Vintage Inspired Headband Tutorial

I have neglected my poor blog for so long, that it's hard to get into the habit of posting here. While I don't make regular crafts all that often anymore, I do make a lot of hair items, because those sell. And, well, I need to do something to support my craft-addiction, right?

On to the tutorial. This weekend, Nick and I are going to a Clue themed party for his office, and the invite said to pick a character, and include some accessory in that characters color in your outfit. I chose Miss Scarlett, because red is easy, right? WRONG. I could not find a red dress that A) I liked, B) fit me, and C) was in my budget. It had to be all 3, and yet, sadly, nothing. I wound up with a really cute black dress that A) I loved, B) fit me, and C) was in my budget. Yay!

That left me needing red accessories, though. I decided I'd make something for my hair. I had no idea what, but when I sat down to make it, it just came together and I fell in love with it! Here's a few pictures of the item, which I think totally rocks.

Isn't it lovely? I think it'll be a hit at the party- at least I hope so! I love it, and wish I could wear it every day.

So, when I was making it, I just sort of tossed it together, no rhyme or reason, just the desire to make something pretty. However, I did re-make it today, and decided to offer it up as a tutorial to my sadly neglected blog. So, here we go!

Vintage Inspired Rose Headband

You'll Need:

1. 2 Rose Heads- both times, I used 2 different colored roses, all of them found at dollar stores on bushes. You want roses that look open already, not the ones that are all closed up.
2. Tulle in a coordinating or contrasting color- I used glitter tulle on my red/black one, and love the little added sparkle.
3. 1 headband- I recommend skinny. I picked up a 3 pack of satin headbands at Dollar Tree.
4. Gem center- this isn't really completely necessary, but the center of the rose will look bare without it. Again, these were from Dollar Tree in a packet I picked up last fall.
5. Felt- DT has this as well. I recommend a color that will blend in- it won't be visible, but as a 'just in case' kind of moment.
6. Feathers- this is the only thing I had to get at the craft store FOR this project. I didn't have any on hand in red. I recommend soft, silky feathers. They are fantastic to work with, and are still usually inexpensive.
7. Glue Gun
8. Scissors

Now, let's get started!

1. Take the roses apart, and toss the plastic stuff aside. You won't need it or use it in this project. Once they are apart, figure out the largest piece from both roses- this will be your base.
2. Take your tulle, and cut out squares roughly the size of 2-3 of your flower petal sections. You are going to fold this into 4's, find the middle, then cut a petal shape out of it. When you unfold it, it should be a 4 'petal' base. Cut as many as you would like- these will be interspersed with your flower petals.
3. Once you have your tulle petals and regular petals laid out, it's time to start gluing. Using hot glue, glue a circle around the center hole of your base flower. Take your next largest flower, and line the center holes up, but lay it so that the petals are interspersed from one another. Press it down, and smooth the material with your finger so it holds nice and tight.
4. Continue adding layers, adding in tulle layers as you go, until you have added in all the layers. Glue the center gem to the middle of the flower, covering up the hole. 
5. Next, cut a circle or square smaller than the flower out of felt. This is going to be the base pad for the feathers. 
6. Take your feathers out, and before gluing, start arranging them in the design you would like. I suggest longer feathers on the bottom layer, myself. Once you are happy with the way they are arranged, you will want to start gluing them down. To do this, glue a strip across the felt pad, and gently press the feathers into place. Once there is no glue showing, you can add another strip of glue and repeat. If you are adding quite a few feathers, you may want to add a second pad of felt on top of the feathers already laid down. Glue and feathers can get messy!
7. When you are happy with your feathers, add a top 'pad' of felt, gluing it in place. This will help sandwich the feathers. 
8. Add glue to the top side of the pad, getting close to the edges. Once it's covered decently, but not too thickly, center your flower on it, and press nice and tight to make sure it's in place. Unless you want to add more tulle, small gems, or beads, your flower is done.
9. Put your headband on, and using a mirror, move the flower around until you find a place on your head where you want it to be. Make sure to hold that place on the headband when you remove it, so you know where you will be adding the flower to. The first one I did, I placed higher up than what I would have liked. The second time, I went much lower and love where it sits.
10. Cut a long oval or rectangle out of felt- about 1" wide, and no longer than the base of the flower- roughly 2". Add a strip of glue to the underside of the headband on the place you want the rose to go, and press the felt to it, along the center so the edges hang over.
11. From there, simply add glue to the entire top side of the felt and headband, and press the flower into place, holding it against the curve while it dries.

