Blast Out Friday August 5, 2011

A fantastic new Etsy Team, Blast Out Friday, where every Friday one of your items is blasted out to different social media platforms!  If you have a store on Etsy and an avid Social Media follower, you have to check out this group!  Great way to gain exposure and promote your store, along with helping others with theirs!

Here are this week’s items!

Sweet Emmie Bowtique– Even big girls need some hair candy! Set of 3 hand-stitched clippies with hand painted vintage glass centers.

Caprica Accessories– Lovely pink strawberry hair clips for your special little girl!

beBOWutiful – Blue and Black, set of 2 korker hair bows

Beautifulswagstore-Get this beautiful red rose clip just in time for school starting back. This item will be expiring at etsy this mont. Catch now before it disappears. Don’t forget the CHRISTMASINJULY2011 50% off code is still good until August31st 2011

Gigi– Always-hopeful-pearl-bracelet.

Goodies By Greiner-“Just a Note” sometimes you just need to send some snail mail!

Kindred Scents-Coconut Milk Soap fragrances Mango Papaya. Make your skin glow!

A Party Studio– Bright and colorful Happy Birthday banner. Sent to you as a digital file so you can print at home.

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Easter Bow Baskets April 8, 2011

How gorgeous is this Easter bow basket? Wouldn’t a special little girl in your life love getting one of these? And putting this together is so much fun! I used silk flowers to decorate this basket. You can get super create though and use tulle, wide organza ribbon, stickers, felt cut outs, etc.

Easter bow basket

Top view

 

If you don’t celebrate Easter then you can easily transform the package into a spring time basket! Silk flower hair clips are perfect for that. I took this arrangement of silk flower clips and created a beautiful basket.

Silk flower hair clips

Springtime bow basket

Spring basket

The above basket is for a 13 month old little girl. So, she doesn’t have too much hair- yet. No hair? No problem! In the basket, I’ve included two crocheted hairbands- one white, one bright green- so that the mom can attach any of the flower clips to the hairband for her daughter. Then, when the little girl gets older, she can use the clips without the hairband. Years of use!!! Of course, I love pinwheels so I had to include a couple in the basket. These are mini-pinwheels on 6 inch lollipop sticks. And yes, they do in fact twirl!

 

If you don’t want a whole basket of bows or you already have a basket made up but want to add a little something special, what about this:

Hair bow wand

 

Hair bow

You can simply take Easter wands and attach the bows to the sticks. Wands are available at craft stores. The ones I used were purchased a couple weeks ago from Joann. I chose a butterfly one and also a flower one but they had ones with bunnies, chicks and Easter eggs.

 

Hair Bows… silk flower inspirations! March 18, 2011

I love silk flower hair clips in my daughter’s hair, especially when it is tied up in a bun for her ballet class. Isn’t this adorable?

Silk flower clip with rhinestone

 

Yesterday, I showed you how to make these pretty clips.

Here are some gorgeous silk flower hair accessories to inspire you! The ladies behind these creations are really talented. Be sure to check out their Etsy stores:

LeBelleBoutique

BEGirlyCreations

LebelleBoutique

BEgirlyCreations

 

Tutorial: The Silk Flower March 17, 2011

You will need:

Silk flower

Lined double prong alligator clip

Hot Glue

Rhinestone Embellishment (optional)

 

Step 1

Cut the stem off the flower. Discard the plastic green “crown” so that all your have are the leaves.

Cut stem off the flower

Step 2

Separate each layer. We are going to glue these on the alligator clip, one layer at a time. We’ll start with the bottom layer and work our way to the top (smallest) layer.

Separate each layer

Step 3

Put hot glue on the alligator clip and on the largest layer of the silk flower.

Hot glue

Step 4

Press the flower on the alligator clip and hold to the count of 10.

Press flower on alligator clip

Step 5

Repeat with all the additional layers.

Repeat

Step 6

Once all the flower layers are glued on the clip in a stack, take your embellishment and glue it in the middle of the flower. If you don’t have an embellishment, you can use the ‘center’ of the flower and that’ll give you a more ‘natural’ look.

Embellish the center

Enjoy! And be creative:)

In hair

The Loopy Hair Bow March 16, 2011

You can do so many fun things once you know the technique for making the loopy hair bow. That is probably why I love these bows so much. I really enjoying playing with color and mixing things up!

Here are some really pretty hair bows that have been made using the same loopy technique that I showed you yesterday. These bows were made by my fellow Etsy Bows team members. Hope these give you some inspiration!

