I guess I'm a little late to the party for this wedding contest (ends tonight), but better now than never! I've been wanting to publish this for the last two years, so at least I have a good reason to finally take the time!

My husband and I decided to elope and I spontaneously chose to make our entire garments and accessories approximately 4-5 weeks prior. Call me crazy... because you're ABSOLUTELY right! :) I finished everything the sometime at midnight before the big day, so I'd say it was a success. :)

I would like to apologize in advance, because some of the pictures aren't of the best quality, but I will make up for it with my description!

Obviously, this doesn't have to be just for the bride, but can be used for the bridesmaids as well as a center piece if you feel especially crafty. You do not need any special magic skills for this.

For this project I used a lot of scrap items, so if it doesn't look super neat at times, there's always room for improvement and for you to make adjustments to your personal taste. However, you don't see any messiness once the bouquet is/was done and I was happy with the outcome.

Let's jump right into making the individual flowers...

Step 1: Materials & Figuring How Many Flowers

Any fabric you prefer!

Wire

Hot glue gun & Glue

Fancy buttons

Needle & Thread

Any extra accessories you like

Florist tape (optional)

Sewing machine (optional)

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The way I figured out the amount of flowers I needed from each kind.

We got married on 8/24/13 and I have:

- 8 shiny flowers (1st kind)

- 2 flowers with pearls (last kind)

- 4 purple flowers (2nd kind)

- 1 lace flower (2nd kind)

- 3 of the third kind flowers

Step 2: First Kind

The first flowers I'd like to show you make up the majority of my own bouquet. Again, this all comes down to personal preference. Also, I was experimenting while I was working, so I pretty much just went with the "flow".

The fabric I used for this, was from the same fabric that I used to make my dress. Each flower is made up of four pedals, which in turn are made up of two layers of fabric to make them more fluffy and voluminous.

1. Choose your fabric.

2. Cut your circles

*Note 1: The size of your circle is entirely up to you. Mine were approximately 2" in diameter.

*Note 2: In my case I needed 8 flowers, with 4 pedals each 2 layers, totaling 64 pieces (of that half are a different kind of fabric)

3. Take one piece of each kind of fabric and put on top of each other. Mind that you have to make a decision which piece of fabric you'd like to be inside or outside.

4. Now fold both in half.

5. Fold again to a quarter piece. I suggest to dab a little hot glue in that fold so your flower stays at a quarter fold.

6. Make three more of those pieces.

7. Use your glue gun to stick all four pieces to a backing of your choice. Again, I just used some left over scrap.

8. Beautify your piece with a wonderful button using more hot glue (hot glue is great, but make sure your work stays clean).

9. Make many more!

Step 3: Second Kind

Next up we have a different version which includes a little sewing.

1. Choose your fabric and cut a longer piece that needs to be wide enough to be folded in half. I think mine was approximately 2" wide. The length differed and is another choice of preference.

2. Fold your fabric in half length wise (see pictures).

3. Sew along the open side, using a baste stitch. Essentially, you want to gather the fabric by pulling on the thread, so you can't use any stitch that's too tight.

4. Now gather your fabric by pulling one of the strings of your thread. Try to even it out a little so it's gathered evenly.

5. Now using a piece of backing and hot glue, start to lay your gathered fabric in a spiral motion.

6. Once you're done with the spiral, turn it over and try to hide the end piece (see picture)

7. Add some pretty bling again.

Step 4: Third Kind

Since two weren't enough, here we have another type of flower:

1. Choose your fabric of choice.

2. Cut circles

*Note 1: The size of your circle is entirely up to you. Mine were approximately 1" in diameter.

*Note 2: I needed 3 flowers, with 5 pedals each.

3. Fold your circles in half.

4. Lay the pedals (however much you chose for your flower) in a row, one overlapping the other (see picture).

5. Use some thread and a needle to roughly stitch together all pedals at the bottom so they're all connected.

6. Fold everything to form a circle (see picture).

7. Pull the thread tight, which will create a nice flower shape.

8. Tie a know in the thread and apply some glitz.

*Note 3: I found later when I put the bouquet together that those flowers were rather small compared to the other ones. I Just added one of those circles of fabric from the first flower and attached it behind it, which closed any gaps.

Step 5: Last Kind

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this for some odd reason, but they're also very easily made. I tried to show my steps with some paper cut outs. Hope that helps visualizing it better.

1. Cut your choice of fabric in your preferred length.

2. Use scissors and cut a wave pattern lengthwise.

3. Start wrapping your fabric around your index finger and adjust it to your liking.

4. Hot glue it to a backing to it will be more stable.

5. Add some pretty elements in the center. I used some pearls.

Step 6: Adding the Wire to Each Flower

1. Using some wire from the craft store, cut it to your desired length. Keep in mind that you'll want to fold it in half so double the length you have in mind.

2. Widen the loop at one end slightly and glue it to the backing of each flower.

3. For extra support I used a small piece of scrap fabric and glued that on top of the wire (see pictures).

4. I used some white florist tape, also from the craft store, and wrapped each wire pair with it. This step is completely optional.

*Note: I also has some accessories that I attached to wire (see in the full bouquet picture).

Step 7: Finding the Right Arrangement

Next you'll want to grab all your flowers and start arranging them to your liking. This is when I first noticed that some of my flowers were too small, like mentioned earlier, so I think this step is important before you just wrap it all together. You can see some of the variations I had before I found my perfect fit.

Step 8: Wrapping It Up

Now that you have everything where you want it (including any extra accessories like I added) you can start wrapping the stem neatly. For this I just used more of the wire. This is when you're going to make your last decision on how long you want your stem to be. Hold it in your hand and see what feels best. Then just use some strong (or old) scissors or wire cutters and cut off any excess.

Next I used some fabric, that matched some of the flowers, and neatly covered the wire. To hide the end of the stem I used more hot glue and some pearls.

Step 9: Bonus #1

Since we eloped and it was just the two of us, I decided to create a little something to have my closest family and friends "with me" on this day. I made these little tags with clay and attached them to the bottom of my bouquet. You didn't see them unless you knew about them, which I liked a lot actually.

Step 10: Bonus #2

I also made a small boutonnière for my husband with the same technique I made the second kind of flower, using the same fabric as one of my flowers as well. All a perfect match! :)

Step 11: Some Final Thoughts & Pictures

This is a super easy project that anyone can do! You can use cheap and simple material like I did, or go all out using just the best! It's all up to you. I do know that either way, I enjoyed having this WAY more than real flowers that would have died two days after. Yes, the bouquet is "just" sitting in a closet now, but I know it's always there, being a wonderful reminder of our special day.

Enjoy this intstructable and for all of you guys who might see this before midnight today (9/14), why don't'cha give me a vote in the wedding contest before it ends? :P

I'd love to see any pictures if anyone ends up making this!