And that's all there is to it! I'd estimate that it cost me about a dollar in materials to make this headband, even with craft store feathers and tulle. It's inexpensive, easily customized, and a super cute headband for special events. 

And here are some step by step photos of the process. :)

How To: Woven Heart Hair Clip

Long time, no see! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, now on with Valentine's Day!!

Here is a simple guide to making woven heart hair clippies for your little darling.

You'll Need:

3/8th's width ribbon- any color, or style you want, though Grosgrain works best.
1 alligator clip, snap clip, barrette, or headband
Scissors
Hot Glue

1. Cut your ribbon to the length you want- I just kind of wing it, but it usually comes out around 4" in length.
2. Cut this ribbon in half, leaving two equal lengths.
3. Seal the ends with your desired method. I use a lighter to melt my ribbon ends, but fray check will work as well.
4. Glue the two pieces of ribbon together by the ends, so they form an L shape.
5. From here, lay the ribbon down, and take the piece that is glued to the back, and fold it so the end is laying on the front side of the ribbon, but right next to where the ribbon is glued on the backside. Glue it down.
6. This should give you a sort of a lower case b shape. Take the other ribbon end, which should be the only un-glued end at this point, and fold it backwards. You'll need to weave it through the ribbon, so that the end is against the back side of the ribbon. The weaves should be woven opposite of what is there. Glue the end to the backside. You should have a heart now with a woven center.
7. Add glue to the top of your pre-lined alligator clip, and attach it it. You can add gemstones, sequins, or even glitter glue to make it sparkle. 

You can use a single color, or two colors of ribbon. Patterns are all right, but it should be two sided, as the single side ribbon will be flipped to show the unprinted side as well.

Below are photos step by step, including showing you how to line an alligator clip, and how to use crafting foam to make a No-Slip-Grip for your hair clip. 

Easy Tutu Tutorial

This week, I am making tutu's for Halloween. The first is a Lady Bug tutu for my 3 year old niece to wear, and the second is a lime green Tinkerbell tutu dress for my 8 year old, Gillian. There are lots of costume ideas at the bottom of this post for using Tutu's for Halloween.

In addition, these make great birthday & holiday gifts for girls who love dressing up and just having fun.

These are only the 2nd & 3rd Tutu's I've made, and I just finished the Lady Bug one this morning. The first one I made was for my oldest daughter to wear to school on Spirit day. For that one, I took elastic, sewed it to the right size, then looped the tulle over it.

I found, though, that the stretchy, crochet style headbands work great as waistbands, and make it so that your tulle is evenly spaced.

Easy Tutu - You'll Need:

1 Pre-made Crochet Headband (You can find them online for as little as $.50 each, or at places like Hobby Lobby for $.99 each, or by the yard in the fabric department).  This will stretch to fit anywhere from about 12 months to around a size 8 in girls.

1-3 rolls of 25 yard, 6" tulle- the more you use, the fluffier and more full the tutu is. It took me 25 yards to make a knee length tutu for a 3 year old. It's not as full as I would like, but it isn't bad.

Scissors

A hard cover book to stretch the headband over. It should stretch it, without it being stretched to it's limits- it should be able to move easily.

Total Cost Estimate: The cost will depend on the length, amount of tulle used, and the cost of the supplies you purchase. I was able to make my niece's Lady Bug tutu for just over $2.00. If I had had more red on hand, I would have made it more full, though.

Time Spent: It took me maybe 45 minutes to cut and put together the lady bug tutu. The longer the tulle, the longer it takes, because you spend more time keeping the tulle already added out of the way.




