Rustic memory board and wedding mementos.

This week I am making some more rustic boards, inspired by some I saw in a beautiful french country store a couple of weeks ago. 

I had a piece of board that was one of the menu boards for the wedding and I recycled this. I simply cut two layers of quilting wadding and glued that over the board. Hessian is only $3.50 a metre at Spotlight just now. It's from a very wide roll so for that money it is so much fabric! I'll make some other things...

It's easier if you use a tacky craft glue. I use pegs (clothes pegs) as they are like having spare fingers... 

The crisscross material is left overs... it was from Bunnings... it is sold to tie trees back. However you could fold hessian to make strips, use thick string or rope possibly. 

Before I cut my hessian I stencilled my crown on. I got this crown from an etsy store and have used it in a few projects. I love it! Then I cut the hessian to be larger than the board by about 3 inches all round.

Then I arranged the hessian and the crisscross design over the padded board until I felt happy it was centred and even. The binding I cut so there are a few inches each end to turn over and secure on the other side. I used pegs to "pin" it all in place and carefully turned it over and glued it all in place and re pegged to hold while drying.

I flipped it carefully to make sure it was all good and straight before it was dry... as you can need a little alteration but it was fine.

Now you can cover the back with cardboard so the mess at the back is concealed. 

I think this would be a great gift for anyone who loves rustic/french/farmhouse styles. It cost well under $10 anyway. You could use a sharpie to write letters or decorate instead of a stencil, or you could cut out an applique for a similar effect. The Graphics Fairy has so many french designs for free... and tutorials on how to transfer designs onto various things.

I love mementos. I have been drying the brides bouquet and the bridesmaids.... this is a bridesmaids almost dry now. Looking lovely!

Other things I used are the wedding invitation and flowers from a flower girl basket and a headband my niece who was a flower girls wore. They are pretty souvenirs of the wedding day.

i am really happy with it and it goes well with my home.

With so much left over fabric I am thinking what else to do with it. Maybe a table runner or place mats.... ? I love left overs and I really like hessian/burlap it gives a down on the farm feel to things. 

It is such a warm day here. Hot actually. I am staying in and working on some projects. Also I am following a You tube tutorial and learning a new stitch. I tend to like stitches that look a little lacy. This one you start in a corner and work out... never done this before. But it looks beautiful, I will show you down the track (assuming I get the hang of it!) 

Oh and it's a new month! I'm writing a list of things I want to get done in April. One of them is to wash my carpets before the weather cools too much. I hate that job but I love how it looks after! 

Have a wonderful day.xxx