Two-Minute Headband

It's summertime, and I get hot when it's 80 degrees outside. So you can guess that my hair is up in a ponytail most of the year, in my beautiful state of South Carolina where the climate is subtropical (ie, HOT and humid most of the year). And because my hair is chopped "short" in a way that doesn't always keep the hair in the ponytail, I tend to use headbands, scarves, wraps, etc to keep it back, and I try to look somewhat fashionable (because, honestly, I'm inspired by the creative beauty of my friend Kristen...check out her blog and you'll see what I mean). So when I whipped up something yesterday just moments before I left for church, I had no clue how many people would say how much they liked my hair. I mean, I had on jeans, flip flops, a white t-shirt, and a headband, and I had 5 people tell me how fancy I looked. Uh...okay (can you tell I'm the type that doesn't know how to handle a compliment?). I decided to share how I made my cute little headband. It literally took me two minutes to make, and these would work well on really any age, ladies young and old. This is so easy, it will blow your mind! :)

Two-Minute Headband


What You'll Need:

• 1 inch wide ribbon (I like my base to be a sturdy ribbon, so none of that satin or sheer stuff for the base)
• 1/2 inch wide ribbon (now here is where I add the fancy stuff)
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pencil
• A small bottle of liquid stitch (no sewing machine required!!!) 
• 1 bobby pin 

Instructions: 

1. Using the measuring tape, measure the length of your head where the headband will be. 
2. Cut a strip of your base ribbon to the measurement you just got. 
3. Cut a strip of the "fancy" ribbon the measurement you got PLUS 6-10 INCHES. You want this part to be longer. How much you want to hang from the back is how much you cut. If you don't want much to hang, then just cut "Measurement + 6 inches". 
4. Fold the base in half to find the center. Lightly mark the center with the pencil. Do the same for the "fancy" ribbon. (You can mark the inside of the fancy ribbon if you are afraid someone will see your pencil markings). 
5. Put the centers together, with both ribbons facing UP. Hold with the bobby pin. 
6. Use the pencil to mark where the base ribbon ends on your fancy ribbon on both ends. 
7. Pull one side up and apply the Liquid Stitch from the center of the "fancy" ribbon to the marked end. You don't want glue to go over the end of the base because it will then stick to your hair...or table. Gently lay the ribbon flat down the center of the base ribbon and smooth flat. 
8. Repeat on the other side. 
9. Go apply lipstick or pull your hair up in a ponytail or something to give the ribbons a few seconds to dry. :) 
10. Then tie the ribbon around your head. 

Simple. Easy. and Beautiful! You can make one of these for really any occasion. You can make the ribbons larger or smaller as well. I have a small head, so any ribbon larger than that just looks ridiculous on  me, so 1 inch is about as big as I'm going to get. You could also add a little something-something to your ribbon if you like. My friend, Meredith, makes these AMAZING Felt Flowers for your hair. One of those would look just lovely attached to the ribbon as well! 

Here's the headband that got all the attention at church last night...don't mind the tank top.  I'm about to tackle the garden and mow the lawn. :) 

Here's the headband I just made. Representing my team in Garnet and Black. Go Gamecocks!! 

PS: for the 4th of July, I'm thinking of a Blue Base, Red insert, and then (yes! a third ribbon!!!) a star sheer ribbon in the center! I will try to post a picture of it as soon as I buy the ribbon to complete it. :) 

Happy Crafting, everyone! 

Crafting: Easter Outfits

This is going to be a quick one. For Easter this year, I wanted to make most of our outfits. So, I made 1) my daughter's dress, 2) my dress, and 3) the boys' bow ties. I wanted to share the links I used as tutorials. They are on my list of "must have" tutorials.

1. Abigail's dress: The Cottage Home, Party Dress for Little Girl
I found this dress on Allfreesewing.com about a year or two ago, and I have used it so much! I love it because Abigail looks good in these dresses, and she loves it because she can twirl and twirl and twirl. I often tell people, though, this is my most frustrating dress. For some reason it takes me about 6 hours (from cutting the material to the final stitch) to make. And it's not that hard to do. But she loves them, and I'll keep making them. The pattern goes up to size 5, so that will take my daughter until she is 6 to wear these dresses. Here is how Abigail's Easter dress turned out:

Front 

Back 

Showing off her dress 

My pretty little girl 

2. The Boys' Bow Ties: A Lemon Squeezy Home, Bow Tie Tutorial

 I took the leftover material from Abigail's dress and made bow ties for the boys so they would match. This tutorial was SO easy! I kid you not. This is a great tutorial for beginners. Give this a try. Here are a few pictures of the boys and their bow ties:

With the blue material

With the flowered material

Look how adorable my kids are with their matching outfits. 

3. As for my dress, I used an old dress that is pretty, but also pretty simple in it's design. I used some wax paper to trace the dress and got to work. There was a LOT of trial and error with this dress. I'm a curvy girl, so I need stretchy material or a lot of adjustments when making my own clothes so they will fit my curves. Here's what my dress looked like when I finished:

And here is my dress Easter day after I bought a yellow cardigan ($15 at The Limited Outlet!!) and made a belt from large elastic and made a blue flowered pin to go on the belt:

If I can perfect my dress, I will do a tutorial on it in the future.

I hope everyone's Easter was lovely and full of bright colors as well! Happy Spring and Sewing, everyone!