Dollar Headbands for Back to School

Yesterday I was at Claire's with my oldest daughter, browsing their earring selection and some of their other cute merchandise.  We saw some really cute headbands with big bows on them that we thought would be perfect to pair with some of her new back to school outfits.  Only instead of buying these headbands I told her I could make her some for a lot less money...

In comes the dollar store.  {by the way this is not a dollar store sponsored post...just so you know :)}Everything you see above, the ribbon, the glue sticks, and the headbands were all purchased at the dollar store.  These headbands are really easy + really inexpensive to make.  All of those materials above cost me about 5 dollars and with my already owned handy dandy glue gun and some scissors, I can make three headbands.  And if I spend one more dollar on a set of three more headbands, I could make six headbands for six dollars.  I think you get the picture.  These headbands are awesomely cheap to make yourself!  If you've never made any like these before, here's how:

{get ready for picture overload...}

Step 1:  Starting at an angle, add a dot of hot glue to secure the ribbon to the headband, and wrap your ribbon around one end of the headband.

Step 2:  Continue wrapping the ribbon, at a slight angle, around the headband.  Stop every now and again to add a dot of glue to the inside of the headband.  This ensures that the ribbon stays securely fasted around the headband and keeps the ribbon from unwinding later. 

Step 3:  Admire your handiwork... even if it doesn't look perfect :)

Step 4:  Cover the ends.  Cut two small sections of ribbon.  One about 3/4 of an inch and one about an inch and a half.  Hot glue the shorter section over the end as shown.  Hot glue the longer section around the end of the headband going right over the shorter section and wrap it in the same direction that you wrapped the ribbon as you were twisting it around the entire headband.  Repeat this step for the other end of the headband too.

For some reason the color in this picture turned out really off.  But never mind that.  This is what the headband looks like when it is completely wrapped in ribbon.

Now on to the bow part of the headband...

Step 1:  Loop your ribbon into a circle {not too big but not too small either}.  Hot glue the top end of the ribbon so the circle stays in place.

Step 2:  Without cutting any ribbon off yet, make another looped circle around your first circle, only this time make it a little larger than the first.  Add a dot of glue to secure the second circle in place and cut off an excess ribbon.  Place the ribbon circles on a flat surface like seen above.  Glue all the center layers of the circles together so that they stay together like in the picture shown above.

Step 3:  Make an accordion fold in the center of the ribbon to form the bow.  Add little dots of glue between the accordion folds {on the front side and on the back side too} so that it stays in place.

Step 4:  I forgot to take a picture of this step, but cut another piece of this same ribbon {about 2 inches long}.  Wrap it around the center of the bow and secure it in place in back with a few dots of hot glue.

Step 5:  Hot glue the bow to the side of the headband with several dots of hot glue and you're done!!!

{Tip:  To make sure I get the bow exactly where I want it on the headband, I usually place the headband on my head, place the bow on the headband, before being glued down, and then when I know where I want the bow to go, I save that spot with my finger, take the headband off my head, and glue the bow down on the spot that I saved with my finger.}

This headband is the perfect addition for any new back to school outfit...

and the perfect accessory for any little girl.

Linked Here:

The Shabby Nest

Kojo Designs

Tatertots and Jello