Friday, July 30, 2010

Make at Home: Hair Bows


Making your own hair bows and clips for your children is so simple and frugal!  My daughter has never been very happy to wear a hair accessory for more than a few minutes and even used to pull them out of other little girl's hair as a baby!  Now that she is two and has more hair to hold them, she will wear a clip or bow for an hour or more if she forgets it is in.  She loves to hold them and can't see them when they are on her head I guess.  For this reason, I have not wanted to spend much on cute little bows that will be pulled out and possibly lost.  In two years I have only purchased 5 clips and bows for her and we are now down to 2.  With her hair in a growing out stage it was time to do something! 

So I ordered Alligator Clipsonline (my local beauty supply store did not have what I was looking for) and went to my favorite fabric store for ribbon.  I purchased a small bag full of ribbon for around $20 and the box of 80 clips was about $13 shipped.  Despite my desire to keep chemicals out of our home, I did break down and purchase fray check when I realized that the non toxic glue I planned to treat the ends with would not securely keep the ribbons from fraying. Fray Check cost me roughly $3 at a local craft store and Amazon also has it.  (I got rid of all my nail polish a few years ago or I would have used clear nail polish instead.)  With these supplies and a hot glue gun I can make dozens of hair bows to coordinate with her outfits.  The bows and clips I have purchased in the past ranged from $3 to $5 so it really is a significant savings over purchasing them pre-made.  So far they have all been simple embellished clips but I hope to make some actual bows soon! 

This was a great mommy craft that I enjoyed one afternoon during nap time.  I ended up with 7 new bows and a holder for the wall!  To make a simple bow display just cut two pieces of ribbon to your desired length.  Treat the ends with clear nail polish or Fray Checkand hot glue one over the other.  Sew a simple loop on the back for hanging by a nail and you are finished!  This keeps your bows out to be enjoyed and easily accessed.  Audrey loves her new bows and holder and I had fun making them!

1 comment:

  1. These are so cute, and you've inspired me to make some more bows! I've made a couple, but have been wanting to try it again. Did you know you can also take a lighter and expose the edges of the ribbon to the heat and it will keep them from fraying? I've done that and it has worked every time, so if you really don't want to use chemicals, you can try that, too!

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