Make It Monday: Satin Floral Hairclips

I love it when I learn how to make something new from a friend. My dearest friend Jillian taught me how to make these little beauties. Every time I see one of my girlies wear one, I think of Jill and that is a very good thing.

Today, I'm going to share with you how to make these Satin Floral Hairclips for Make It Monday!

These Satin Floral Hairclips are really easy -- and inexpensive -- to make. They are also versatile. You can use them as a hairclip, of course, but also as a gift package topper or if you add a pin it can be worn as a broach.

First, a disclaimer here. This craft is of a somewhat dangerous nature because it involves using fire. Please use caution. I am not responsible for any mishaps that may occur while replicating this craft. Boom. There it is.

Materials Needed:

• Costume Satin - the feel of this can vary. What is shown here is of a stiffer nature. While it was easier to cut, I do prefer the feel of a softer costume satin. Feel free to experiment.
• Scissors
• Tea light & match
• Needle & thread
• Rhinestone or other embellishment
• Hot Glue Gun
• Metal hair clip

Instructions:

1. Cut out three satin circles of diminishing size - Large, Medium and Small. Make sure that your largest one is bigger than the hair clip you want to use. You don't want to be able to see the clip on the finished product.
2. Light a tea light. Very carefully melt the edges of each circle by holding the fabric close to, but not in, the flame. This will keep the fabric from fraying. Then, hold the circle above the flame to pucker the fabric. Repeat this over several parts of the circle. Be careful not to scorch the fabric (or light it on fire, obviously).
3. Once your circles are edged and puckered, stack them on top of each other by size with the smallest on top. With your needle and thread, stitch the three circles securely together. Tie off on the backside.
4. Use the glue gun to adhere a rhinestone or other embellishment in the center of the flower.
5. Cut out a small fabric oval shape that is as long as the prong on the hairclip. Seal the edges with the tealight just as you did the circles. Then, sandwich this between the two prongs of the hairclip.
6. Apply some more hot glue to the back of the flower where you want the hairclip to go. Place the hairclip and the fabric oval securely over the glue. The fabric oval will prevent glue from sticking to the other prong of the hairclip...you know, so it will actually open as a hairclip.

Hints:

• To make a circle easily, fold a square of satin into fourths, hold onto the folded corner and cut an arch from one side to the other. Open up, and you've got a circle.
• Speed up the preparation by making several circles at one time. Just stack layers of satin and cut multiple circles at once. They don't have to be perfect since you'll be making them uneven with the fire anyway.
• While little girls love these hairclips, I don't recommend that you let them get anywhere near the fire. However, you can involve them by letting them pick out colors of the fabric and embellishments.

For other inexpensive homemade gift ideas, check out my archive of other Make-It Monday posts. For other money-saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at LifeasMOM.

Make It Monday: Paper Bead Necklaces

Welcome back to Make It Monday! Over the next few Mondays, I'll be sharing some ideas for homemade gifts as I have done the past two holiday seasons. (For ideas from the past years, check out my Make It Monday page.)

Today I'll be sharing a little tutorial on how to make a super-inexpensive (but cute) gift -- Paper Bead Necklaces!

Made with stretch elastic, these necklaces are a versatile gift. Depending on the length of necklace you choose to make, you can wear it as a long necklace, a double necklace (equal lengths or unequal lengths) or wrap around your wrist several times to make a bracelet.

You can make these out of magazine pages or any scrapbook paper you have laying around. The size of the bead will vary by your choice of paper and the size of your triangle. The necklaces shown here were crafted out of triangles that were 6-inches in height and made out of thick scrapbook paper. You can also add traditional beads to your creation. I chose to use some very inexpensive glass seed beads alongside my handcrafted paper beads.

Best of all, you really don't need any special tools...just a little time and patience.

Materials Needed:

• Scrapbook paper or magazine pages in the colors of your choosing
• Scissors (or paper cutter)
• Toothpick
• Glue Stick
• Modge Podge
• Paint Brush
• Stretch Bead Elastic (I found this for $2 at Walmart)
• Conventional Beads (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut your chosen paper into long thin triangles. The length of the bead will be equal to the bottom of your triangle. I used triangles that were 6 inches high and 1-inch, 3/4-inch and 1/2-inch at the bottom.
2. Apply glue stick to the side of the triangle strip that you do not want showing. Don't put glue at the fat end because that is where you will place the toothpick - you don't want the toothpick to stick to your bead. There you will place the toothpick and roll the paper tightly around the toothpick into a bead.
3. Press the bead firmly to secure the glue. Use more glue if necessary. (Note: Thicker paper will be more difficult to hold its shape.)
4. For bead durability, apply at least three coats of Modge Podge to each bead. Allow to dry 15-20 minutes between each coat. Allow to dry completely.
5. Unroll a length of beading elastic that is as long as you wish your necklace to be. Do not cut the elastic just yet. This will make it easier to keep the beads on as you strig them. String the finished beads in your desired pattern on the beading elastic. When all of your beads are on the elastic, take the cut end and tie it to the other end of the elastic that is still attached to the spool. Double or triple knot to secure the necklace. Snip the elastic off of the spool.

