Vintage Thingie Thursday : Vintage Brooch Bride Bouquet

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies being showed that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Inspiration for beautiful vintage creations can be found most anywhere these days. Lots of people are standing up and taking notice of how wonderful it is to save a vintage piece from the land fill and turn it into something that can be treasured. Usually, all it takes is a little inspiration, imagination and the desire to create to turn something quiet ordinary into something extraordinary.

Last month, our friends' daughter got married and I was lucky enough to get to help with the planning. Early on during the planning stages, I gathered pictures online that I felt would be along the lines of this brides taste. Among those pictures, was a beautiful bouquet made from vintage brooches. As you can imagine, she fell in love with this idea....I knew she would, it was right up her alley! You may remember the vintage themed wedding shower we gave in May, well, this is the lovely bride with her vintage brooch bridal bouquet.

Tom Finn Photography

The bride and her mother gathered vintage brooches, earrings and rings from family members, thrift stores and online shopping. What made this so special was many of these pieces belonged to the brides grandmothers and relatives, so each piece was special in that regards.

Tom Finn Photography

We did search online for tutorials, but they were vague at best. The bride, her mom and sister sat out to complete this task, and even though it was a job, and took more time to complete than intended...it turned out beautifully.

Tom Finn Photography

The different colors in the pins and jewelry make a striking contrast against the wedding dress.

Tom Finn Photography

From this distance, the bouquet looks like fresh flowers. If you are a sentimental soul like I am, I so wish I would have had something like this long ago on my wedding day. What a great keepsake from your special day, and it will last forever....vintage forever.....my heart sings!

Tom Finn Photography

This is the bride and her dad, he is a firefighter.....I had to show this picture because it is simply my favorite. Just look at the beautiful bride with her beautiful bouquet standing next to her handsome dad in his um.....um......"well worn" work attire!!! Such a contrast in attire and made such a great statement...I just love it!!

Tom Finn Photography

The Happy Couple!!!

Each piece that was important and held special meaning was displayed on the outside of the bouquet, other pieces made up the centers of this beautiful piece. If you look closely, in the middle is a yellow "J" that to me was a great touch, as the bride's name and her grandmother's name both starts with that letter.

And what do you do after the wedding? Well, my friend found this amazing shadow box to house the bouquet, along with the wedding cake topper, the invitation and a copy of the prayer said at the ceremony. This makes a wonderful keepsake from your special day to enjoy for years to come. It is truly amazing what one can do with a little imagination and inspiration and an old jewelry box full of vintage jewelry......Amazing.....and Special.

~ A special thank you to my sweet friend, who allowed me to share this wonderful vintage creation with all my blogging friends today! Thanks so much!!!

Have a great Vintage Thingie Thursday everyone and a great weekend doing what you love best. I'll look forward to seeing you back here next week.

Fabrics: Prewash or No?????

When you start a new quilting project....do you pre-wash your fabrics first??? I have heard some say never.....I have seen this past week, two different quilters who had major issues after washing a quilt that the fabrics were not pre-washed to begin with.

What is your take on this, as I am still fairly new to this quilting business....and well, after lots of work, I'd hate to see it messed up....

I tend to like the way the fabrics "shrink" after the quilt has been quilted and washed....but on the other hand....will I still get that effect if I don't pre-wash the fabrics....

Opinions greatly appreciated!!!