Mama Monday: Making barrettes

Lulu was born with a nice head of hair and had a barrette-holder (courtesy of Lottie Da boutique)before she was born. Only problem? A few weeks after she was born, she lost all her hair, except by her neck and on the sides. Yes, my daughter was rockin' the Larry David 'do. Thankfully, she has been sprouting blonde locks for about a month now, and there is juuuust enough to gather into a teeny barrette. Or, more often, clip the barrette to a stretchy headband. Anything to avoid the "How old is he?" question I sometimes get if I dress her in anything other than pink.


So, I have been disappointed with the price and color choices out there in the hair decor world. Solution? Make my own!  Here's how it went...

Those are NOT called alligator clips, just FYI. The rays of sunshine at Sally Beauty Supply made that clear. They are "single prong clips" And after one attempt with the lighter, I traded it for the grill-lighter (with the longer flame-shooter, you know). You need the flame to unfray the ribbon edge. Just gently wave the flame over the edge and it works like magic to seal it!

Starting with the inside of the top clip was easiest.

Add glue to the top prong and wrap it around..

Add glue to the insides of the hinge and stick the ribbon in there...

Wrap it around the bottom, cut the ribbon with a little extra "tail" to glue inside.

To make a little bow, fake it! Bear with this color combination...there is a reason..

Glue the fake bow in place...

And tightly secure it with a small loop.

Here is another kind. I covered the barrette and started adding another layer with 2 loops.

After this part, secure with another small loop (see the finished one on the tray below)

The finished products in about an hour. I think my favorite is the turquoise one. The pink bow and the black/white bow were made by first tying a bow in the ribbon, then cutting the ribbon, then gluing all parts down (so it doesn't unravel) and burning the edges at the end.

Ta da!

A more realistic way we will be sporting barrettes until she gets a longer mane.

Are you still wondering what possessed me to make an orange and green barrette?  To solve the dilemma of feminizing this...