Thrifty Thursday - DIY for less!

So my sister in law is getting married in June. I was invited to her bridal shower in April so I knew EXACTLY what I was going to do for a gift. We are poor so I can't just go and buy a 50 dollar gift but I sure as sh*t can make one! lol. This is what I came up with......

Pretty cool huh. It's a hanger to hang her wedding dress on. She can have it photographed in it too.. It's pretty rough because I had never bent wire before but I made it and I think it turned out well considering I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing! lol..

To get started you wanna gather the stuff you need. I bought it all at Wal-Mart this morning for about 15 dollars. I got enough supply to make about 4 of them so it's not really expensive when you look at it that way.

Hangers I found in the laundry area, paint pen and ribbon in the craft area and the wire in hardware right next to the picture hanging supplies. Make sure to get the heavy duty stuff. 14 gague. The higher the number on the gague the weaker it will be and 14 is tough to work with but it will hold forever.

First thing I did was make the hanger pretty with the pen. Make sure to practice and DO NOT push hard while drawing. It will smudge all over and be a big mess!

Remember to practice your design on paper (or what's handy.. for me it was a boogie rag..) so you don't mess up and have to start over.

Next I started to bend the wire while I let the paint dry.. There is literally no science to this at all.. Just go with it and if you don't like it unbend it and try again..

I had to unbend it a few times but eventually I got in the rhythm and it worked out.. Make sure to leave some wire in front of the M for wrapping around the hanger. I left like 5 inches. I would recommend leaving like 10 because you can cut it later.

So here it is finished.. from S on in Eyestone was a disaster.. He has a super hard name to make.. lol.. Why couldn't it be like Smith.. LOL.. Oh well.

Next thing I did was put the Bow on the hanger. I just tied it on then cut it and heat sealed the ribbon so it won't fray.

Tada! I ended up cutting it even more so the wedding bells weren't covered..

Next you just position the name where you want it and wrap your ends around the hanger.

And Viola... 

Cool right!!!?? I wish I would've had cool stuff like this when I was getting married.. But we got married 4 years ago and there wasn't this much stuff out there for photography.. I think it's pretty great and I am even more excited to have made it myself... Even if she doesn't like it..