The Creative Process: Having Your Tiara Restrung

Seven years ago, I had the pleasure of designing a custom tiara for Maria's wedding.  She kept it as a keepsake for years, and then a couple months ago, decided that she wanted it restrung into a new piece of jewelry she could wear for special occasions.  First, she tried to do it herself.  And then quickly decided that it was worth it to send it back to us at Tradewind Tiaras to have us create a new necklace out of her treasured tiara.  ;-)

Where to start on such a project?  First, I took stock of the materials.  Then, I talked to Maria about her wishes.

A little edgy.  Modern.  Asymmetrical.  These kinds of words popped up as dominant themes in our discussion.  It sparked an idea.  I did a quick (super quick) mock-up with some materials I had on hand first, so I could give Maria a visual sense of what I was describing.

Once the basic idea was approved, I started creating the vision I had in my mind!

And I even had enough leftover materials to make a bonus bracelet.

Does it look a little familiar?  I liked the concept so much, it evolved into our newest design.

I love getting to connect with past customers and create something new out of a cherished heirloom!  May you have many more years of enjoyment out of your new necklace and bracelet, Maria!

We Love Custom Work! Accessories for a Sweet Pink Baptism

Earlier this year, I had the great delight of working with Suzanne from Fanciful Events, who was in the throes of planning a celebration of her daughter's baptism.  The Vintage Pink Bunny christening party she designed was absolutely exquisite, and we're delighted to have had a small part in helping to put it together!

We at Tradewind Tiaras designed four accessories for the celebration.

The first was a beautiful crown incorporating a Swarovski crystal cross.  We made this one with an open back and built-in loops, so the crown could be connected in the back with a ribbon and adjustable, and worn and enjoyed for many years.  The colors of the party were soft pinks and whites, so we used white silk flowers with pale pink genuine pearl centers and crystal AB Swarovski crystal accents.  (The iridescence of the Aurora Borealis coating on the clear crystals picked up on the pale pinks without screaming PINK!)

We also designed a softer headband with a removable singed flower clip in pale pinks for the guest of honor to wear comfortably through the rest of the party.

And because the guest of honor had an older sister who simply couldn't be left out of the fun, we designed a tiara (based on the tiaras for the Cornish Fairy Party) and a set of singed flower hair clips for her.

I love getting to flex my creative muscles and create custom work!

Be sure you head over to Fanciful Events to see all the details of this gorgeous party.  Its soft palette, sweet bunny theme, and many fabulous details makes it a perfect inspiration for Easter or any spring celebration!

When Should You Order Veils and Accessories?

We're heading into the busy season for wedding businesses--all those recent engagements over the holidays, all those upcoming summer weddings!  Planning a wedding can be overwhelming at times, especially if you (like most brides) have never planned a large-scale event before.  So many details to keep track of and consider!

The timeline for wedding planning is pretty flexible, really, but there are some things you should do before you start considering a veil and other accessories.  Before you come to Tradewind Tiaras looking for the perfect accessories, you should first:

• Have the venue picked out--or at least be sure you know what kind of venue you want.  A beautiful field and a tent?  A gorgeous cathedral and grand ballroom?  The venue can really set the tone for the whole wedding, including what you wear.  This isn't an absolute, obviously, but it's a very good place to start.
• Have the dress picked out.  You might have always thought that you'd wear a white dress on your wedding day...until you went dress shopping, and discovered that pale ivory really suits your complexion much better.  Don't even think of ordering a veil until your dress is chosen and ordered.  It's a good idea not to buy your other accessories until the dress is chosen, as well.  You might think you'll wear silver jewelry...until you find the perfect dress with gold embroidery.  Or you might end up wanting a custom tiara design based on your dress detailing.  The sparkly stuff is fun, but the dress needs to come first.

One those two elements are in place, it's the perfect time to talk accessories.  Our standard turnaround time is approximately two weeks, but sometimes we need to special order a component, or are overwhelmed by last-minute rush orders.  We always do our best to accommodate rush orders at no additional cost, but it's much, much better to order well ahead of your wedding.   Several months ahead, preferably.  Place your order as soon as possible, and check that item off your list.  Worried about storing your veil?  It's easy--just check out these tips and all will be well.

Happy wedding planning!

How to Make Whimsical Fabric Flower Hair Clips

Looking for the Fabric Flower Hair Clips tutorial?  It's now at its new home at Tikkido.com.

We Love Custom Work!

I'm very excited to show you a recent project we worked on.  I was approached by Kate Landers Events, LLC to contrubute a custom tiara for her newest signature party, a Nutcracker Suite Ballet party! 

 Kate knew that her color palette contained pinks ranging to touches of cranberry with silver accents, and gave me free reign on the design.  Something that a little ballerina princess would love!  I used Swarovski crystals in light rose, rose, and fuchsia, and some gorgeous deep pink pearls to fill in the basic structure, which I formed out of Swarovski rhinestone elements in crystal AB.  The Aurora Borealis finish (an iridescent coating) added extra depth and sparkle, and really picks up on surrounding color.   Just perfect for a little girl!

