Chewing the Cud: Stationary by a Crafty and Creative Lady

I was perusing my Real Simple Weddings magazine this morning when I came across a fabulous DIY idea from the creative force behind Chewing the Cud Weddings.

It’s a DIY ring bearer’s book sling!

After a bit more searching, I stumbled across the owner’s (Viola) instructions on how to create this unique twist on the ring bearer’s pillow on Style My Pretty‘s blog. Here they are below, courtesy of Style Me Pretty:

Materials:
3 Hardbound books of varying sizes
(Mine were: 4.5? x 6.5? ,4? x 5.5? ,3? x 5?)
The books can be of any size, but don’t make them too big. Remember: little hands, little books.
Decorative Papers and/or Book Cloth
2 kinds of Ribbons (1.5? wide; 0.25? wide)
PVA glue (also known as bookbinding glue)
1. Lay books wide open and measure lengthwise from one end of the cover to the other, including spine thickness.
2. Cut decorative papers so there is an excess of 1/8? all around (except top and bottom of spine).Apply a light coat of PVA on the back of papers.
3. Position book covers on papers and smooth.
4. Fold over the excess 1/8? on all sides. Smooth.
5. Place a phonebook/heavy objects over the closed books and let dry.
6. Stack covered books so the smallest book is on top. To secure the position of the stack, you can add glue/double-stick tape the books to each other.
7. Tie stack using the wide ribbon first, then layering with the narrow ribbon.
8. Slip rings on the narrow ribbon and make a loose loop. (Or if you have a young ringbearer like we did, use fake rings and give the real ones to your best man)
We used plain book cloth for the base book and a plain wide ribbon so the textures wouldn’t be overwhelming. But don’t be afraid to experiment! Think patterned book cloth, rubber stamps, fabric pens, leather books, personalized ribbons with your names, initials… have fun! Make it yours!

After seeing this idea, I of course had to check out Chewing the Cud‘s stationary, and it did not disappoint! The company definitively shares my philosophy about adding personality and individuality to the details of a wedding. They offer a signature line of invitations that can be customized or they will work one-on-one on custom invitations.

How gorgeous is this custom suite inspired by family recipes? From Chewing the Cud‘s website: “This invitation suite is based on the concept of recipes. Beloved family recipes, passed on from generation to generation is a metaphor for sharing and enjoying. Recipes conjure images of sharing good food, good company, good conversation, good times.” I love it!
And the Vermonter in me, went gaga over these custom Save the Date kitchen towels, inspired by the Bride and Groom’s love of butter, their first meeting place (a bar named “Butter”), and the concept that butter is “the gourmand’s faithful ally, the secret ingredient to good food, a symbol of good living…” (from website).
Check out the signature invitation suites as well; they are all phenomenal. I know of one current couple that might definitely be a fan of the “classic silhouettes” line:

    

And no surprise here, my favorite is the “Gatsby” line. What can I say? I would have fit in real well in the 1920s-1950s.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 11:53 am and is filed under DIY-inspired, stationary. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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