Directions

1. First, you want to decide on the length of the tutu. I find it's easiest to hold the tulle up to the child, from either the waist or the chest, and measure down from there. You'll need to fold it in half before cutting it, to double the length. Cut your tulle to that length until you have a good stash. For dresses, or anything longer than about 8-10" in length, you will require at least two rolls of tulle. The longer the tulle, the more you will need.
2. Stretch your head band over the book and adjust it so it's stretched evenly.
3. Fold a length of tulle in half, and pinch the folded side. From there, push it through one of the holes from behind so the loop is poking out the top, visible side of the headband. Using your fingers, spread the loop open so there is a hole. Take the ends of the tulle length, and push them through the loop. Once they are through, carefully tug the length until it 'ties' into a tight knot on the headband. Smooth it down, and move on to the next loop. Continue until you have filled that row of holes.
4. Once it's filled out, lay it on a flat surface so that it forms a circle with all the tulle spread out nice and straight. You will want to give it a 'hair cut' to even the strands out, and this is the easiest way to do that.
5. Add a bow to the front if you would like!

Tips:

• When looping the tulle through the checkerboard style holes on the headband, I opted to use the second row of holes from the edge, not the first row. The tulle cinches tightly, and I thought this gave it a bit more material to grab onto.
• For a more full tutu, fill every hole on two rows. You can use the same hole for two different ties on different layers. 
• Cut the top later just a bit shorter than the layer under it, so it stands outward more.
• Experiment with looping ribbon lengths through the holes as well, or strands of sequins.
• To make your tutu frugally, order your tulle, or buy it on sale. I have never worked with full width tulle bought by the yard from a bolt, but it typically is cheaper than the rolls. It goes on sale for $.77/yard from Hobby Lobby from time to time. You'll want to cut it into strips to use it.
• Use small dabs of hot glue to affix gems to the tulle for sparkle. Make sure it's pressed firmly to just the strand you want it on, and lift it away from the tutu while it dries. The glue will stick to everything if it's still warm.
• To keep your tutu fluffy, when storing it, hang it inside out. The tulle will settle as it hangs, and when you flip it back over, it will fluff right back up.

I found my Tulle online at Gifts International. The cost is $1.25 for a 25 yard roll of 6" wide tulle. At Hobby Lobby, it runs $2.99 for a 6", 25 yard roll, so the savings a pretty good. They also have rolls of 3", 12", and 18" tulle, and have 34 colors in stock.

They also have shimmer tulle, which has just a bit of a glimmer to it- it is NOT glitter tulle. The Shimmer tulle is $1.50 for a 6" 25 yard roll. At hobby lobby, this type of tulle is $4.99 a roll. There are fewer color choices in Shimmer, but they do still have 14 colors available.

http://www.giftsintl-us.com/tullefabric.php

  

 

If you need plain white, and don't want to wait to order, or pay shipping, Dollar Tree does carry white & ivory. They are only 8 yard rolls, though, so they are still more expensive than getting it from anywhere else, including Hobby Lobby. It would cost $3 to get 24 yards, as opposed to $2.99 for 25 yards at HobLob.

Costume ideas for Tutu's at Halloween-

Tinkerbell- Lime Green (or Citrus Green) and Kelly Green

Witch- Black, or Black with Purple, Citrus Green, Orange, and Shocking Pink


Lady Bug- Red with black puff ball spots

Rock Star- Any bright colors mixed with black, and worn with leggings, a cute shirt, and a jean jacket

Princess- Pink, Purple, White, or a Mix- you can make a dress out of it, or a skirt.

Bumble Bee- Yellow & Black- create vivid stripes by doing 2-3 of black, followed by 2-3 of yellow. Alternating every other one will create a less vivid striped pattern.

Zebra- White & Black striped the same as the Bumble Bee.

Tiger- Orange & Black striped the same as the bumble bee.

Pirate Princess - Red & Black striped the same as the bumble bee- add a striped shirt, striped tights, and a bandana.

Pumpkin- Orange & Green- make a dress, and use the green to create a short, spikey fringe of tulle for the top layer. Use felt to add a mouth, nose, and eyes to the middle of the dress.

Peacock- Aqua, Green, and Royal Blue Tulle- add a pair of wings, and embellish with peacock feathers.

Ballerina- Pink Tulle, paired with a leotard, decorated with gems. Add ballet flats for shoes.

Angel- White Tulle paired with a white leotard. You can add white marabou trim to the tutu and wings to make them more Angel like.

Flower Fairy- Bright Colors of Tulle with a green or brown leotard or shirt under. Add fake flowers for embellishment, and a wand & wings

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