Mr. Seal: A Man of Many (Yankee) Hats

Ugh, I'm fighting one of the nastiest colds in the history of nasty colds, but if one good thing has come of this beast...it's been my productivity. I know sickness and productivity don't normally go hand-in-hand, but I am one busy bee and this has forced me to stay home and take it easy. ("Takin' it easy" for me = working on my DIY projects in my PJ's all day.)

As perhaps you recall, Mr. Seal is a huge Yankees fan; as such, he's often seen sporting a Yankee hat from his (not so varied) collection:

Yes. Several of them are identical.

That hats in action.

Anyhow, about a week ago, while discussing our grand entrance for our reception, we somehow decided Mr. Seal needed a fancy, blinged-out Yankees cap. (It really wouldn't be a very Mr. Seal-like wedding if an NY hat didn't at least make an appearance)

The Sealman really loved the idea and we immediately hopped online to find the perfect hat for me to bejewel. Mr. Seal and his dudes are wearing black tuxes with champagne colored vests, so he was drawn to a hat with goldish-colored accents and an oversized logo (perfect for crystal-izing).

Hat via NewEra

I take sales as signs and this guy was discounted so we snatched one up! After purchasing some varied Swarovski hot-fix crystals (10ss and 16ss) for my Darice Hot-Fix Applicator wand and waiting a few days for all of the goods to arrive, it was time to get down to business. 

I really like the hot-fix tool I have, but I suggest you let it warm up longer than the suggested two minutes - anything less than five minutes, for me, resulted in the wand not picking up the crystals properly. Oh! And once the tip is hot...IT IS HOT. While attempting to bejewel AND partake in the Weddingbee Post-a-Thon I managed to burn my index finger somethin' fierce - so use with caution :)

 

I'm also really glad I bought two different sized crystals as this greatly helped me fill in all the pesky gaps within the logo! The only downside was having to switch out the tip for the applicator/waiting for it to heat up each time I wanted to use a different sized crystal. Perhaps there's a more efficient way to go about doing this, but I didn't find it to be annoying enough to rethink the method.

The process was fairly time-consuming, but I found it relaxing. After about 30-45 minutes I had made some progress.

And a couple hours later, my masterpiece was complete!

Despite my loyalty to my San Francisco Giants, I am really happy we were able to find a way to work in something (even if that something is a Yankees hat) that is so very Mr. Seal. And who knows? Maybe I'll bling out this (lonely and squished) hat from the Sealman's collection next ;)

How is your groom putting his mark on his wedding-day outfit? Have you bejeweled anything for the wedding?