Do Me A Favour (I)

I'm half Greek-Cypriot and as a child went to lots of Cypriot weddings. Every wedding that I went to, the ladies received a netted bag of 5 almonds. I knew when I grew up and got married that I would want these too. (Along with Greek wedding cake but more on that in another post.)

These favours, like I said are traditionally given to the women at the wedding as a thank you gift, and the 5 almonds inside represent Health, Wealth, Fertility, Happiness and Longlife.

Of course, it was another DIY project for me! But I was already a pro at making these, having made them for my son's baptism in 1999 and also for my friend's daughter's baptism in 2003. I loved making them then, and I was looking forward to making them for our wedding too!



Don't they look pretty? I love them, I love them even more so when they are placed in a cupcake stand...



They are so purple and fluffy!

They were easy to make once you get the hang of things and before I knew it, I had made 50!

To keep the almonds secure inside I bought favour bases from eBay. They are little trays designed to hold 5 almonds and have a stem in the centre for you to secure a decoration to if you so wish.



I also bought purple and lilac favour nets with a scalloped edge and I then found some white ribbon which said "Health, Wealth, Fertility, Longlife and Happiness" which was a great find!

Before I found that ribbon, I had made little circular inserts which I put at the bottom of each favour.



I bought the almonds from a local market and got to work.

I wish I had photos to show you the steps, but sadly I don't - I'll know for next time... （＾＿－）

Here's a step by step guide:

1. Lay 1 net down and place the insert in the centre
2. Put another 3 or 4 nets on top (the more nets you have the fluffier the favour)
3. Place the favour tray on top of the insert
   
4. Add the almonds
   
5. Gather up the net around the tray - if you look at the net like a clock, I bring in from 12, 3, 6 and 9 and then pull the rest up
6. Secure with a tiny elastic band
7. Tie ribbon around the elastic band to hide it and trim to size
8. Fluff each layer of net out one by one (it's so satisfying to see them fluff out and take shape!)
   
9. Finally add a decoration into the centre stem if you so wish - I added a stem of white flowers.
   

I can't wait to hand these out at our reception!

TTFN xx