 

SassyGirlBowtique

MommyandMeBoutique8

The yellow center of this bow is made using the same loopy bow technique. It is the same bow, just turned upside down so that the loops go under:

puresugar

 

And, here’s one more pretty loopy bow!

LoopsieDaisyBows

Tutorial: The Loopy Hair Bow March 15, 2011

You will need:

3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon: FIVE strands that measure 8 inches and FOUR strands that measure 6 inches. You can mix and match the ribbon- they can be all one color or lots of colors! Be creative with your ribbons and have fun with it. The total amount of ribbon is 64 inches.

Fray Check

Needle and thread

2x double prong alligator clip (one lined, the other unlined). One will be use for the bow and the other is a tool you’ll use.

Hot glue gun

Embellishment such as a button or rhinestone for the center of the bow

 

 

Step 1

Select your ribbon. I have used red saddlestitch, white with red saddlestitch and red with Swiss dots.

3/8 inch grosgrain ribbon

Step2

Cut your ribbon and treat all ends with Fray Check to prevent fraying.

For a double layer medium sized loopy bow, you will need five strands that measure 8 inches and four strands that measure 6 inches. Your finished bow will measure approximately 3 1/2 inches.

Cut and treat ribbon

Step 3

Stack the five strands that measure 8 inches then fold over in the center. Make sure your Swiss dots are facing towards each other as shown in the photo. Put your needle in the center of the fold. Do not pull the needle all the way through! You need to stop when the ribbon is approximately half way on to the needle.

Stack and fold

Step 4

Fan the ribbon taking care to keep the strands evenly spaced out. Take your time with this to get the ribbon exactly where you want it. It helps to hold the bottom of the needle with your dominant hand and then slowly move the strands around. Then, use a double prong alligator clip to keep the strands in place. Do not remove the needle.

Fan ribbon

Step 5

Start folding each strand. Take the end of each strand and turn it upside down before placing it on the head of the needle. This is called an inside-out fold and will give you nice loops. There are other ways to do the loops- the important thing is to be consistent and each loop has to be made the same way.

Inside-Out fold

Side view of fold

Start folding

Step 6

One you have done all the strands, you’ll have a pretty flower shape. Use your needle and thread to sew the center securely. Usually I have to pull the needle through about 4 to 5 times. Then, cast off.

Sew the center

Step 7

Repeat the above steps with the shorter threads of ribbon.  You’ll notice that it is easier to fan out the ribbon when you only use 4 strands.

Repeat for shorter strands

Step 8

You now have two loopy flowers.

Two loopy flower layers

Step 9

You can either sew the top layer onto the larger bottom layer or use hot glue. I have used both methods and after breaking several needles, I have become a huge fan of the hot glue method! Once the layers are stacked, add the embellishment to the center using hot glue and attach the bow to a partially lined hair clip using hot glue. I like to put the bow upside down, apply the glue to the top of the clip and then turn the clip upside down and press it onto the bow. Make sure you hold for 10 seconds so that it is secure.

Stack layers and add embellishment

Here are some finished bows. I love playing with different colors and using lots of different ribbons. With regards to printed ribbon, I prefer very simple- Swiss dots, saddlestitch or stripes- but that is a personal preference. You’ll quickly develop your own style!

Gold and purple loopy bow

Multi-colored loopy bow

Yellow and green loopy bow

Back of loopy bow

To do a  third layer, you will need SIX 9 inch strands of ribbon.

I used a simple white button for this bow but this is where you can get even more creative. A wonderful source for custom made embellishments is Green Meadow Clay.  Christene makes amazing polymer clay centers for hair bows. This is a wonderful way to tie in the hair accessory with the outfit or the theme of the party dress!

Wouldn’t this ladybug that she made look really cute in the above bow?

Green Meadow Clay

Mardi Gras! March 8, 2011

So I am going to post a couple pictures of one of the very first hair bows I ever made. In fact, I think it actually was the first one. I made it to match an outfit my daughter has, part of the Gymboree line, Merry and Bright. I would never normally post this bow because it is far from perfect (thankfully my 3 year old isn’t too fussy); however, how amazing are these colors for MARDI GRAS? The grosgrain ribbon used is: emerald, festive fuchsia, and maize.

Here’s the hair bow… and of course Gymboree collection that inspired its creation:

Merry and Bright Bow

Perfect for a Mardi Gras Party!

Merry and Bright, Gymboree (2010)

Since then, I think I’ve come a long way with the hair bows. My goal with the M2MG bows and clips that I make is ensuring they’ll look great with lots of outfits and clothes, not just the Gymboree collection.

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Especially to my fabulous friends in New Orleans. I know you’ll be having a fun time!!!!

Laissez les bon temps roulez!