I'm sure a lot of you have seen the "Mrs" or "Bride" wedding dress hangers on Etsy or Pinterest. You can buy them for $20 + shipping (on average) but I've learned you can make them at home for a fraction of the cost and it's surprisingly easy to do!
These are my go-to bridal shower/bachelor party gift. All my friends EXPECT them from me now. I need to start on my "Mrs. Garrett" ASAP (wink wink).
I struggle with perfectionism and the fact that sometimes I'm not so great with the more artistic projects so the first time I decided to make one of these hangers I set aside my whole day, expecting multiple failures, temper tantrums, and screaming before getting the look I wanted... but I was wrong! These actually only take about 15 minutes to make and are super easy!
Supplies
Wooden Hanger ( I bought a 5 pack for $5.99 at Target)
16 Gauge Wire ( 200 ft for $6.29 at Home Depot)
Super Glue
Wire Cutters
Drill
I can make an obscene amount of hangers with 200 ft of wire!! With these supplies I can make 5 hangers for about $12 and have enough wire for about 20 more hangers! They're handmade and from the heart...making them the perfect gift for friends!
Instructions
1.) Assemble your tools. On some scrap paper (I used a paper bag), trace the inside of your hanger and write your desired Mrs name (or other text) in the style that you want. Make sure to connect every letter as if it's made out of a continuous piece of wire (cursive). This is your guide for bending and shaping the wire. Make sure that the beginning and end of the name touches the traced hanger line - this is where you will be inserting the wire into the hanger.
2.) Cut a workable but long enough piece of wire from the roll. I cut the length of my "wingspan" - stretch the wire from one hand to the other with arms completely outstretched. Leaving at least 6 inches on the end, start bending your wire using your guide to make sure it will fit in the hanger properly. 16 gauge wire bends easily and I did not need any tools to bend it in the "loopy" text style that I was using. If you desire "sharper" angles you can squeeze the wire with some pliers to get a more defined angle.
Some names are going to be easier than others and can be done with 1 single piece of wire. I ran into some difficulty with the "B" in Booth and wound up improvising a little and attaching the "B" by itself, I personally didn't like the look of the wire doubling back on itself. Improvising is OK! It still came out looking great!
Some names are really long, this can also make things difficult, but you can always make more than 1 line of text! I put the "Mrs" on the top line, overlapping the wood of the hanger a bit, leaving me with plenty of room for a longer name!
3.) Align your finished wire on the hanger as you want it to hang. With a sharpie mark the spot on the hanger where the you will need to drill (this is where the wire will need to be inserted on the underside of the hanger). Cut off excess wire, make sure to allow enough to sit into the drilled holes, mark the spot on where the wire comes about halfway through the hanger and cut with wire cutters.
4.) Drill holes on marked spots on the underside of the hanger. Drill slowly into the wooden hanger as not to split the wood or drill too far. I drill about halfway through the wood which leaves enough room for the wire to be secured. Choose a drill bit slightly larger than your wire - (I used a 5/64). This allowed for the wire to slide in nicely and still feel secure once glued.
5.) Insert small amount of super glue into drilled holes and small amount onto the ends of the wire. Insert wire into place, adjust as needed before it dries. Allow to dry 1 hour before handling.
Voila! You have the most beautiful bridal gift!
For Monica: Mrs. Semones
Photos courtesy of Brent Gulledge Photography - Charlotte, NC
For Jamie: Mrs. Booth
Photos (top of the page & below) Courtesy of Maya Anna Photography - Garner, NC
