DIY Fabric Bow Hairpin

Hey guys! Today I'll be sharing a tutorial on how to make a cute little Fabric Bow Hairpin! I seem to really have a thing for tiny little bows I can wear in my hair lately! A little while ago, I shared a tutorial for Crocheted Bow Hairpins, but I also wanted to share a tutorial for these Fabric Bow Hairpins!

They're super cute, can be made in any fabric you like, and take ten minutes tops to put together. Let's have at it, shall we?

You'll need some super basic supplies:
- A needle
- Thread
- Scissors
- A bobby pin
- A piece of fabric cut into a 2.5"x4" rectangle
- Another piece of fabric cut into a 1"x4" (honestly 2" long would probably be plenty)rectangle.

First up, fold the long edges of the larger rectangle towards the center of the piece of the rectangle. You'll want the edges to overlap slightly, like you can see above.

Also, please note my sparkly gold nails. Please also note that I have not painted my nails in at least 6 years. This information is relevant.

Now, thread your needle, knot the ends, and whip stitch the two long edges together. You'll basically be stitching your larger rectangle into a long tube.

When you're done, you should have something that looks like this.

Ok, this stitching is real messy. Not a big deal for the project, but it does hurt my pride a little! This is why the sparkly nails are relevant. Nail polish feels weird! I felt a good 75% less dextrous than usual. That's right, ya'll. I'm blaming my messy stitching on sparkly gold nail polish. I stand by my defense!

Ok! Now take the two short ends of your tube and bring them together in the middle so they overlap slightly. Whip stitch them together! When you're done, you'll have something that looks like the above picture. It'll be like a tiny little fabric doughnut!

Next you're going to knot the end of your thread and run your needle and thread through the center of your soon-to-be-bow, being sure to catch both sides.

Once you're through, pull your thread tight, and knot the end so you've got yourself a nice little bow shape.

Ok! Now take the skinny piece of fabric and fold the long edges toward the middle. Then, fold the fabric in half hot dog style to encase the edges. You can press the fabric here, or you can be super slick and use the edge of your CLOSED scissors to press your fabric. This works. Promise. It's kind of like curling ribbon, just with the scissors closed. Are you guys picking up what I'm putting down? I hope so!

Now, Take your long skinny rectangle and wrap it around the middle of your bow, bringing the ends to the back. Once you've got the piece nice and tight, you can trim the ends down so they're easier to work with.

So, as you can see above, while you have the skinny piece of fabric held tight around the bow, put one end over the other, being sure to fold the top end under for a clean edge.

Then, stitch the ends together. Please ignore my garbage stitching. Stupid gold sparkly fingernails...

Ok, the last thing to do is to slide your bobby pin through the back of the loop you just made, and...

Voila! Adorable Fabric Bow Hairpin complete! Now just style up your hair, add your cute hairpin and you'll be cute as cute as can be!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Giveaway with Belle Hibou!- CLOSED

Hey friends! Today, I'm happy to announce an awesome giveaway from one of my amazing sponsors, Belle Hibou!

If you haven't visited the Belle Hibou Etsy shop yet, let me tell you, it is full of lovely, lovely things! There's gorgeous jewelry, pretty prints, and the cutest clothes for little ones that you ever did see!

One lucky reader will win a $20 credit to the Belle Hibou shop to use on the item(s) of their choosing! 

Wanna win? Use the Rafflecopter widget to do the following:

Mandatory Entry:
- Visit the Belle Hibou shop and leave a comment here letting me know the name of the item(s) you would choose if you won!

Additional Entries:
- Follow Jenn(of Belle Hibou)'s blog on Bloglovin
- Follow Ladyface Blog on Bloglovin
- Follow Jenn(of Belle Hibou)'s blog with GFC
- Follow Ladyface Blog with GFC
- Like Belle Hibou on Facebook
- Like Ladyface Blog on Facebook

Of Note:
This giveaway will run from August 29th-September 4th. The winner will be announced on Ladyface Blog and contacted by email. If the winner does not claim their prize within 48 hours of being contacted, another winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Til next time!

-Becca

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DIY Wire Word Necklace

Hey friend-os! Today I'd love to share a little DIY project for making a wire word necklace. A bit of a mouthful, but you get the idea!

I got the idea about a month back when I spotted the prettiest little necklace on Anthropologie. I was so in love (You could say I adore-d it! Ha!), but had used up all of my spending money, so I decided to try to make it myself!

Oof, you guys. This project took some practice! I am not a lady who is well versed in the fine art of jewelry design, but ya know what? I've got gumption! And I'm patient stubborn! And I really like crafts... so I made it happen!

