Bridal Hanger

Ok - I couldn't keep waiting on this one... so today is a two post kinda day :) More crafty things to come later... but for now, I leave you with a bridal hanger  post... 

I had seen all the wire bridal hangers on pintrest and etsy... the how to directions and was bound and determined to make one... I had debated making one for everyone, but in all honesty after all the work just to get a decent looking 'Bride' I wasn't so sure about 'maid of honor' and 'bridesmaid' -- and ended up giving up. If I had not procrastinated as much as I did, I may have been able to practice more and get it to a point where I liked how they came out and wasn't so afraid of the bigger words and words with spaces and then everyone would've had one.

Sadly - having multiple hangers would've been helpful as the one hanger got lost the night before the wedding and was no where to be found when the photographer was there and we started looking for it. Thankfully - we knew it had made it to the hotel and before leaving we looked EVERYWHERE and it was found behind the back cushion of the couch in one of the rooms.  I'm guessing someone sat it on the back of the couch after looking at it and then at some point it fell behind the cushion - no where to be seen the day of the wedding :(

Anyways - it was quite the process and perhaps I should've gotten a thinner wire as that would've been easier to bend. I got mine from the local hardware store and got 14 guage wire. There was a pretty blue one, but it looked thicker.

I tried printing the word BRIDE out on paper to try to 'trace' with the wire... didn't work so hot. So I gave up on that. I ended up just looking at lots of pictures of different ones online and then tried to mirror them. Really it was the d and e that gave me the most difficulty - I love the hearts though :) They were fun. I also found that wearing plastic gloves (like the kind you use to apply hair die) - helped it so that my fingers didn't hurt so bad... I was surprised that it made any difference, but it helped. The little beading pliers I used, also helped :)

I think it's really a process of trial and error to see what you like as far as the how to write it. And I would recommend a thinner wire that is a little easier to bend - granted I also used my wire to help hold up my dress so you wouldn't want it to be too thin.

Start with getting your wire, some pliers (needle nose), wire cutters, gloves (if you want to try them), and the hanger. I also used a flat set of pliers now and then when starting new letters, though they weren't really needed - just gave my fingers a rest now and then. I got my hanger in a 5 pack from Wal-Mart for just a couple bucks. You'll also end up needing a drill with a small bit head. My husband (then fiance) looked at the wire and just found the closest one he had - I have no clue what it was and I forgot to ask :(

Then becomes the trial and error. Start with at least twice as much wire as you think you'll need - you'll be surprised how much it shrinks as your bending your word... and it's much easier to cut the extra off than it is to add more. I left extra before starting and always aimed to have extra after I finished too. To say that it took me a few tries to get the correct hight and a d and e that I liked would be an understatement...

Unfortunately if you don't get the bends just right, it's really hard to fix and the wire just doesn't look near as smooth. Even after messing up I would keep going just to get the practice and see if I liked how they came out. Go slowly and take your time - this is one of those projects that it is best when you don't keep going when you get tired... and it's one that it's ok to stop and start again later too.

Originally I had planned on gluing the wire into the hanger, but when I asked my then fiance to drill holes in the sides he drilled all the way through the hanger. However, this accident was a fabulous thing! This is because the hangers I had didn't really have ridges to hold the hanger straps - so by having the wire go from the bottom of the hanger to the top, I got to add two more hearts which ended up being stoppers for the hanger straps. It couldn't have been better!

Sadly, you can still see the difficulty I had with the e - but all in all I'm really happy with how it came out! I just wish we would've been able to find it before the wedding so the photographer could've taken pictures of it the morning of the wedding... instead I took them at home after the honeymoon...

And see how boring the hanger I had was!

However, here are a few with the hanger - 

<ok, a little hard to see the wire in the leaves - but it looks pretty :) >

<shot in a door frame>

Since I know I'm really not all that much help at the 'how to' - here are a few I read:

DIY Bridal Hanger

You Tube video How-To - there are a few videos there

Bridal Hangers - she printed the words out and traced them, looks very nice