Good morning DIY brides!

(Yes, even you! You might not think you're a DIY kinda gal, but you will be by the end of this post, trust me!)

So, if you don't know this about me already, I'm a major DIY advocate. Call it 'getting crafty', call it 'being thrifty', call it 'making-things-unnecessarily-long-winded- for-yourself", there's nothing we love more here at Festival Brides than getting our hands dirty! The proof's in the pudding, Laura, Kelly and I have all been known to get our craft on: from DIY instagram photo coasters as favours at my wedding, to the vibrant, hand painted sign posts Kelly made for Laura's festival reception. For us, the key to any DIY is in that first letter: it must be Doable!

I've scoured some of my all time favourite sites to bring you a Festival Brides approved round up of the most accessible, yet ridiculously cool tutorials that'll have your guests exclaiming: 'No way did she do that herself!' time and time again. Just another reason to smile your way gleefully through your reception; believe me ladies, there's such satisfaction in Doing It Yourself.

Image credit: Nomad Styling

First up, let's ease you ladies in slowly with this 'so-simple-it's-cray-cray' DIY by Nomad Styling; the page table runner. It's seriously simple: step one: buy a couple of beat up copies of you and your fiancé's favourite pieces of literature. Step two: rip all the pages out. Step three: using a Pritt Stick glue them together, overlapping into a narrow table runner, long enough to over hang your table ends. Et voilà! No seriously, that's it! Just those three little steps and you've made yourself a personalised, strikingly beautiful table runner. Doable? Er, I think so!

Image credit: BLDG25

Aren't they just the prettiest? Sure you could buy a set from IKEA, but how much sweeter would it be to make a custom set, with a dose of 'not-perfectly spherical' handmade charm? Nothing too complicated here, in addition to your fairy lights Free People are asking for some cute lace, a few water balloons, fabric stiffener, petroleum jelly, scissors and a needle or pin - pretty sure I have most of that in my cupboard! Perfect gracing the beams of your tepee, or trailing delicately through a tree; these twinkly lights are worth every bit of effort!

Image credit: BLDG25

So, it wouldn't be one of my posts if I didn't mention Free People more than once, right?! Plus, I simply had to include this tutorial of theirs, entitled: '1 Tool, 3 Wedding DIYs' (every handmade bride's dream!) 'Now, what is this incredible multitasking tool?' I hear you ask. You're not gonna believe this, but it's the humble paper pot press. Yup, that little wooden stamp thing your Grampa used back in the day to recycle newspaper into little starter pots for seedlings. Ever the cutest innovators, the gals over at Free People are making little pots to decorate your tables with, tiny tubs of pot pouri and those sweet little favour parcels, all with that single, understated diamond of the gardening world. Who knew, hey?!

Image credit: Honestly WTF

Soft peach roses, layer upon layer of pink peonies and muted blue-green hues from the (majorly trending) succulents; bride-to-be, meet Honestly WTF. If you already acquainted with these girls, be prepared to lose your entire day to browsing their site, and that's before you go anywhere near the DIY page, prepare to lose a month and your social life to that! Simple, elegant but oh-so-fabulous, these flowered letters are that burst of colour you've been looking for!

Image credit: Que Linda Signs

Image credits: Right, Green Wedding Shoes Left, Ruffled Blog

We are in love with these strung up signs. We've been obsessing over them for months now in their multitude of stunning forms and, finally, we've tracked down a great, step by step tutorial for y'all to work with via Ruffled Blog (linked below). Think of a battered piece of reclaimed wood, a load of old nails (hammering is great stress relief, good for the soul, haha) and some bright neon thread and you're pretty much there! Play around with fonts and try edging your board with nails and weaving between the edge of the board and the nails forming the outline of your letters, so that the letters become the unstrung space, seriously gorge.

Image credit: Ruffled Blog

Next up is one for your mini guests. If you love the idea of tiny tepees but haven't the budget or know-how, or if the weather's set to be seriously sunny then a couple (hell, an entire village) of these super cute A-frame tents are the perfect DIY. Experiment with textured fabrics and contrasting hues, or you might want to potato stamp plain canvas and add a tassel garland. However you do it, your mini guests will love chilling in these amazing little bohemian hideouts!

Image credit: Mom.me

Image credit: Apartment Therapy

Image credit: A Beautiful Mess

You might remember how I sang to the high heavens over the use of ribbons as insanely gorgeous reception decor a couple of weeks ago (didn't see it? Check it out here), well here I go again ladies...

This oversized ribbon chandelier is just everything.

As a bohemian centrepiece to your tepee, hanging in a woodland or as a statement above a dessert table, it's just divine. In essence, it's just 2 elements: a wire cooling rack (yes, the kind you use to bake cookies) and a shed load of ribbon. Can you believe that? So simple and yet the outcome is sheer boho heaven. I wonder how long my hubby would complain for if I hung one over our bed...

Image credit: A Beautiful Mess

Of course, we make no secret of our love for rugs here at Festival Brides; I walked down a persian covered aisle, Laura said her vows upon her favourite Indian rug and we pretty much advocate that every bohemian wedding should feature a beautiful rug at some point! So, it's probably no surprise that DIYs number 8 & 9 will guide you through making your own rug. Haha, daunted!? Yeah, I was too, but on reading these tutorials, with a hefty dose of patience, they seem kinda doable! So, whether you make a rag rug from you and your fiancé's old shirts, or choose to go bright and bohemian with a pom pom rug, you could be creating a family heirloom here! What a treasured item this could be: featuring throughout your ceremony and then being lovingly placed in your home post-wedding, maybe even as a wall hanging to save it spoiling. A gorgeous piece, forged by your own hands and encompassing a shed load of fantastic memories, it couldn't be any more worth the effort!

Image credit: A Beautiful Mess

Image credit: Architecture Art Designs

Image credit: Brit

Image credit: Brit

That ombré is incredible, hey? What a great keepsake, and you might just find the (somewhat monotonous) weaving and pom pom making techniques actually prove a wonderfully therapeutic time-out during the coming months of wedding planning, and to be left with such a gorgeous labour of love at the end of it all? Yeah, wishing I'd done this!

Last but not least are these shell laden, beautiful beaded ankle cuffs. Once again, the ladies at Honestly WTF have made a major beach bride trend accessible to all, by means of this sweet DIY - I love that! To add, in their words, that perfect 'washed ashore' element to your bridal look, employ Pantone's colour for 2014, Radiant Orchid, paired with white shells, stone coloured thread and keep those feet bare and free!

Image credit: Honestly WTF

Ahh, I just love it when a post ends on a perfectly chic, dreamy note!

So, Festival Brides, I hope you've got your needle threaded, your glue stick poised and your fingers are nimble, because these DIY concepts are just begging to be used at your wedding! Nothing's cooler than making something totally original for your free-spirited day, so run wild with these tutorials, play with colours, textures and shapes; make your wedding your own.

Much love,

Clare xo

Ps. Should you decide to use any of the Magic Ten DIYs, please holler at us & send some photos along - we'd love to see your fine craftsmen ship!

Pin It

Related posts: