DIY personalized aisle runner from Oh Lovely Day

You know that super sweet handmade wedding I featured earlier this week?  (if you missed it, go check it out first, then come back here.  I’m serious, go!)  Well the bride, Angela is sharing the DIY for her awesome personalized aisle runner today.  She is the first official Oh Lovely Day reader DIY submission to be featured, and I hope there are many more to come! (hint hint, wink wink)  So, welcome Angela!

{What You’ll Need}

–Iron
-Fabric for runner:  Two tips to remember- you’ll need enough fabric to match the length of your aisle and it is best to use a light colored fabric (I used cream muslin) so your details show up
–Fabric for words: The amount you need depends on the number of words you want to use.  It is best to use a solid color fabric (I used black and green) so the words show up.
–Wonder Under (also known as fusible web): This is the “glue” you will use to iron your letters onto your runner.  The amount you need depends on the number of letters you want, but it goes fast, so best to have a lot!
–Iron-on Transfers for Photos:  For 90% of my photos I used a full page for one photo, so you’ll need the amount of transfers to match the number of photos you want to use.
–Storage baggies or folders: You’ll need one for each word to keep your letters organized.
{Now here’s what you do}
But first, a warning:  I am not going to glamorize the time it took to make this runner. I spent a solid couple of days with a friend cutting out the letters and then 6+ hours ironing them on.  This DIY is not for the faint of heart!
{Step 1}
I started the aisle runner with a photo of both myself and my husband as children followed by our first date. The photos then progressed like a time line starting with our first year of dating till the end of the aisle runner and finally ending with Ever After, where my father handed me off.
{Step 2}
I started with picking my favorite photos through the years, vacations, birthdays, picnics etc. Then figuring phrases to go with each photo. ” Road trip to California,” “Craig’s 24th Birthday,” etc.
{Step 3}
I then printed all the words out on regular paper at the size I wanted the words to be. This took about 30 sheets of paper. I used three different fonts, and they were the corresponding fonts I used in the programs. I got the vintage style fonts here.
{Step 4}
Once all the words are printed, trace them onto the wonder under.  Trace onto the side that feels like parchment paper.  It needs to be a mirror image of the words, so flip the printed page over so it is upside down (doing it wrong will make the wording backwards).  Also, it is best to trace with a pen, because if you use a pencil the lead gets on the iron.
{Step 5}
Once all your words are traced, you iron the wonder under onto the fabric you bought for your words. Your iron will touch the side that you traced the letters onto- the parchment paper side.
{Step 6}
Once you have done this and all the words are ironed, cut out all the letters and words, cutting through the wonder under and fabric. But be sure, once you finish a set of words like ” First Date” put it in a baggy or envelope. This will help with the organizing when you are finished and need to lay out all your words on the aisle runner fabric.
{Step 7}
Print all your photos onto photo transfer paper, and to make your life easier match up all the words with the photos before you start just to make sure. You don’t want to be half way though ironing onto your aisle and realize you need a letter.
{Step 8)
Lay out your aisle runner and start laying out and arranging the photos and wording. This needs to be done for spacing.  Otherwise you’ll  run out of space or put all your photos and words in the first 10 feet and have a lot of empty runner.  You’ll need a long hallway or a lot of space so you can lay it out and keep the photos and letters in place.  Or, you may need to pin your photos and words in place if you don’t have the space.  Either way, you’re going to have hours of sitting on the floor ironing 🙂
{Step 9}

Be sure to take the parchment side of the wonder off. Then start ironing!  If you have not used an iron on photo transfers before, be sure to practice on a different piece of fabric.  Once it is ironed onto the aisle runner, it is there permanently.

Once you’re done ironing, you’re DONE!
And hopefully you have something that looks like this…
DIY personalized aisle runner from Oh Lovely Day
You know what makes this DIY even sweeter?  They couple included a crossword puzzle in their program, and most of the answers could be found on the aisle runner, so the guests had a fun game to play while they waited for the ceremony, and the inevitably late guests and start, to happen!

So, which of you brides-to-be out there are going to make this baby?  I’d love to hear.  And if you want to submit a DIY project to me, email photos, a material list, and instructions to me at chandra {at} ohlovelyday {dot} com or click the little envelope at the top right of this page with “DIY submission” in the subject line.  I can’t wait to feature more of your great DIY projects!

Photos by The Other Sister Photography

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