Friday, June 15, 2012

The Wedding Gift

I had a great time coming up with a  shower present for my Godson and his fiancee.  I knew it would be a challenge to come up with a spectacular personal gift for the two of them for the wedding.

Windows kept coming to mind.  Once their registry was set up, I went on line to browse to see if I could get a feel for their likes.  On the list was a wall mounted rack to hang jackets, and another item was a vintage botanical in a rustic frame.  They are into recycling, so I got to thinking.  I think I can combine these two gifts into one present.

Out in the garage I pull a window for the base.  I know that it's pretty shabby, but I think in the end it will all come together.  Here I have cut the three pieces of cardboard(Out of a moving box) as backing for the pictures.


When I lived in Boston, I had ordered these vintage botanicals online.  I wanted to make it a bit more vintage, so I went to Graphics Fairy and found these newsprint pieces to use for the background.  I also pulled old music sheets with the Love theme, marriage bands, an old love letter, music of Faith and grouped them into three different piles.  On top of each pile, I laid one of the botanical prints.  The next step was to arrange the background papers haphazardly.  There really is  something to this.

I looked at the frame again and realized that it wasn't 'shabby' enough.  I took it outside and washed it with a hose and removed a lot of the chippy white flakes.


                        Here are the three piles of paper that will be made into the window collage.
 I wanted to show specific words, and pictures to tell a story. I typed their last name and the year that they will be married on a piece of  ecru card stock.   Once all my pieces were in the correct piles, I placed them very carefully into the frames.




Now on to the hardware.  They had requested a hang up wall rack to hang light jackets, and aprons(since I know they both like to cook).  I went to Hobby Lobby to find some hooks, but they were too pristine for my likes.  I bought two and returned home to retrieve an old rusted hook that I had in my stash.  By now you are probably thinking that this woman has a lot of 'junk' in her stash.  All of my 'junk' is so readily available to me now that I have it all organized.  I know exactly where the 'knobs and handles' are or the glue gun.  Organization is the key to keeping all this 'junk' contained.

I soaked all the hooks for about 2 weeks in a solution of white vinegar and 1 cup of salt.  This solution breaks down the finish on the items and begins the rusting process, which is exactly where I want to be headed.  Rinsing them off will stop the 'rusting' and they are ready to use. 

I drove to Home Depot to get some square dowels to secure the pictures to the back of the frame.



  I  took the window to Home Depot and had them cut the three pieces of glass.  Evey time I have done a window project, I measure myself, but without certainty, each pane measurement is different. To avoid this,  I take the window frame to Home Depot to have them cut to measure.  It saves me a lot of headaches.  The window cutter will mark each pane so when you return home, you can insert the glass with ease into its appropriate slot.  All that is needed is to clean the panes before their insertion into the frame.

Before inserting the glass, I drill the holes for the hooks.  Then, I lay the pictures in the slots.  Next, I pre-drill the tiny holes in the dowels so they do not splinter.  Here is what the window looks like when it is complete from the back.

 Note:  This is the bulletin board project that I completed for my daughter.  You do the same steps in this project.


The last step is securing the hooks to the front of the window with the screws.  Also, I use heavy duty wire to attach to hang the frame.  Here is the result.


I am so excited about this so very personalized gift.  Given that the  couple is having a barn reception, I believe this gift will reflect their style.
                   

                  Wedding wishes to this wonderful couple!

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