If you haven't yet seen how it all came together, here's a quick glimpse:

 

How absolutely stunning and magical!  I was so proud to have contributed a small part to this amazing party.  Many, many more pictures on Kate's blog, so definitely check it out.

I also want to mention that these gorgeous images were captured by the talented photographer Liza Voll.  I know from personal experience how difficult it is to photograph tiaras, and Liza did it gorgeously!   I wish she were local so I could take advantage of her for all our photography needs!

I'd be excited to share this party with all of you under any circumstances, but I wanted to show these pictures to highlight the fact that we at Tradewind Tiaras love custom designs!  It's so much fun to work with a bride, to hear her ideas, see pictures of her dress, her venue, her hairstyle, her heirloom jewelry, and more.  You never know where the inspiration is going to come from, but it's so incredibly gratifying to create something custom that suits a bride's needs perfectly.  So if you don't see something that fits your needs on our website, please don't hesitate to contact us to see if we can create something just for you.

New Product: Tiara Recycled into Christmas Ornament!

Yesterday I talked a bit about our restringing service.  We can take your wedding tiara, take it apart, and create beautiful jewelry appropriate for everyday and special occasion wear.  But we can also do other things with your pearls and crystals.  How about turning it into a Christmas ornament?

I love hanging all the ornaments on my Christmas tree, remembering the stories behind each one.  What a wonderful memory to conjure when you put this special ornament on your tree!

Restringing Genuine Pearl and Swarovski Crystal Tiaras

A tiara made out of real pearls and Swarovski crystals is a quality product that can be an heirloom passed down through the generations.  But what if you don't particularly want to store a tiara for a few decades until it might be worn again?  Did you know that here at Tradewind Tiaras, we offer a restringing service?  Just one of the many benefits of ordering a tiara made from such exceptional materials!

This...

...turns into this!

Have your tiara restrung into a beautiful piece of jewelry instead, and wear it for each anniversary, special occasion, or just whenever you want to remember that amazing day, and how you felt so beautiful and cherished.

Watch for a very special new idea we're launching related to this one in tomorrow's blog post.

Quick Tip Regarding Care of Real Pearls

Do your wedding accessories include real pearls?  That wedding tiara, grandma's strand of classic pearls for your "something borrowed," perhaps?  Real pearls need slightly different care than the artificial pearls found on most wedding accessories.

We use only real pearls in our tiaras.

Genuine pearls are a natural material, and are vulnerable to chemicals, skin oils, and other elements in the world around us every day.  For the most part, this is inevitable.  When you're wearing a pearl necklace, the pearls will obviously come into contact with skin oils.  In fact, that's part of what makes pearls turn a deeper ivory color as they age, and why new pearls won't match a set handed down through the generations.  But it is a good idea to protect the pearls whenever possible, so they'll keep their gorgeous luster and nacre for many, many years.

As a general rule, don't spray chemicals around your pearls.  Put your perfume on before your necklace.  Add your tiara after your stylist has given you that final spray down of hairspray.  Use common sense, and your tiara and accessories made with real pearls will be an heirloom that can be passed down for generations.

Fabulous Products: From Flower Girl to Bridesmaid, Felt Headbands are Fab

I've been loving and making felt flower headbands for a little over a year now.  I first found saw them on Etsy, and was immediately charmed.  So sweet!  So colorful!  And I could add Swarovski sparkle (there's very little to which I won't add a little Swarovski crystal)!  My six year old daughter loves them, too, and happily wears anything I make for her.  Here's a selection of her collection at this point:

Now, I make them myself, because I love making things.  If I can do it myself, I typically want to.  I don't sell them, however.  Why?  Because the sellers at Etsy sell them for way less than I would ever think about selling them for!  Seriously, the amount of time I put into each one makes the prices from Etsy sellers incredibly enticing.

I think felt headbands are a marvelous choice for a wedding accessory.  They can be so incredibly sweet for a flower girl, and the color choices are essentially limitless.  Check out these adorable headbands from Leslie at Bloomz Bows.  Only $14.75!

Or imagine this more streamlined, sophisticated option from Loopty Loo Designs for your bridesmaids for only $13 each:

Now that's something they could wear again.

Sneak Peak: Tiaras for a Fairy Birthday Party

My oldest daughter is turning seven next month, and when she settled on a fairies theme for her birthday party, I couldn't have been more excited.  We're using the fairy stories and traditions of Cornwall as our inspiration, to give the party a twist on all the other fairy-themed parties out there.

I'm just bursting with ideas and plans, and will post about the party once it's over.  My justification for posting here, beyond wanting to share what I've been working so hard on, is that a ton of the projects I'm undertaking would be perfect for the DIY bride.  But for now, I just wanted to give a little sneak peak of one of the details I've been working on.

All the little girls who attend the party will get their own fairy tiara, complete with entwined silver vines and Swarovski crystals:

Twelve little tiaras, all in a row.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to dress up for the party myself, and of course I needed a tiara for my costume:

It's a six-year-old girly-girl's dream to have a tiara-designing mom who buys Swarovski crystals by the 10 gross package.