her basket which she did beautifully but then she'd stop to pick them all back up too so we opted for no flower petals).  We were feeling confident and she seemed to be ready but one thing we did not rehearse or think of was the dim lighting in the church for the ceremony.  During rehearsal it was bright with every light on so Monkey could see with no problem, but the ceremony was different and she could not see Grams and got a little spooked walking down.  The ring bearer was great and she went with him and finally saw Grams and all was well.  So keep in mind mishaps happen but even though she whimpered a bit she was still adorable and the bride was still beautiful. 

Starting the walk down and looking for Grams

Oh There's Grams

Look how sweet and cute the ring bearer is to take care of her.

Happy now that she's with Grams

Hope you enjoyed the tips and would love to hear your tips or suggestions or even funny flower girl/ring bearer mishaps stories.

Happy Friday Ya'll. 

Thursday's Tutorial - Ribbon Key Fob

Before we get to Thursday's Tutorial which are these adorable and fun key fobs, I'd like to get a little feedback or info from you awesome readers. 

First, I'm in search of a vinyl store/business to purchase a few wording and designs for my home.  I don't have a cricut although if Poppa is reading this then he knows what Momma would love for Mother's Day, well that and some new shoes that rock!  Anyways since I can't make my own I'd love to give my business to a fellow mom or blogger that is trying to build her business or make some extra money.  I could go to one of the big places but thought ya'll might know someone trying to get their name out there.  And if all goes well then I'd like to offer that mom/blogger space in my advertising section for 3 months for free.  So please let me know if you know someone. 

Second, while I have a few Thursday's Tutorials already done and lined up and have some ideas of tutorials to do there will quickly come a point where this gal just has brain fart of a week and will have nothing to offer my lovely readers and well we just can't have that now can we? 

So I'd like to offer any bloggers who have tutorials they'd like to have featured here to please contact me and if you don't have a tutorial but have something you'd like to see how it's done then send that to me too, if I can't do it myself then I'll find someone for you that can, that's how I roll people! :)

Ok enough business let's get to the goods.  We've probably all seen how to make key fobs so this basically is just another same ole same ole, just that it's my same ole same ole. 

Since I'm in the ribbon business of bow making I opted to use ribbon instead of making fabric pieces like most I've seen.  I made one of these for my mom and she used it at her school one day and send me 5 orders.  I also took these to my show this past weekend and sold all of them so needless to say people really seem to like these and they make great gifts. 

First gather your supplies:


Webbing 1.25" heavy Cotton (hot pink shown in the crappy pic below.  This should be around .75-$1 a yard, Etsy is a good place to get this)
Key Fobs (These should be around .35-.40 each, I buy mine in bulk from group buys but a lot of sellers on Etsy sell them for around this price)
Hand Towel
Lighter
Tape Measure
Pliers
Ribbon in color and print of choice smaller than the webbing
Heat N Bond Ultra Hold
Iron

I found this Etsy Seller, BAG Lady Of SC that sells it as a package which is perfect for making a few for friends and gifts.

Step 1:
Cut your webbing and ribbon to 10" (you may vary it depending on child or adult size)
With your lighter heat seal your ribbon ends. (This isn't a must but it's such a pet peeve of mine!  I can't stand going into stores and boutiques and seeing $20 bows for sale and the ends are not even heat sealed so I heat seal everything even if it won't be seen.)

Step 2:
Press a piece of 7/8" Heat 'n Bond to the WRONG side of your ribbon. Don't press it too long, as this is the point where you can disintegrate the glue. Make sure the piece has cooled before you strip off the paper- otherwise, you tend to take some of the glue with it.

Step 3:

Center the ribbon on the webbing and press it with the iron. Now you need to press it longer, as it takes longer to get the heat through the ribbon. Steam also helps.

