DIY Personalized Hangers

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create personalized hangers for all the female wedding party members and VIPs (our moms). To those of you that are unfamiliar with the concept, personalized hangers appear to be a new trend among brides, and, from what I can tell, are fairly popular on wedding blogs and message boards. I surfed around on the internet a bit for inspiration, and then I decided to attempt my own. I did not use any specific set of directions, it was more of a situation where I saw a picture and decided "I can do that!" Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger, and I did not take pictures of the process this time. I apologize about that, but in exchange, I will provide some of my best tips. If you still need help, feel free to either comment to this post, or, just google "personalize hangers" and you should get a fair amount of directions. I promise, these are a lot easier to make than they look.

You will need:

• 12 gauge florist wire (I got mine in the floral department at Joann Fabrics)
• Wooden shirt hangers, you want the ones that do NOT have the wooden dowel across the bottom. I got mine at Wal-Mart, five for $4.00
• Wire cutters
• Pliers
• Drill, with a bit that is just larger than the wire
• White glue
• Ribbon, or other embellishments to decorate the hangers

What you do:

1. Using a hanger as a template, bend the wire into the shapes of names. Make sure to leave about six inches of wire at the beginning so that you can center your wire in the hanger. Also, do not cut the wire until you are done shaping the name. Shorter names use less wire than longer names, and there is really no good way to estimate how much wire you will need. I opted to use cursive because the letters naturally flow together. Use the pliers to "crimp" the wire together. I did not use a pattern to shape the letters, I just sort of went with it. Just make sure to periodically compare the wire to the hanger to ensure that the name will fit inside the hanger.
2. Cut the wire once the name is shaped, again leaving a few inches on the end so that you can center the name inside the hanger.
3. Bend the wire in a 90 degree angle (L shape) on either side of the name, such that it will fit inside the hanger and be centered. Mark on the hanger where the wire meets the hanger. Trim the ends of the wire as necessary.
4. Drill holes on either side of the hanger, from the bottom. 
5. Put a drop of white glue inside each hole before popping in the wire. 
6. Shape the name until you achieve your desired look, then lay the hanger flat to allow the glue to dry.
7. Decorate the hanger with ribbons as desired.