Raising Elora: Bows and Barrettes

It happened! While out and about the town a sweet, well-meaning grandmotherly type approached Elora and I and asked, "How old is he?" He? HE!? SHE was dressed all in pink and had a pink blanket over here. I mean, I know she still has that round, bald generic baby look so I wasn't particularly offended...just a little sad. I decided that the only way to rectify the situation was to start having Elora wear more cute bows. There might be better solutions to the 'problem' but this is what I came up with. Now, there was one major speed bump to my plan: the poor little thing really doesn't have much hair. This, I determined, is easily solved by making flowers and bows that can easily be clipped to a plain headband.

Since I became a dog groomer I started a collection of various ribbons and embellishments so I already had a good stash of supplies to start my project. I religiously stalk Michael's and Joann Fabrics to take advantage of the sales, clearances, and coupons. Because of this, all the supplies in the picture below cost under $40.

Babies scalps are delicate and I knew it could be an issue for a metal clip to rub against her head even while attached to a headband. So, I selected an alligator style clip (found in the jewelry making part of the craft store), some white grosgrain ribbon, and plugged in my glue gun. I then glued the ribbon over the clip to give it a softer surface. I didn't bother making this particular step all that neat or perfect as the clips really won't be seen beneath the flower or bow. My tips for this part of the process are 1) don't burn yourself with hot glue like I did and 2) make sure your baby is happy and fed BEFORE you plug in your glue gun.

After I had a handful of clips covered, I started in on the creating process. The first thing I did was select the center embellishment I wanted for my flower clip. These charms and beads can usually be found in the jewelry making section of the craft store as well. I highly recommend waiting for sales or coupons as they can be pricey otherwise.

Then I selected my flower. This entire bouquet of fake flowers only cost me 50 cents on clearance at Michael's. My favorite time to shop are in between the seasons and right after holidays. My favorite time being right after Valentine's day and Christmas.

In a bouquet like this, each flower is attached to an individual plastic and wire stem that is then attached to large, central 'stem' that holds them all together. This might seem like a job for wire cutters but you're in luck! These flowers easily pop right off of their stems. The flowers themselves usually consist of several fabric layers to make them look more full and real. These layers are held together by the flower's center and base. these also easily pull apart. Getting the flower part of your barrette from a dissected bouquet like this is MUCH cheaper then buying the flowers that are actually marketed for barrette making.

Now, unfortunately at this point I burned the bajeezus out of myself and wasn't able to get any good pictures but the next steps are simple. This flower consisted of four layers. I used hot glue to attach the bottom two together at the center. I then arranged white flowers and glued them in between the second and third layers. Then, I glued on the top layer and hot glued my center embellishment to that. Finally, I hot glued the flower to one of my clips. Here's the finished product:

It turned out really pretty but it's definitely large. I'll save it for when the baby is a bit older. If I want something she can wear now, I need to make something a bit smaller. So, I selected some more flowers...

..then took them apart and Frankensteined them back together with a center embellishment.

And then I continued this process a few more times...

I also threw together a cute, sparkly bow....

When I was done I ended up with a nice start on a girly barrette collection. It's a fun, easy hobby to work on in between feedings and diaper changes. I was able to keep my baby close to me the whole time so I could easily replace her binky when it happened to fall out. I think next I'll start working on some pretty holiday bows and flowers.