The Do-It-Yourself Trend is getting hotter and hotter each year for the wedding industry. Not only is it fun to gather all of your bridesmaids, best friends, and your family together to help make your invitations and favors, it is also very cost effective. The trend opens the door for endless creativity and the smallest details that truly speak the loudest. Working for SimplyWeddingStuff.com, I cannot believe how many great ideas I see done so elegant yet cheap all because the quality of do-it-yourself is there. (Trust me, I’ve bookmarked these great ideas to use in the future!) I’m not going to lie, it does take time and patience. But that’s what your friends and family are for, right?!
I have always been creative and very hands-on. Whether it’s incorporating several different medias into one final portfolio piece, scrapbooking the minute I got done with school, or now, my latest hobby, creating flowers that can be used in a variety of ways! I have never really sewn before, I do not have the slightest clue on how to run a sewing machine, or even the difference between cotton and polyester. But I wanted to do something new, create something beautiful, and have fun doing it along the way. With some online tutorials and eagerness to see what I was really in for, I headed to JoAnne Fabrics. I quickly became consumed with rolls of fabric falling from my arms, holding a couple packages of beads in my teeth, and grabbing a spool of thread with the only two fingers that I could spare. I was excited but nervous all at the same time. Excited because I had so many visions in my head of what I wanted to create, of what I hoped to create. But I was nervous hoping I just didn’t spend money on something that was going to come and go all in the same night.
After that first running stitch, I fumbled a bit but I didn’t think my first flower was all that bad. Definitely room for improvement but I knew that I was more than capable of doing this. I soon found myself running to JoAnne Fabrics every week to see what other materials I could use! I was so excited! I was making flowers that can be pinned in your hair, clipped to a headband, pinned on as a brooch, or pinned on to a scarf for extra flair. The kitchen table was growing with flowers. I never really had any intention on selling them until my boyfriend asked what I was going to do with all of them. Right now, I see them as perfect for small Christmas gifts, clipped right onto the Christmas tag. In the future, I see myself as creating these for my wedding. Pinned onto the bridesmaids’ sashes, clipped into their hair, or even using silk to create flower bouquets. I can see these flowers as headbands for newborns, birthday presents, and so much more! The best part? That each flower I create is truly one-of-a-kind because there is no possible way to ever recreate it exactly.
The Do-It-Yourself Trend allows yourself to take pride in your creativeness, save money, and it inspires me to do things on my own more! Getting things custom made is just way to expensive and never really turns out the way you want it to. DIY is the perfect solution! You add your own personality to it by just creating it. The feeling you have when you are done with the project is amazing. It’s addicting to see what else you can do with just a little time and the cheapest of materials. And when someone asks, “Where did you get that?” It’s really neat to say that I did it! The Do-It-Yourself Trend is truly the trend that is just going to keep on growing because it is so fun yet challenging and can I say it, just one more time? Addicting! My next project: staining an old dresser from my grandparents, giving it a washed effect, putting new handles on it, and lining the drawers with fun fabric all to make it a one-of-a-kind all done by me.
Posted by Juliann, Designer of Dots – Graphic Designer
On a tight budget – 
