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

Baby Shower Gift Idea

A few days ago I was invited to a really good friend's baby shower.

She's having her first baby girl!

{So exciting!!!}

I wanted to get her something really great but it was a few days before pay day so I was on a really slim budget. 

{Ever know that feeling?!?}

I decided to make her little one a couple of unique little one peices and then package them uniquely as well.

I wish I'd taken more pictures but I'll just share what I've got.

I bought two white organic cotton bodysuits at Walmart for $2.00 a piece.

{I'm not a big organic kind of person so that was just a bonus.}

My Walmart also has a fabric section {I know some Walmart's don't} and they sell individual pre-packaged pieces of fabric that measure 18" x 21" for $1.00 a piece.

I bought two...each one with a different design.

And then here's what I did:

I used Heat n Bond {$1.97 for 1 1/4 yards at Walmart}

and, following the directions on the back of the package, I ironed it onto the back of a small piece of the fabric that I cut out.

For my template, I used a butterfly silhouette found HERE.

I followed all the directions on the back of the Heat n Bond and then I pinned my template onto the fabric and cut it out.

The next step was to peal the paper backing off of the back of the fabric from the Heat n Bond, decide where I wanted to place the butterfly, and then iron it onto the bodysuit.

Sooo simple!

I can't believe I've never done this kind of thing before!

{I know this butterfly is pretty big.  Looking back, maybe I should have downsized it!}

I chose to do a bird silhouette in a different fabric on the second bodysuit.

For those who don't already know, there are two kinds of Heat n Bond:  Lite {purple package}

and Ultra hold {red package}.

If I had used the red package I could have just stopped here and been done...but I didn't.

So I hand stitched all around each silhouette to make sure it was going to stay nice and snug on each little bodysuit.

This took a lot of time but turned out super cute!

{Close up}

{Finished Product}

{Cute little bird!}

I packaged both bodysuits in a jar that I already had on hand by rolling the bodysuits up and tying them up with twine.

I spray painted the lid of the jar to make it a little cuter and added a twine bow and a card.

I've never received a gift in a jar that wasn't jam or some kind of food, so hopefully my friend didn't think this was too far out there.

But I think it's kind of cute!!!

Linked to:  The Shabby Nest, It's FUN to craft, Home Is Where My Story Begins, The Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tatertots and Jello, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Skip to My Lou,

C.R.A.F.T., Today's Creative Blog, Hope Studios, C.S.I. Project

Tea Towel Skirt

I don't know if I'm the only mom out there that feels like this, but buying clothes for girls after they're out of the

"T-stages" {2T, 3T, 4T, 5T} is really tough.

It's like once girls are six and above, they have to wear teeny bopper clothes.

My daughter is seven.

A cute little innocent seven year old.

Not a teeny bopper.

I've learned where I can buy clothes for her that look more classic and girly for her age, but sometimes the search is still tough.

Especially if I don't want to spend an arm and a leg.

So I decided to spruce up my sewing skills... which up until now have only been to sew pillows or curtains

...basic stuff.

My daughter has been needing something more in her wardrobe for summer so I thought I'd start improving those skills of mine by making a skirt.

I started with two tea towels.

{Other supplies include: matching thread, 1 yard of 3/4" elastic, and 2 yards of ribbon.}

I placed the tea towels together with the wrong sides out and sewed the short sides together at both ends.

{Here it is with both ends sewn together.}

{Here I am reading up on how to finish sewing this basic skirt.  My husband took this picture as proof!!! LOL!}

The next step was to hem the top and put the elastic in.  I folded the top down 1/2" and then again 1" {big enough to slide some 3/4 " elastic through}.

I pinned the folds and then sewed towards the bottom of the fold.

I left about a 2 1/2" space un-sewn so I could slide my elastic through.

{Pin a safety pin on the end of the elastic to easily slide it through.}

After I slid the elastic all the way through, I tried the skirt on my daughter to measure how long the elastic needed to be to fit snug around her waist. 

I cut off the extra elastic, overlapped the two ends just a bit, sewed them together inside the opening making kind of a rectangle around the overlap of the elastic, and then closed the opening and sewed it up.

After this step is done, flip the skirt right side out and it's done!

The bottom of the skirt is already hemmed because it's a tea towel, not just plain fabric.

I had bought two yards of ribbon to use as an embellishment for the bottom of the skirt.

Using my machine I sewed the top and bottom of the ribbon to the bottom of the skirt.

Here's the finished project!

She loves to twirl in it and it's perfect for hot summers or for going to church on Sundays!

...and now I can add "little girl skirt" to my sewing resume!!!

{***Total cost of skirt:  $7.50}

Linked to:

Someday Crafts

Trendy Treehouse

The Thirfty Home

Lucky Star Lane

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Blue Cricket Design

Beyond the Picket Fence

Life As Lori

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello