Brady Lou: Project Guru

Thursday Repost: How to Make a Simple Hair Bow

Brady — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:20 +0000

SAVE MONEY.

Have a little girl or granddaughter you love dressing up? Here’s a cheap and simple way to make hair bows. You can make one to match every outfit!

Supplies:

ribbon
floral wire
hair clip
hot glue gun

Game Plan:

1. Lay ribbon back and forth on top of each other, creating as many loops as you want.

Make sure there are an even amount of loops on each side. Cut the ribbon after you have your loops and continue to hold the ribbon in the center of the loops.

2. Get a small piece of floral wire and wrap it around the ribbon. Twist the wire to secure the loops in place and then cut off any extra wire.

3. Pull the ribbon loops apart.

4. Cut a small piece of ribbon (enough to wrap around the wire) and then secure it in place with hot glue.

Since I was using thick ribbon I folded the edges of the ribbon under it to make it not as wide of a center.

5. Hot glue a hair clip of your choice to the back of the bow.

Glue a clip to the back of the bow

6. Fluff the loops using your fingers.

Wire ribbon is the easiest to manipulate and shape.

Fluff up the ribbon loops

I made the pink bow the exact same way as the green bow. The green bow is made using wire ribbon and the pink bow is not. The green bow has a much prettier shape because of the type of ribbon I used.

These bows fit perfectly into the paper gift boxes I showed how to make on a previous post. What little girl wouldn’t love getting one of these adorable bows wrapped up in a special box?

What tips do you have for making hair bows?

Velvet No-Slip Headband Tutorial

Brady — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:10 +0000

I came across these headbands when a friend of mine who had a daughter who was eight, said she wouldn’t buy anything else because they stay in her hair so well with the velvet backing. I took a look at it and thought, well I can make that…and so I did! I made more than just one though. I made a bunch!

They’re really pretty easy and I am usually sporting one when I play basketball on Sunday nights with the high school youth group– something I look forward to every week!

Supplies:

ribbon
velvet ribbon the same width as regular ribbon
sewing machine
elastic

Game Plan:

1. Cut both ribbons and elastic desired length to fit your head.

You’ll definitely want them to go past your ears but not all the way around your head because you have to take into account how long you want your elastic.

2. Place elastic between the two layers of ribbon with the right sides facing together.

3. Sew the ends together, going back and forth over the elastic several times to secure and reinforce it.

You will want to sew with the velvet ribbon on top and you want your bobbin thread to match your regular ribbon and your spool of thread to match your velvet ribbon.

4. Trim off excess.

5. Put wrong sides of ribbon together, and sew down both sides of the ribbon. Make sure to turn under the edges at the end of the ribbons that don’t have the elastic sewn to it.

6. Make sure ribbon and elastic are untwisted and then insert the elastic into the other end of the ribbon. Sew across the bottom, going back and forth across the elastic several times.

Here are some I’ve made:

Which is your favorite?

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories:

Simple Felt Flower Tutorial

Satin Daisy Flower Tutorial

Brady — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:52 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

I had been making some satin flowers that just took way too long to make and so I revised the original tutorial I was using and came up with these flowers that I’m just in love with! I suppose it’s no surprise because I’m definitely a daisy kind of girl and I love using bright colors to make these flowers! There are so many combinations to make and I never seem to have enough time to make all the ones I want to do!

Supplies:

satin
candle
needle and thread
gem
hair clip/headband
hot glue gun
fabric scissors
felt

Game Plan:

1. Cut a strip of satin that is about 15-18 inches long and 2 inches wide and in a different color, one that is the same length as the other one but 4 inches wide.

Neither of these have to be exact measurements for width, it doesn’t really matter, except that the lengths are the same, and I never use a ruler for this and am just guessing at the lengths and widths I find work best.

2. Cut petals out of your strip, but not cutting all the way through. Your cutting doesn’t need to be perfect.

3. Light a candle and hold the satin near the flame to seal and curl the edges. Do this along the entire length of the petal side.

It is very difficult to get in the crevices so sometimes I don’t get them all the way sealed.

4. Cut a piece of thread, thread it through a needle and then tie the ends together.

5. Put your two pieces of satin together, with the wider one on the bottom.

6. Hand stitch along the bottom of both of them.

7. When you get to the end, sew it into the first part and then pull it tightly and tie a double knot and clip the extra threads off.

8. Hot glue a gem in the center of the flower.

9. Hot glue the flower to a hair clip or headband.

10. Cut a piece of felt and hot glue it to the back of the hair clip or headband to provide extra security.

Emden sported a satin daisy this Mother’s Day

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories:

Blinged Out Bobby Pins

Felt Daisy

Pale Mint Flower

Fabric Tie Headband Tutorial

Brady — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:00:19 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

A lady had bought some velvet no-slip headbands from me (which I’m posting the tutorial for on Wednesday) and sent me a fabric tie headband, similar to the ones I made here. She had purchased hers for $15 and wondered if I could make it for cheaper. So, I studied it and these are what I came up with…

Supplies:

fabric
scissors
felt
sewing machine
hot glue gun
beads

Game Plan:

1. Measure and cut out strips of fabric that would fit around your head and be able to be tied.

I cut mine to 30 inches long and you’ll notice I made my strip balloon out just past the half way point to add some interest to the band. At it’s widest spot, the band is 3.5 inches wide.

2. Turn the edge over and iron flat, then turn again and iron again to create a smooth, finished edge.

3. Sew a straight stitch along the edges to create a hem along all sides of the headband.

4. Cut out 3 leaves of complimentary colored felt and stitch them in place directly on the headband.

I stitched right through the middle of the leaves.

