Wedding Cross Stitch: Lovebirds

I hate going to weddings empty-handed. However, I am also a flat-broke graduate student, so my budget is pretty tight. Therefore, when faced with the conundrum of invitations to both a bridal shower and wedding (which has happened a few times), I have begun choosing the crafty gift route (in the dual sense of the term!).

Scenario: I was invited to my good friend's bridal shower this past summer, at which I gifted her (and her future husband!) with a few items from their registry at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was fun, and it felt good to give things I knew they wanted (I've watched enough sitcoms to know that you should always purchase from the registry!). However, I wasn't sure what to do when their wedding date drew near. Opinions on gift etiquette differ, but as I said before, I hate attending weddings empty-handed (though according to one commenter, that's actually not as thoughtful as mailing a gift - who knew?), and I really love this couple, so I wanted to bring something to their special day. In the past I've purchased two gifts from the registry in this situation, but that was back when S was for Salary, and not Stipend. ;) So, I decided to get crafty.

Original Pattern

Thoughtfulness and crafting often go hand-in-hand, and I wanted to make something simple and sweet to bless the home of this couple. I had stumbled upon this cute piece of cross stitch a few weeks earlier, although it was a little less-than-ideal in its original format (its accompanying cross stitched caption was an expletive against hipsters… yeah…), so this is the cropped version. And it's the only version I could find - there were absolutely no others, meaning I was at the mercy of blurry pixelation when I zoomed in on the silhouettes. So, I ended up guessing a bit while stitching, but in the end it all turned out okay.

My Replication - yes, I snuck my initials in!

I made sure to take really close-up pictures to nix the blurry blues if I ever use this pattern again. In retrospect, my perfectionist self might move the beak of the right bird up one square… but, to use my mom's term, it's 'handmade.' :) I used the couple's wedding colors to stitch their names and wedding-now-anniversary date, and it came together as a nice remembrance of their special day. Since I was unsure of their decor, I kept it small - no one wants a large, non-matching piece of craftiness hulking in the corner! :P Actually, since the wedding I've seen this little piece perched on a nightstand in their bedroom, which is pretty special. 

And there you have it, folks. A cute, creative way to celebrate the union of a godly couple.