Wedding Cross Stitch: Teeny Tiny Taj Mahal

 

I attended a wedding reception this past weekend for my friends who eloped earlier this year, and yes, I cross stitched a little something for the happy couple! Since I had just finished all of my grad work for the semester (and degree!) last Friday, that didn't leave me much time. It was sometime after midnight on Friday that I remembered that I didn't have any sort of gift for the following day.

Luckily, I already had this little frame on hand, which I picked up from Michaels not too long ago. It was so cute that I knew I could use it in some way - and it was perfect for this craft! As a rule, I don't really like putting pieces of cross stitch behind glass - it can be a tight fit, it negates their three-dimensional aspect, etc. So, when I pulled away the backing of my mini frame, I was pleased to discover that its 'glass' was really just a cheap plastic film, adhered to the backside of the frame itself.  A few slices with my Exacto knife, and I had what I wanted:

A few slices of the blade...

Such craftmanship... ha!

... and Ta-Da! A pane-less frame, painlessly achieved. ;)

At this point, it was probably something like 2am, so I left my prepped frame empty for the night. The next morning, I started brainstorming for pattern ideas. I wanted something meaningful for the couple, but not just their initials or something since it was already such a little piece. I began trolling their Facebook pages (shameless, I know) for ideas - mainly colors, at first (they are in the process of merging households). However, I stumbled on a cache of photos of their travels to India this past fall. If memory serves correctly, my friend joined his then-girlfriend as she was on a service trip to the country... though the details escape me. At any rate, during their time there they visited the Taj Mahal together and took a few adorable couple photos, which served as the basis for my inspiration.

Once I knew I wanted to cross stitch them a teeny tiny Taj Mahal, I set about finding a pattern (I'm not the best pattern-generator, even with graph paper [been there, tried that]). After casting about fruitlessly online, I remembered my QR code cross stitching experience and typed: "pixelated taj mahal" into Google (or something like it). While wading through those results, I finally hit paydirt:

I don't know what those beads are, or what this item is, really - I cropped the image down a bit (the original has INDIA spelled out underneath, and I didn't really think that was necessary). I would link you to the source page, but when I attempted to visit it via Google Image, my browser freaked out, saying it wasn't safe. So, I just captured a screenshot from the safer Google Image vantage point. After doing some math (translating the pattern onto Aida cloth in terms of size), I knew I had a solid winner. After rooting around my thread collection, I settled on a combination of burnished orange and gold for contrast.

The gold thread is a little bit of a pain to work with, to be honest - it has a more wiry constitution, if that makes sense. It was worth the mini hassle, though, because the mini Taj Mahal came out so well! What do YOU think?

Click to Enlarge

Yeah, I sneaked my initials in the bottom-right corner. The right image is for copying purposes, if anyone finds themselves in need of a solid miniature Taj Mahal cross stitch pattern. :P

I used double-stick tape to attach my cloth to the frame backing to hold it in place, which worked really well. In case you're curious, the project only took 3-4 hours total (I indulged in the ABC Family Harry Potter marathon while stitching). Here's my finished result:

Wedding Cross Stitch: Joshua 24:15

Yup, I did it again. I'm kinda shameless like that. The Story: I was invited to my friend Scott's wedding, which took place on New Years Eve near Lynchburg, VA (the town of his fiancee's alma mater). It was a destination wedding, in a sense, since we had to book hotel rooms, and that cost me a bit more (ok, double) what I usually budget for a gift. Discussion abounds on the etiquette of gift-giving for destination weddings (yes, I realize they usually involve beaches or other countries), but long story short, my poor-little-grad-student self elected to take the handmade route! :)

I came across this blog post and fell in love with the pattern - I felt it would not only commemorate Scott and Katie's new home together, but it also reflected their shared passion for missions:

Unlike the lovebird pattern I used for Laurie and Ross' wedding cross stitch, this one was much easier to enlarge and print as a pattern - it even came with measurements. I did add an extra little detail to the design, though:

Sorry for the reflection - this was taken after I framed it!

Isn't it cute? I got the idea from the wedding invitations, which (I'm pretty sure) were an homage to Katie's maiden name. I had found the mini castle pattern on this site a few months earlier - that's why it's always a good idea to tuck these things away! I made a few adjustments, stitched in a few rolling hills, but overall kept pretty true to the pattern below:

Since the verse results in a narrow rectangular design, I knew that I wanted to mat it out somehow to fit an 8"x10" frame. As I've mentioned previously, Michaels has this really neat textured felt - it's a pretty small selection, but lo and behold, they had a stonework one in a really nice grey that complemented my design concept brilliantly! I also picked up some black grosgrain ribbon at Hobby Lobby (they sell these itty bitty spools that are perfect for crafting projects!) to 'hem' my stitched piece on the felt matting and scored a nice 8"x10" frame there as well. After assembling, here's the finished result:

I love the incorporation of the castle imagery and stonework with the idea of a household. But, that's just me. Hopefully the newlyweds can find a place for it in their, well, new household. :P

Bonus Segment: I really liked how the wrapping turned out for this gift, so I took a shot of it to share! I had found another mini ribbon spool in a clearance bin at Hobby Lobby that was patterned with the letter "S," which was perfect since Scott's last name begins with an "S." And I had nabbed the "Eat, Drink, & Be Married!" ribbon on clearance at Michaels a few weeks earlier. Combined with some chic black, grey, and white striped wrapping paper (courtesy of my roomie!), it came out rather nicely, I thought.

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." -- A little OT Chuck Norris, there. ;)

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.