I was wondering what ideas you might have on what to make out of my wedding dress to preserve the memories. It just hangs in the closet and takes a huge amount of space. It isn't a style you can make into another dress and doesn't really fit anymore anyway. I don't want to get it preserved because I don't have anyone to pass it down to and I would rather have something more useful to do with it rather than it just sitting in a box.

I have thought about making a scrapbook with all my wedding photos, napkins, etc. and using the material, lace and beading from the dress to make the cover. I would just like to get some other ideas before I start snipping away. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

-- Jen (jenjen@hotmail.com), March 03, 2002

Answers

You could throw make pillows for on you bed.

-- Jo in PA (farmerjo02@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

DO one of those memory boxes. The ones you hang on the wall. Take a pic of you in your dress. Cover the matting with some of the skirt material and overlay with some of the lace. glue some of the beads off it around the frame and around the pic. Add any other pics you like to it. I cant remember the actuall name of this kind of pic. But it is a good idea. And will always be there to guide you down memory lane. Hope this helps. Kristean

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

Don't be too sure about not having anyone to hand the dress down to unless you have been married longer than childbearing age.

Our first daughter to get married wore my wedding dress and crown/veil. Couple years later the second daughter to get married made her own wedding dress but put new veil on crown and wore. Later a daughter-in-law wore the same head piece/veil.

I tossed out some lovely clothes I could no longer wear, the 50's styles, and later on had teenagers that would have given their eye teeth to have them. No longer had the pattern for one that one daughter wished she had.

-- Marie (prettyhollow@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

If you could get ahold of the bridesmaids dresses that were in your wedding you could make a quilt!

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), March 03, 2002.

We have an heirloom family quilt--the center square is from the wedding dress of the woman who made the quilt.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), March 03, 2002.

My aunt used parts of the lace from the dress both she and my mother wore to make the dress on a ceramic doll for each of them. Don't know how she did it, as the fabric is hard, as if covered with ceramic glaze, but they are beautiful. Great idea to do something with the dress! Half the time, if you do have a daughter or neice to pass the dress on to, they don't like it, or it doesn't fit, anyway. Let us know what you decide to do with it. Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), March 10, 2002.

Jan, if the doll's dress was made from "lace", it was dipped in "slip" (liquid clay), shaped as desired, placed on doll and adhered during the firing process in the kiln. The actual lace burned out and left the clay in shape of the lace.

I made a lace bow for heart shape powder container one time when I was teaching ceramics. Ceramic lace is beautiful but tedious to do.

-- Marie (prettyhollow@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

ck with local cancer centers, etc - maybe they would know of someone who wants to get married but cant afford a dress...due to the medical costs

-- karen (skeeter@gru.net), June 26, 2002.