Saturday, November 1, 2014

Wedding Invitation Keepsake Ornament



With all of the weddings I have attended, I have a surplus of wedding invitations lying around that I can't bring myself to throw away. On the other hand, my house is cluttered enough, and I certainly don't know where I'll store them with the limited storage space we've got. Finally, it dawned on me (about 25 weddings too late)...I could give the invitations back to the bride and groom in the form of a keepsake ornament that they could hang up around Christmastime year after year. With my friends Sarah and Steve getting married this Saturday, I thought they'd be fantastic guinea pigs to receive the first edition of this gift! Here's how it's done...

Materials:

-wedding invitation
-scissors
-round pencil or pen
-clear, glass ornament
-ribbon
-lighter
-charms
-split ring




Instructions:

1. Cut invitation into thin strips so that there is one line of script per piece cut (refer to picture below). Since this particular invitation had cardstock 
    behind it, I decided to separate the cardstock from each of the strips and use them for added color inside of the ornament.


2. Using a rounded pencil or pen, curl each strip of paper tightly around it and slide off the pen or pencil to avoid unraveling



3. Place each of the "curls" inside of the glass ornament.


4. Cut about 8" of ribbon in a corresponding color and tie to the loop at the top of the ornament, creating a way to hang the ornament from a Christmas 
    tree. Fray the edges of the ribbon using a lighter.

5. Cut about 14" of ribbon and tie around the top of the ribbon, creating a bow in the center of the ornament. Trim off excess ribbon. Fray the edges of 
    the ribbon using a lighter.

6. Place the charms on a split ring and close the split ring around the center of the bow so that the charms dangle in the middle of the ornament for 
    added embellishment.

Here's to a lifetime of happiness and wedded bliss!!!