£4 cake stand

Poundland has a lot of unexpected bargains, but I wasn't expecting crockery this pretty! It costs £1 a piece, and then £1 for the cake tier supports. Most cake stands like this cost £15 plus.



The only problem is that you can't dismantle these for storage. From experience, though, that sort fall apart more easily. The thread on the screws is often too short for the job.

You will need:

A dinner plate, a side plate, a bowl (or dinner plate, cake plate and side plate).
Cake tier supports:


Very strong glue:



Time: About 20 mins.

Method:

Put a thick layer of glue on the tier supports.
Place the sticky end on the plate so it leaves a layer of glue.



Pull apart and leave for the required time.
Stick back together using the glue mark and centre of the plate as a guide.


Do one tier at a time and check it is stable before moving on to the next layer.




The cost comes in at £3 for the plates plus £1 for the cake tier supports! The good thing is that you can make them to match a service if it doesn't have a stand as part of it.

I think I can do it for quite a bit less with charity shop bargains too...

Vintage Teacup Candles

We finally settled on a theme for the reception. We knew we wanted to do afternoon tea, but not in the 1940s bunting way that is so popular at the moment. We are planning to get married on April Fools' Day 2015, but it still took us far too long to put two and two together and make a Mad Hatter's Tea Party!



This weekend, we happened across a pop-up shop selling local crafts. There was inspiration galore. One of the things we both liked was vintage tea cups made in to cake stands and candles. Shockingly, one cup and saucer was going for £20-25. I decided to have a go myself.

Cost:
£3.99 for 5 teacups and saucers from Oxfam
£19.99 for 5kg of Eco soya wax and 50 wicks.
















I don't think I even used a kilo of the wax, so I make that £1.60 each.

You will need:

Teacups and saucers
Candle wax
Wicks
Kebab sticks
A double boiler (a bowl over a pan of water)

Method:






1. Melt the wax.






2. Balance the wick against a kebab stick resting on the the cup by bending it.

3. When the wax is clear, put a drop on the bottom of each cup to keep the wick in place whilst you pour. Leave a few seconds to set.






4. Pour in the wax and leave to cool.






You can colour the wax by melting wax crayons into the mix.

Time: 30 mins plus 24 hours setting time.

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Button Bridesmaid Bouquets

Starting with the finishing touches first! I got engaged two weeks ago, and the projects have started. Despite having over a year before we plan to get married, it has already taken over. I plan to do quite a lot of the creative stuff myself, so I decided to keep a record. It is partly to keep costs from spiralling out of control, but mainly because I love making things and a wedding is the ultimate project. Nothing too difficult though. All you need to copy anything on here is a steady hand and a bit of an eye an eye for colour.


I was a bridesmaid at my sister's wedding and the beautiful, professionally made rose bouquet I had fell apart. Real flowers also don't last, and I am a sentimental hoarder. I thought it would be nice if my bridesmaids could keep their bouquets.

Horrified by the prices, even online, of button bouquets, I had a go at making one myself. I couldn't be bothered to wire everything, so just got going with a glue gun!


Things you will need:

• Polystyrene balls


• Kebab sticks


• PVA


• String 


• Tissue paper


• Buttons 


• Paper flowers


• Other embellishments such as sticky pearls and resin flowers


• Glue Gun (of course)


• Ribbon

Method:

1. Put polystyrene ball on a kebab stick to make it easier to handle.









2. Tie a loop of string around the ball and tie in a knot, leaving a loop for a handle.


3. Tape it top and bottom to hold the string in place.





4. Cover the ball in PVA and tissue paper (this is to provide a background colour so there are no white gaps between flowers). Allow to dry over night - the string means you can hang it up, the stick means you can stand it in a glass.




5. Make your flowers using the buttons, paper flowers and embellishments. Make sure they are all different (you need about 100 to cover it).


6. When you are happy with the mix, glue gun the flowers together.


7. Glue gun the flowers to the ball when it is dry. Try to push the flowers up close together to avoid gaps and lift the petals.




8. Finally, remove any stray glue threads (perhaps the most annoying job) and tie a co-ordinating ribbon around the string.

Cost per bouquet: