Bridesmaid boxes

As soon as we began planning the wedding, I knew I wanted to ask my bridesmaids in some special way to join me on the "journey to the alter" as I like to call it. We are all scattered around California and across the globe (literally!), so sending a little box seemed like just the ticket. I'd seen a few inspirational ideas for bridesmaids boxes around the web (like these and these beautiful ones) and fell in love with the idea, but I wanted to make them unique with my favorite colors and filled with little treasures made just for my ladies. It was my turn to pop the question, after all!

Here's how they turned out, with a little tutorial on the project...

I went searching in the crafty realm of Michaels and found these pretty wooden boxes and picked up some paint in seafoamy-green and ivory...

Finding little trinkets to put in the boxes was the fun part. Pretty little flowers in pale yellow, paint chips from the hardware store in my favorite colors, photos of dress ideas, a seashell to represent the coast where the wedding will take place, and pink Essie nail polish (simply because the color is called "Happily Ever After")...

Painting was also the fun part! The boxes already came with a pattern of carved flowers and leaves on top, so I highlighted that and the edges in the sea-foam colored paint.

When all the paint dried, I lined the bottom of each box with lace ribbon I found in my mom's craft stash and printed up the photos and a card I created (trimmed with stencil scissors) to lay out the where and whens of the wedding day and how we're going to "laugh, drink champagne and dance the night away..." And boy, will we!

Inside each box, I stuck in a special handwritten note written to each bridesmaid and folded them into a tiny envelope. On top, I laid white fabric to cover everything, rolled up a note with the question and tied it with twine...

And voilà! Here's how it looked when they opened up the box. Instant happy tears. :) 

Kim, Jeanne, Rachel and Nikki...I am so blessed to have you in my life. Can't wait to have you as my bridesmaids, and for us all to be in the same place, which will be a beautiful miracle in itself!