5. Created a fabric rolled flower following my fabric rolled flower tutorial.

6. Using a hot glue gun, glue flower in the middle of the leaves.

Simple Felt Flower Tutorial

Brady — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:51 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

If you’re looking to accessorize for a girl, young or old, this is the perfect option because it looks great on women of all ages. It’s a nice way to add a pop of color to an ensemble for not very much money.

Supplies:

felt
fabric scissors
candle
needle and thread
beads
hot glue gun

Game Plan:

1. Cut out three varying sizes of circles of your felt.

They can all be the same color or you can switch it up. My smallest circle is the size of a quarter. You don’t have to be perfect with your cutting.

2. Light a candle and burn the edges of the circles.

Don’t actually stick the felt in the flame or it will catch fire. The edges will seal just by holding it close.

3. Using a needle and thread, sew three small beads into the center of each stack of three circles.

This step holds the flower together as well as providing detail.

4. Glue to a headband or hair clip.

5. Cut a small strip of matching felt to glue on the opposite side of the headband or clip to secure it.

Here are some other ones I made too:

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories:

Blinged Out Bobby Pins

Felt Daisy

Pale Mint Flower

Thursday Repost: Rolled Fabric Flower Headband with Feathers

Brady — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:04 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here’s a project for the little girl in your life. This girly headband is the perfect companion for any Valentine outfit. Celebrate the holiday with style!

Supplies:

3 1- 1.5 inch wide strips of fabric
hot glue gun
felt (25 cents at Hobby Lobby)
headband (got a 5 pack of these for $1 at the dollar store)
feathers- $1.99 for package at Hobby Lobby

Game Plan:

1. Follow my previous tutorial on how to make rolled fabric flowers for a barrette.

I made one large flower and two smaller flowers. Stop at step #5 and do NOT glue it on a barrette.

2. Arrange flowers onto another piece of felt .

3. Glue feathers underneath and in-between the flowers.

4. Glue the flowers onto the other piece of felt so they are all connected to one piece.

5. Cut out around the flower and feather cluster.

6. Glue the flower cluster onto a headband.

I glued it onto the metal clasp so that way the metal clasp wouldn’t hurt whoever was wearing it.

7. For added stability, cut a piece of felt and glue it to the other piece of felt, sandwiching the headband in-between the two pieces.

Be careful to not put glue on the actual headband, otherwise you will limit its ability to stretch.

Thank you June, for being such a cute model!

Have an idea for a cute Valentine’s craft? Do share!

Thursday Repost: Pom Pom Flower Headband Tutorial

Brady — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:00:29 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

Awhile back, I made a stylish necklace out of a t-shirt and felt by making pom pom flowers out of the t-shirt. I got a lot of compliments and thought I would show you how to use that same process to make adorable headbands. I am loving them on Emden!

Supplies:

fabric (best if it is the same on both sides)
felt
hot glue gun
headband

Game Plan:

1. Follow my tutorial on how to make pom pom flowers (specifically steps 1-5).

2. Hot glue a clip to the back of the flower if you want it to be removable or hot glue directly to the headband or sew it to the headband.

If you hot glue directly to the headband, you can glue another felt circle to the back of the flower, sandwiching the headband in-between. This will make for a cleaner look and be softer on the head.

Here’s another one I made following the same process. This time the fabric I used is from a bleached button-up shirt of Jeff’s I was going to throw away. This is the same shirt I made a pillow out of and a rolled fabric flower headband.

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories:

Pale Mint Flowers Tutorial

Brady — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

I didn’t know what to call these flowers, so I went with the color of the flower rather than the type. I actually made these flowers from a bridesmaid dress of my friend Noelle’s. It was a two layer dress and so I came up with this flower to use both of the layers.

I thought they turned out great, especially since it is not a traditional pink flower. It’s soft and elegant and just oh so perfect!

Supplies:

fabric (not really sure what they are since I got them off of a dress)
fabric scissors
thread and needle
pearls
candle and lighter

Game Plan:

1. Make a flower template to cut out layers for your flower and then cut the layers!

I usually cut two or three of each layer of fabric for each flower, all the same size. You could play around and use different sizes though on the same flower.

2. Light a candle and then hold the fabric next to the flame, not in the flame, so it curls up.

3. Using a needle and thread, sew three pearl beads into the center of the flower to hold it in place.

4. Glue a hair clip on the back, or a pin, or use these on a wreath or purse, the possibilities are endless!

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories:

Tuesday Tip: Glam Up Your Bobby Pins

Brady — Tue, 07 May 2013 07:00:02 +0000

Tend to throw some bobby pins in your hair to keep your hair out of your face or just for a little something different than keeping it all down? Well I do and the other day I came up with this brilliant idea and don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it earlier, and don’t get too excited, it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before millions of times, the thought had simply never crossed my mind until a couple weeks ago. Sorry for that run-on sentence that perhaps was incomplete also.

Anyway, glam up your plain ol’ bobby pins by using a hot glue gun to add gems to them. Just add one for a touch of sparkle or two or three to catch someone’s eye, and if you’re really daring, you can make a statement by blinging the whole thing out. So easy to do! You’ll see I got a bit carried away!

Oh, and you can add buttons or pearls to them too. Really, whatever you can get to stick on them! Go ahead, make yourself some today!

These two supplies are all you need besides a hot glue gun

My assortment of buttons I was looking through to see what I had pairs of

Squirt a strip of hot glue on the back and push the bobby pin into it until set

How gorgeous are these?

Buttons make for a cute, understated look

Pearl beads glued on

Which style is your favorite?

Here are some of my other posts for making hair accessories: