When they've been married for 40 years?? Yes I said that right- the big 4 0 !
RIGHT- they've already bought just about everything they wanted when they retired, if they want something, they buy it and don't drop hints anymore and wait for birthday/Christmas/Parents Day, they tell us to use the $$ for their gifts on the grandkid (check), but 40 is pretty BIG ya know? So I racked my brain and then while browsing Etsy (you know how I am about Etsy!), I found a prefect idea/gift, in Goosegreaser's Etsy store!
Yup that's right- you paint them, wooden WEDDING Cake Couple Toppers! CHA-CHING!
You see my parents did the novel thing for 1970-they eloped to Vegas! AHA. So I have this great wedding pix of them from the wedding chapel, and I''m looking at the wooden cake toppers and I think there's something they did NOT get at their wedding, so it's PERFECT. Now understand, this was Mom's second wedding, so she wore a very pretty yellow dress and dad has a snazzy olive greenish suit with a totally 70's striped tie. So you see what I'm thinking? TOTALLY unique and totally only for them, if I paint them myself. BINGO, off to order I went!
For around $20 (with shipping), I got the kit pictured above with the wooden dolls, 2 paintbrushes, 5 paint colors and 1 varnish for finishing. Not bad huh? Then it was off to the hard part! Well, obviously keeping it a secret was part of that equation. Then there was MATCHING the picture (I'd show it, but they'd kill me!). I looked at Michelle's examples on her store alot for reference, as to how to paint dress, suit, tie, hair, etc.
Isn't her example too cute- I love the cats as party of a wedding party!
Then it was HOW to display them?
You see we decided to actually have the anniversary PARTY three weeks early on the 4th of July, when everybody would be here anyways. So you know we had to have a red/white/blue cake, right??? Yellow and green were gonna clash, plus I worried the dye from the cake would seep thru, even with the varnish.
Well, this will probably be the LAST time I say this "Bless Walmart" (our store is remodeling to add grocery section in the same area they already have- pretty much 65% of what the store carried is GONE- repeat after me- I love Target and Michael's!), anyhoo- they had pretty much 45% of the craft section on clearance, and while there getting more paint colors to match the "more colors than I thought were in the picture", I came across an unfinished/ready to stain or paint photo cube on a revolver, with removable top. AHA. Paint it and add the toppers to the top! BINGO!!
Well I thought about getting pix from their 40 years of marriage and putting them in the 4 spaces (1 for every decade) and then thought again, they might kill me (HA HA), so I put on my thinking cap and came up with a more novel and humorous approach, as I had decided to make the stand and toppers a centerpiece on the big tables we were eating on outside.
What about humorous quotes/comments about when they got married? Cha-ching: unique and personal again!
So here we have the final product:
Please note: Sideburns on Dad- it was the 70's guys-plus the 6 color striped tie! Mom had a strapless dress with white gloves and a tri-color darker yellow bouquet, with matching hairpiece. Oh yeah- that was FUN! And yes, that song is 'their' song! The photo cube was painted brown, rather than stained, so it would match the toppers better.
I did use the Removable Glue-Dots to hold the toppers down, as I ran out of time and didn't get them varnished. They held, except when spun too fast (too much top weight). I know when I'm finished, I'm going to use the regular large Glue Dots, and they should hold without a problem!
Check out Michelle's Esty store for some great ideas on how to use these wooden dolls- I love the family set for couples who have children and are getting married- such a great idea to bring everyone together in a piece they can keep for years at home! She can also paint them for you if you provide the info, for those of you who aren't crafty!
So what do you think!Has this post given you some great ideas for a wedding or anniversary you have coming up in your life? I hope so!
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I bought this set from Goosegrease for a present for my parents. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post, from Michelle. This post reflects my personal opinion which may differ from yours.