This is a great craft to do with your kids. Although crafting the beads may be too difficult for very young children, even preschoolers can help create patterns and string beads onto the elastic. Working together to make a gift makes the gift even more special.

Looking for more homemade gift ideas? Check out these Satin Floral Hairclips or my Make It Monday Archive.

Do you have any homemade gift ideas? Share in the comments.

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This post is linked to Frugal Friday. For other money-saving ideas, visit LifeasMOM on Fridays.

Make Your Own Letter Towel Hooks

One bonus of moving into a new (to me) home is that it is a fresh start in the decorating department. The drawback in my situation, of course, is the lack of funds to purchase new decor. But, we're making do and trying to reuse what we can and make what we can.

Our new home has only one full bathroom...and a shocking dearth of towel bars. Okay, let me rephrase...a shocking dearth of useful towel bars. One is located in the shower and the other is above the toilet paper roll. Yeah, neither are ideal locations for me, especially since we have four bath towels to hang up every day. Then, I discovered these...

Source: Anthropologie

Aren't they adorable? When I saw them, I envisioned each of us having our own letter lined up along the bathroom wall. The letters would even help remind the girls where to put their towels. Oh, it's a genius solution. Unfortunately, I can't really afford a $56 solution ($14 each)!

So, for about $4 each, I made my own version. Coat and Hat hooks with a wooden or papier-mâché letter above give me a similar look for a lot let less money. I already had wooden letters for the L and E, but I needed a B and a J. Since I couldn't find wooden letters to match the ones I already had, I made some papier-mâché ones. The best part? They hardly cost me anything to make! I made matching letter templates on my computer, used cereal boxes for the structure, and made paste from ingredients in my cupboard. Then I painted them with some paint from a $3 Martha Stewart Paint Tester.

For step-by-step instructions on how to make the letters, check out this post from Green Zebra Crafts. Just be sure to make holes on the backside of your letter so that you can hang them on the wall. (I used a hole punch to make my holes on the backside of the letter before I assembled it. Be sure not to cover your holes with papier-mâché.) This recipe for papier-mâché paste has always worked well for me. It made more than enough paste for two 6-inch letters.

Papier-Mâché Paste (makes about 1 cup paste)
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/4 teaspoons sugar

In a small bowl, combine flour and 1/2 cup cold water. In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the flour/water mixture and stir to combine. Bring back to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar. Allow to cool. Paste will thicken as it cools. Store in refrigerator between uses.

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For other money-saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at LifeasMOM.

Pink-Washed Toy Crates

A few months ago, my husband gave me two wooden crates as part of my 10 days of anniversary gifts. They were symbols of the year of marriage when several family members and friends moved away AND of our impending move for law school. Initially, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them since I didn't really have a place to store two wooden crates. Then, I realized that they fit perfectly underneath the girls' Stork Craft Caribou Bunk Bed! What a perfect way to store some of their toys in a very child-friendly and good looking way.

Of course, I couldn't just leave them as unfinished wood. Not only isn't that "princessy" enough, the wood is kinda rough and just might give my girlies some splinters. Since the crates are going to be used by children, I thought a more distressed finish might be in order. Then I won't have to worry about if they ding them up. Judging by the looks of their bunkbed now, they WILL ding them up. So, I went for a white-washed look. Scratch that. Pink-washed look.

Here's what I used:

• wooden crate ($10 regular price at Michael's - only $6 with 40% coupon!)
• sandpaper
• polyurethane
• paint (I used a $5 "Daddy's Little Girl" Paint Pod from Ace Hardware)
• water
• paintbrush
• glides

I am no professional, but here's how I did it:

1. I smoothed out the wooden crates with a quick sanding and then removed the dust with a damp paper towel.
2. I decided to put a coat of poly on first to seal the wood. This would also bring out the natural color of the wood in the areas where the paint was thin. Not sure if this is exactly necessary, but it's what I did. (In retrospect, part of me wishes that I had stained the wood dark brown first. The other part of me realizes that the crates were enough work as it was.)
3. In a disposable cup, I mixed a small amount of paint with an equal amount of water. I brushed this on the crate and let it dry. This gave the crate a see-through pink coating. Wood knots were still visible.
4. Once that was dry, I dry-brushed some pink paint on. To do this, I dipped a dry paint brush in the paint and blotted most of the paint off onto a paper towel. Then, I lightly brushed it onto the crate for a streaky effect. I let it dry and then repeated until I got the look I wanted.
5. To finish it off, I put a coat of non-yellowing polyurethane to seal it all up and make it easier to wipe clean. Because with kids, everything needs to be able to wiped clean easily.
6. To make the crate easier to slide underneath the bed, we attached some cheap glides on the bottom corners of the crate.

To make it easy for the girls to tell the contents of the crates, I made some little labels out of scrapbooking paper. I made sure to use words as well as pictures for my non-reader Lucie.

For other how-to ideas, stop by The Lettered Cottage for "How To's Day" on the last Tuesday of the month.