Boutonnieres!

If you do a search on Etsy for boutonnieres you'll see all kinds of "out of the ordinary" boutonnieres and you'll see feathers.  Lots of feathers.































So my daughter and I went to work to make our own.

 This was one of THE most labor intensive projects I've taken on in a long time.  We kept saying it's about the process...the bonding time...And in the end we were both just so happy with the result!!


We had plenty of bonding time...hours...and... hours...but it really was fun.  Once we got the design, well it still took hours after that but at least we felt confident about what we were doing.
I'm not going to give you a step by step because how many people need to make boutonnieres?!


Seventeen of them.  The only purchased item was a feather for each at $.50 a piece. I also bought the baling wire which is a staple in my sewing room. Even the feather had to be re-worked.  I took each feather apart and made two from one.  Not that I'm cheap (well....that was part of it) but mostly we needed just a few feathers in front and in back of the leaf. That meant taking the feather apart and adding another stem to half of it.




























Lauren wired each little bead separately. 136 of them.  The beads were in my stash from garage sales.





















We both formed and hammered our little iron swirls and I made rose buds and the leaves out of book pages (what else?) .  We decided they needed a little "something" so white washed the buds and leaves with a mixture of matte medium and white paint.  Of course stems were added and then all of it gathered "just so" and wrapped with florist tape, burlap, and a ribbon.


Here's a sneak peak at the center pieces.  Flowers from someone on Craig's list and stump pieces from the farm!  We need to add a bit more yet....we think sticks...any suggestions?

Surprisingly...if you search for boutenniere on Etsy, you'll find some...I guess others have trouble spelling that word too.  I had to google it.  Yay Google and spellcheck!

13 comments

  1. These are the most creative, unique, wonderful boutennierres (however you spell it...) I have ever seen! You and Lauren are both amazing.
    For the sticks - what about wiggly willow?or is it curly willow... it grows around here, and it's wiggly.

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  2. Absolutely love the boutonnieres. How incredibly creative! As for the centerpieces, I really don't think you need to add anything more at all. Love the simplicity of the wood and flowers plus the green. I wouldn't add or change a thing - but that's just me, of course.

    Truly beautiful, Jill :: lynn

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  3. wow - how beautiful and unique! as for the centerpieces - a little bit more green - fern fronds? moss? make it look like the flowers are "growing" out of an old tree stump- just a thought - they are certainly beautiful just as they are!
    amy of four corners design

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  4. These are amazing and how special that you did them together. If you want to carry through how about small accents of the sparkly gems or a few feathers? Will there be candlelight on the table? Can't wait to see what else you 2 will come up with

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  5. Love them! the centerpiece is great too! how about adding grapevine twigs or making the same type of iron swirls only larger and add them. Love the tree stump, I recently saw a cake sitting on a tree stump!

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  6. Beautiful boutonnières, utterly unique! I love the centerpieces. Some curly willow or straight twigs will add a bit of height and finish it off nicely.

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  7. what a wonderful creative team you make .. I think the wedding is going to be amazing!!

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  8. These bout's {too big of a word to spell!} are splendid, Jill! So much love and creativity being poured into this special day! I do like the idea of adding some sticks or branches to the centerpiece. Maybe wispy branches that have been spraypainted silver? Could experiment even with dragging them through silver glitter, or mica...or wrapping them with a little wire/wire & beads??? I could even see these centerpieces sitting on a round mirror. Maybe those rental places have stuff like that?? I know whatever you come up with, it will be yummy!

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  9. The hammered iron swirls rock. They may be too harsh in the centerpiece, but try a group of the swirls sticking out of the hydrangeas and see. Otherwise, sticks, for height. Loving what is going on here! ~Mindy

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  10. WOW - your pictures and ideas totally blew me away and I am speechless. Absolutely stunning! Linda (breznlin)

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  11. I have to say...very unique!!

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  12. How did you do the boutineers? Im making some for a friends wedding and am in love with these~!

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    Replies
    1. I just used strips of book pages and rolled them into rose buds around a wire. Hot gluing where needed. After they were done I did a white wash with paint and matte medium. I made it up as I went so I'm afraid I don't have a lot more detail to give you. I wish you well!

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