New DIY Wedding Book: "Handmade Weddings"

Direct from the girls who started one of our fave letterpress studios, Hello! Lucky, comes this: the ultimate book for the crafty bride. Handmade Weddings features over 50 gorgeous crafts, each one with photos and step-by-step instructions. What I love are the ratings (easy, moderate, advance -- most crafts are either easy or moderate) and the classic-with-a-twist projects. Eunice and Sabrina of Hello! Lucky enlisted the help of top weddings stylist, Shana Faust, for the book, so each project feels homespun and beautiful.

The book hits stores in January, but you can try out this excerpted project right now.

Bride & Groom Cake Topper

With a little creativity, guy and girl doll blanks can be transformed into an adorable personalized cake topper. Simply follow the templates or sketch out your own interpretation (you may want to get a couple of extra doll forms in case of mistakes).

Materials

Makes 1 cake topper

3 1/2-inch tall male and female wooden dolls (available on Etsy.com or at craft stores)
Acrylic paints (we used white, red, brown, and black)
Thread
20 to 25 seed beads (we used red)
Small piece of tulle for the veil
Decorative button for the veil
Decorative button or cabochon for the bouquet
6-x-1-inch Styrofoam disc (available at craft and floral supply shops)
One 8 1/2x11-inch sheet patterned or solid text-weigh paper
1 yard 1-inch ribbon

Tools

Pencil
Paper plate
Small square brush
Small pointed brush
Cup of water
Paper towel
Beading needle, or "sharp"
Scissors
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Ruler
Pin (optional)

HOW TO

Paint the figurines. Lightly mark your design on the figurines in pencil. customize the features to match both you and your fiance -- have fun! Squeeze a dab of each paint color onto your paper plate. Wet your brush in your cupof water, dab on some paint, test the brush stroke on the plate, and begin painting. If the brush is too wet, blot excess water on a paper towel, apply more paint, and try again. Use the square brush for large solid areas, such as the hair or clothing, and the pointed brush for fine details. Rinse your brush thoroughly in water before switching colors. let the figurines dry.
Add the necklace. Thread the needle, knotting the thread at one end. String the beads onto the thread until the necklace is long enough to just fit around the bride neck. Tie the loose ends around the neck in a firm knot and trim with scissors.
Add the bouquet and the veil. Cut a 1-x-2-inch piece of tulle (larger for longer or fuller veil). Accordion-fold it, and attach it to the head with a dab of hot glue. Add a button on top using hot glue. Attach a decorative button or cabochon flower for the bouquet using hot glue.
Decorate the base. Trace the styrofoam disc twice on your paper, and cut out both circles using scissors. Measure the height of your styrofoam base and cut a strip of solid paper that measures as follows: [height of base] x [circumference of base + 1/2 inch]. Note: Circumference = diameter x 3.14. Wrap the paper strip around the side of the base, carefully aligning the top and bottom. Affix with hot glue. Align a circle to the top of the base and affix with hot glue. Repeat for the bottom. Wrap the ribbon around the base, and pin or hot glue in place, aligning its seam with the seam in the paper strip. If desired, add a separate bow to the front of the ribbon.
Attach the bride and groom. Using hot glue, attach the bride and groom to the base. Be sure they are facing away from the seams in the paper and ribbon.

VARIATIONS

Retro Homespun Cover the base in gingham or striped fabric. If desire, add more features to the figures. Or make your figurines out of wooden clothes pins and dress them in tiny fabric outfits. (See www.thesmallobject.com for inspiration!)
Found Cover the base in found papers, such as kraft paper, tissue paper, recycled gift wrap, or old maps.

Excerpt from: Handmade Weddings: More than 50 Crafts to Style and Personalize Your Big Day. By Eunice Moyle, Sabrina Moyle, and Shana Faust (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2010). Photo by Joseph De Leo.