 
Step 4:
Fold the webbing in half, with the ribbon showing on the outside. Stitch or hot glue the raw edges together. This just helps it keep from slipping when you attach the hardware. You can also trim up the ends and use your lighter to prevent any ragged edges, if you prefer. (I prefer )
 

Step 5:

Clamp the key fob end tip over the raw edges of the webbing with pliers. Use your cloth towel to prevent scratching the hardware, but unfortunately, that makes it harder to see what you are doing and you can end up with crooked fobs so be careful. Make sure you crimp the hardware as tightly as you can to the webbing.

Step 6:
Slip the key ring unto the hook of the key fob.

Step 7:
Stand back and admire your work.

Here are a few different patterns and sizes (made for both adults and kids) that I whipped up in a mater of 15 minutes.

Here are some other sites and pics that have made some to give you inspiration.

You can personalize them like I found here.

Use them to Raise Breast Cancer Awareness like I found here

Show your teacher your appreciation this year like this one found here.

Or even show your a fan with a sports themed key fob like here.

The possibilities for these little babies really are endless! 
Hope you have fun making one and be sure to let me know about moms or bloggers that sell vinyl and tutorials you have or want to see.
Happy Thursday Ya'll!

Fun Party Link Up
Monday



Tuesday

Wednesday

Mother Day Gift Ideas

I had a deep and serious and meaningful post scheduled for today but if you're like me something light and inspiring seemed to be more fitting for today.  Just been one of those weeks so far ya know!?! 

So what's better than deep and meaningful?  UH duh, shopping people, shopping! 
With just 12 more shopping days left for Mother's Day I thought I'd post for you some fun and amazing ideas that your mom might enjoy receiving as a gift this year.   I have my aunt and Nana and Mother in law gifts already but I'm stuck as to what to get my mom.  My mom is the type of person you want to go all out for because she's the type of person that goes all out for you.  So just getting her a random kitchen gadget or framed picture just doesn't seem to measure up in my book, although she'd love nothing more than those items.  It's me that knows she deserves so much more but what?  I'm still trying to figure that out so if you have ideas feel free to send them my way! 

But on to ideas for you. 

Is your mom green or wanting to go green?  Then help her along with this Go Green Basket including the recipes for how you made them so she can continue staying green.  This particular basket is for cleaning supplies but you could tweak it to your mom's personality, spa, garden, cooking, all stocked with green materials. 

All moms love cards, the thought, the words, the images, but think how much more she'd love to receive this handmade Card in a Can.  And you probably already have all the supplies on hand keeping this a very inexpensive way to express your love for mom.

Most moms love to wear flower corsages to church on Mother's Day, why not have her stand out in this beautiful Handmade Corsage!

If Poppa happens to read this then he might find it beneficial to know that I'm a mom that LOVES girlie things like ribbons and pearls, oh who are we kidding Poppa doesn't need to read this to find that out, he's very well aware but he might not know that I love this beautiful necklace set made from Ribbon and Pearls, it just screams mom and girl all in one statement!

My aunt would love one a hand made Garden Flag.  This would look great in any mom's front lawn.

I love candle holders and candle sticks and I'm so digging the thought of making your very own Handmade Candle Sticks and it's a way of recycling and going green while being oh so chic in one step, how can a mom resist that? Seriously even if already did your shopping and crafting make some of these for yourself!

This beautiful and awesome little Bird Bath is exactly what I'm doing for my Nana.  She's got a HUGE one in her front yard but this one will be perfect to add near all of her bird feeders.  So pretty and so simple!

And since I make and sell these of course I think any mom would love them, Key Fobs are great gifts to hand out.  I did make one for my mom and gave it to her already, she took it to school and on the first day I had 5 orders for them to make!  She's great for doing my advertising.  See what I mean about a mom that makes you want to go all out for!

Would you like to make one of these?  Come back tomorrow for Thursday's Tutorial and I break it down for you.
So what are you doing to make your mom feel special this Mother's Day?  I'd love to hear about it.  If I featured you here grab my button.
Happy Wednesday Ya'll.