The Getaway Decision: Birdseed Pouches

Well, lo and behold, when I give up on a project for the sake of expense, it keeps managing to work itself out. Exhibit A: I don’t feel super strongly about having anything thrown at us, bubbles blown at us, or fire engulfing us when sparklers go awry. Rice seems simple enough, but apparently when consumed by a hungry bird, well, think fireworks. Oops. Releasing butterflies would be beautiful, almost poetic and elegant, and tied very closely to our nature-inspired event. However, this meddles with migratory patterns, and most butterflies that endure this never get back on track. Oh, geez.

Enter birdseed, the obvious option that I never even considered because it is so obvious, and traditional, and, well, since when do I do that?! I began looking up some ready-made bundles to purchase. Average price for a generic “Belongs-at-every-traditional-wedding-in-the-last-50-years” was $1 per pouch, already filled and tied. Simple enough, cheap I guess. But since I didn’t really care about this custom in the first place, what was the point?!

Solution? Oh, I am so satisfied with this solution. Inspired by fabric favor bags at a friend's recent shower, I found fabric scraps around my apartment that had been leftover from projects, or had purchased and never used, etc. I coordinated fabrics so that the front and back worked together, but were not painfully matchy-matchy. Without measuring or hemming (to foster the look of simplicity and character), I stitched inward-facing sides together, locked the stitches, and then turned right-side-out. After filling with a teeny scoop of birdseed (the environmentally friendly option), I tied twine around the bags. A further step I opted out of because my desire to simplify: use the tie to loop on a tag with a quote, monogram, etc. Done.

Total project cost for 100 pouches was the $6 for the birdseed. Note: If you aren’t a total dweeb that has fabric on hand at all times, ten bucks says you know someone that will! The point for me in this project was to reduce my ecological impact by avoiding shipping a product, and to recycle/reuse supplies already in my possession. The 3 R’s, ladies. Gotta love ‘em. Further, what’s not to love about a touch of life and personality in a wedding when so much of them becomes industrialized?!

It’s funny, I was awfully surprised at myself for using these fabrics despite how they stray from any hint of a theme, or even the colors of the wedding. However, when the final pouch was completed, I couldn’t help but smile. It was refreshing to see a spontaneous and eclectic surprise! The frayed top edge, the unlikely combinations of fabric--I guess that’s just more my style anyway. ;

So here we have the vintage, eco-friendly side of the wedding, not the nature-themed. ; ) Also, I must confess, my digital camera has been hidden from me, by me, so these are taken in photobooth, so you'll have to excuse the poor quality and awkward angles! Ha.

Love,

Ashley Sue

Front and Back of Each Combo is shown: