DIY Brooch Bouquet

[acireta]

I fell in love with brooch bouquets while perusing the internet, but I quickly found out that buying one would be completely out of our budget. So I decided to DIY! This was quite the project, and DIYing ended up saving me several hundred dollars, but it was still pretty pricey.

 

I mentioned the idea to my mom, and she LOVED it! She immediately bought me a few pins and lent me one of her favorite brooches. I had a few in my jewelry box, and most of the rest I purchased online. The best sources were www.fabulousbrooch.com and Etsy seller paviapavia. It was best to look for wholesale and brooch lots.

 

I kept myself to $3-4 per brooch, including shipping, and ended up with a very nice selection. I splurged on a White Sox pin at a game, but it was the only one that was more than $4. I ended up averaging about $3.40 per brooch.

 

I’m glad I didn’t use many brooches that had sentimental value because it was really easy to break the pin backing off of the brooches. I was extra careful with the one borrowed brooch, and it was fine.

 

 

Box o’ Bling (excuse the drab colors, pic taken with camera phone)

Brooches all laid out

I bought all of the supplies (other than the brooches) from Michaels and Hobby Lobby. I even got the real touch roses from Hobby Lobby. They were 50% off one weekend, and I decided to just go for it! I later found out that they would have been way more expensive online, so I was happy.

 

I did a ton of research when starting this project. These are some of the links that really helped me out, along with a ton of googling:

http://www.fancypantsweddings.com/how-to-design-a-brooch-bouquet/

http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/help-how-do-i-make-a-vintage-brooch-bouquet

 

Here is my main inspiration picture (from Fancy Pants Weddings):

 

 

So now the how-to...

[acireta]

Supplies:

30-40 brooches

12 real touch roses (leaves and thorns removed)

2 bunches of silk hydrangea (I got the cheap stuff since it’s just filler) – remove and set aside the large leaves

18†20-gauge green and silver wire

Floral tape

Scissors

Needle-nosed pliers

Wire cutters

Glue gun

Ribbon for handle

Pins

Patience!

 

Some of my supplies (don’t mind the callas, they’re for my bridesmaids’ bouquets)

 

 

1. Fold two pieces of wire in half. Loop wire through each brooch. I used two pieces of wire on each brooch, twisting each piece by itself and then twisting together.

 

 

 

2. I’m glad I got silver AND green wires because I often had to put the wire through the front of the brooch, and the silver wire blended much better.

 

3. Each brooch on its stem should not wobble or droop when you’re done. It really helped to use the pliers to do the twisting and to make it nice and snug, because I killed my fingers on the first few before I switched to pliers.

 

4. Don’t twist the wire too tight, or you’ll bend or break the pin in half (especially if it’s cheap like some of mine were). Thankfully, I was able to wire this one back together. The fix looks messy from close-up, but you can’t really see the wiring in the bouquet.

 

 

 

 

5. Cover the “stems†with floral tape.

 

 

 

 

6. Start assembling your bouquet! Start with a large rose and a few big brooches in the center and work your way out, rotating as you go. Tape every few pieces to make it easy on yourself. This will also make the bouquet more stable at the end, with a smoother handle.

 

7. Bend the roses and brooches around until you’re satisfied with their placement. This is the point where I tore it apart and redid it a few times until I was happy with it. I also put it in a closet for a few days, and I liked it a lot better after the break!

 

 

 

8. After all of your brooches and roses are taped together, tape a bunch of hydrangea on each side of the bouquet to cover the wires.

 

9. Tape the four large hydrangea leaves at the base of the bouquet to finish it off.

 

 

 

 

Continued...

 

[acireta]

10. Trim the wires so that only the rose and hydrangea stems are visible below the floral tape. Trim the stems to a few inches below the tape, and seal the ends with hot glue.

 

11. Wrap the stems with ribbon and secure with pins. I attached a memorial charm for my dad who passed away a few years ago. He will be with me when I walk down the aisle. From Etsy seller YourCharmedWedding.

 

 

 

Finished product:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my favorite brooches: the first “brooch†I got – was actually a big stretchy rose ring

 

 

Lent from Mom 

 

 

And finally... Go White Sox!

 

 

 

Since I’m so early (doing things that can be done without a guest count), I put all the bouquets in small vases, into plastic bags to protect them from dust and the cats, on a top shelf in my closet.

 

This was a big project, and this thing is HEAVY lol but it was a really good time, and I’m really glad I did it because I’ll have the bouquet of my dreams to go with the man of my dreams on my wedding day J

 

Hope you enjoyed my write-up. Please let me know if you have any questions!

[BeachBridein11]

Great tutorial!  You did a fantastic job!

[JayKay]

Wow, I have never seen anything like it but I LOVE it!!!  It looks absolutely amazing and will look great on your wedding day!

[futuremrstgun]

O M G!  this is special!!!!  LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!  unfortunately, i don't have ANY broaches..but this, my fellow DB...is a work of art!  you should be VERY proud of this DIY project!!!   R~

[acireta]

Thank you so much, ladies!! I can't wait to use it! Everytime I open the closet that it's stashed in, I smile a little

[kerrib]

I have been torn between a brooch bouquet and a flower one, now I can do both!!! This looks STUNNING!!!!

[J-me]

Beautiful work!! Thanks for sharing!

[Ms Di]

I LOVE these!!!

 

Great job!!