Basic Bow

When I decided I was going to start making bows more my girls I wanted to start with something that was a bit more basic and felt like I could accomplish easily.  These bows were great!  They are easy and they are so cute.  The are a great stepping stone so you can feel comfortable working with ribbon.  Lets get started!

For this project you will need a hot glue gun, lighter, scissors, needle and thread, alligator clip and your ribbon.  I am making a double basic bow, so you will need two pieces of fabric cut so they will make the size of your bow.  I do not measure, its too much calculating for me, and too much pressure.  Just take a piece of ribbon and wrap it into a circle, when the circle is the size you want your bow, thats where you cut!  You will need a smaller coordinating ribbon for the center of the bow.

Before you get started, heat seal your ribbon with your lighter.  You just take the flame over the ribbon a few times and you will prevent it from fraying. 

Make a circle out ofone piece of ribbon.  Adjust your circle until its to the desired size of your bow.  If you are making  double bow like I am today, repeat this with the second piece of ribbon, if making a single move on.  My experience says that thinner ribbon looks better in a smaller bow, and wider looks better bigger.  Just play with it until you like it.  it your creation :) 

Find your middle.  Take your needle with thread attached and weave it through your ribbon pieces.  This process is the same whether you are doing a single or a double bow.

Pull the thread through and wrap it tightly around your ribbon a few times.  Do you see a bow forming?  You will need to pay with your ribbon pieces to make them look cute.  Mine never look perfect just pulled tight.  Pull adjust and fluff until it looks like you want it to.  Once I get the desire look I tighten the thread and make multiple knots.  I want this to be very strong.

Time for hot glue!  Put a dab of hot glue on the back side of your bow. 

Take your thinner bow and stick it to the hot glue.  this is the begining of your center piece.

Wrap that piece around, keeping it snug and as tight as you want your desired look to be.

Dab a bit of blueon your alligator clip.  Be careful not to glue it closed!  Yes I know from experience.. LOL

Stick your alligator clip to the back side of the bow. Notice your center ribbon is not completely wrapped around?  You will use this extra piece to keep your clip secure.

You want to open your alligator clip, and put a bit of glue where your center ribbo will wrap on top of it.  Pull your ribbon through and glue it down. You will need to add as much glue as you need to make this secure and to hold your clip on there.  No one sees the back side, don't worry.

Clip off your extra ribbon, You are DONE!  This is the back of your ribbon.

And here is your final product!  Not so hard was it?  And you now have a bow that will make a little girl that much more adorable.  I like to make two of these bows and clip them on pig tails.  Too Cute!

Here is one made of a wider, heavier ribbon.

This is the same concept, I just added tails.  The tutorial for that is here.  (If you are reading this, it is not done yet, check back)I think it can finish off some bows that need just a litle more.

Here are three basic bows, with tails stacked on top of each other.  Made the exact same way, just more.

These are made the same exact way, but with ribbon spikes behind them.  You can see the tutorial for these here. (If you are reading this, it is not done yet, check back)

Get creative an have fun!!!  Happy Crafting!

Folded Ribbon Roses

I cannot just have flowers in my girls' hair.  So I also make many hair pieces out of ribbon.  One that I remember making years ago, but had a very hard time finding a tutorial for was the folded ribbon rose.  I searched for a tutorial, but just did not find one I thought was clear or was really what I remembered.  So I knew I needed to put one together.  This has lots of pictures because I think its easiest to understand with the pictures.

What you need is ribbon. I 'm using a wide ribbon here, which is easiest, but you can use any size.  I'd just try your first one with a wide.  A glue gun, an alligator clip (or whatever you want for the back) and a lighter or something to seal the ends of your ribbon.

Take the flame of your lighter across the ends of your ribbon to seal them.  These turned out a bit ugly, for this project it wont matter.  It is important to seal them though b/c you dont want your ribbon to fray.

Now lets start folding.  with your ribbon laying wrong side up, fold the left end of your ribbon down.  You cannot see it very clear, but I have about two inces on the left side.  You dont want to have too much, but need enough to make it stable.

Now make another fold so your have a point like this. (Ignore the aligator clip in this picture.  Alison was trying to help out, you do not need it now.)

Using the right side of the ribbon fold the wrong side up, pulling the ribbon to the left. 

Make another fold pulling the ribbon up. Notice I rotated the ribbon counter clockwise in this picture.

Make another fold.  I think your starting to see a trend here.

Continue folding, you should have a square forming here.

Keep going until you get your desired thickness of your future rose.

Try to keep your square together so you have a hole down the center.

Now you will have some excess ribbon.  This is the ribbon that is on top of your square, not the bottom.  This is very important to use the top ribbon.  Twist the ribbon into a little point so you can shove it down through the hole in the center.

Push the excess ribbon through until It is tight on top like this.

Your underside will look like this.  You want to grap this piece that is sticking straight up with your thumb and pointer finger.

With your flower right side up begin twisting the piece between your fingers clockwise.  Be sure to hold all of your ribbon tightly together.  This takes a bit of coordination.

Keep twisting and you will see  your flower begin to emerge.

Looks like a flower to me!

Here is what your underside will look like.  Time to get our your glue gun and begin securing all of your ribbon so it does not unravel.  I cannot really tell you exactly where to glue, Just be generous and glue everything that looks lose.

Trim off all of the extra ribbon.  I put a dab of glue over the twisted ribbon to keep it in place.

Glue on your alligator clip.

This is what your finished bottom looks like.

Embellesh the top as you see fit.

I thought this one looked great without anything in the middle.  I usually just decide after its done whether to add something or not.  Again, be creative.  These can be attached directly to headbands, or even put a pin on the back and make it a broach.  Make a small one and use it as a center of a bow.  The possibilities are endless!  Happy Crafting!

Flower Hair Clips

So with two young girls I've been finding myself trying to find ways to make them look as cute as possible while they let me.  Alexis (5 months) really has no say in anything, so I keep her looking cute whenever she leaves the house.  Alison (4) is a little trickier at getting her to wear cute things, but I am determined to keep trying.  Anyways, these are something anyone can make.  So they are so cheap and ADORABLE!

For this project you will need a hot glue gun, an aligator clip, a flower and a gem or something to replace the center of the flower.  I left out the circle of felt.  Imagine a purple circle of felt laying there.  Be creative with your flowers, and you do not have to spend tons.  But a bouquet of discount flowers, remove the stem and just get started. 

 

The back of the flower just pops off..  Use the back to cut a circle of felt for the back of your flower.  I cut it out the diameter of the backing.  It makes it easier to make sure it wont show.  Sometimes if they are too small you mightneed to make it bigger.  Just make sure its big enough for your alligator clip.

With the back off you can pull the top off.  You are ready to disect and put your flower back together.

Start with the very bottom layer of the flower.  Put a dab of hot glue on it. 

Start layering your flower, putting it back together one at a time.

Continue to do the same.  Adding one little bit of glue each layer.  Try not to get them too thick, but also make sure its secure.

Once your flower is put back together, put a bit of glue in the center.

Add your gem!  Your flower is looking pretty good isn't it?!  You can be creative with this too.  I like the gems b/c I like some bling, but you can use the original center, or a bottle cap, or anything else you find that you like.

Your almost done, its time to finish off your flower. 

I cut a small slit in the felt and slip the top of the alligator clip through it.  I glue it to the felt.  Then put plenty glue on the felt and stick it to the back of the flower.  It keeps the entire flower secure and makes it soft against the hair.

Be Creative!

Use different kinds of flowers and make each an individual!  Have fun and happy crafting!