You can make it happen to! Just be patient, and plan on using your whole spool of wire (or possibly two!) so you can get a feel for it and make your own. Yours, of course, does not have to say, "Adore," it could be any word you like. Your name perhaps? Anyway, here's how to make it:

 

You'll need: a 7ft spool of 16 gauge wire, needle nose pliers, embroidery floss (have you guys started to notice that I use embroidery floss ALL THE TIME?), jump rings, matching chain, matching lobster clasps.

So, to get started, practice. This is not going to be pretty. Seriously. Look at that! Not great. I spared you guys from the first round, which was basically just a pile of gnarly looking wire pieces. 

I would suggest starting off by drawing out your word to get a sense of how you can make the word out of a continuous piece of wire, and then trying to make each individual letter. You can snip a 4" or so section of wire to try each one. Once you get a handle of the letters, try making them connect! Your drawing will help you figure out how to connect everything properly. You gotta remember, this is ONE piece of wire, so you'll have to figure out how to bend each letter to get it to connect. 

Wire's cheap, so don't worry too much if you mess up. I ended up using all 7 feet by the time I was done!

I'm afraid it's a little hard to describe the whole bending process, but hopefully the pictures will help you get a sense of how I got here. Basically you are using your needle-nose pliers (and yer fingers) to create the shape of the letters.

Once you've gotten to the end of your word, make a little loop with the wire, and snip the end so you have a place to attach your tassel. That's what we're making next!

To make your tassel, wrap embroidery floss around your fingers, then remove it and tie another piece of embroidery floss around the section you made on your fingers, just about 1/2" down from the top. After that's done, cut through the bottom loops to free the ends, and trim as necessary to straighten out the tassel. 

You can then wrap a small bit of wire around the knotted piece of embroidery floss. To get the wire to stay tight to the tassel, you'll want to press the wire tighter using your needle-nose pliers.

Next, thread a jump ring through the top portion of your tassel, and through the loop on your last letter. Once the jump ring is threaded through, use your needle-nose pliers to close the ring.

Before you move on, decide how long you want your necklace to be! You can do so by draping some chain around your neck and adjusting your wire word up and down until you find a place you like it. Then, cut the chain to that length, and cut it in half.

Thread a jump ring through your loop or letter, and thread the chain onto the loop. Then close the loop using needle nose pliers. Do this on both sides, then attach the lobster clasp to the loose ends of the pieces chain.

Once you've got the chain and clasps taken care of, you can wear that sucker! My initial frustration learning the ropes of bending wire disappeared when I saw this necklace come together. It doesn't look exactly like the original, but I'm definitely proud of what I ended up with!

It's a great subtle statement piece that can really brighten up your outfit! You can use any color embroidery floss or make any word, so the options are endless!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Til next time!

-Becca

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Weekly Wishlist- Pretty, Pretty Accessories

Hi guys! As promised yesterday, here's a round-up of all the gorgeous goods I wish I would have been able to take home with me from the vendors at Urban Craft Uprising. There are a lot of amazingly pretty and unique accessories on this list!

 1. Octavia Bag by xobruno

How gorgeous is this bag? The fabric, the leather, the shape, everything!

2. "Icosahedron" Enamel Necklace by Plastique x Magna

I've been really interested in geometric shapes lately, and love the way the colors of this lovely enamel necklace give it a lot of extra personality.

3. Peacock Feather Boot Keepers by Keeper Goods

These pretties are perfect to put in your favorite boots when you're not wearing them. Not only do they help them keep their shape, but they make a gorgeous display. Phyllis was also showing some amazing felt clutches in this peacock pattern at Urban Craft Uprising and I'm really hoping they will make an appearance on her website soon! 

 4. Peanut Gallery Necklace by Snash Jewelry

I already took home a gorgeous tiny pocket knife necklace from Snash Jewelry, but was so sad to leave this darling necklace behind. I love all the little people and am amazed at the detail on this fun little piece of jewelry.

5. Mustard Market Weave Tote by Slide Sideways

Ya know how sometimes you see a tote bag and think "I could totally make that myself"? This is NOT one of those times! This print is gorgeously intricate and the addition of the leather straps makes this tote a lot fancier- perfect to use as a handbag!

 6. Art Deco Half Circle Necklace by Bird of Virtue

Oh, Bird of Virtue, your jewelry just gets me all a-flutter. This necklace is just amazing. I love the combination of the woods, and the gold metallic sunburst action is over-the-top pretty! I can't get enough!

7. Cedar+Lemongrass Reusable Dryer Sheet Liquid by Pepperjack Home

I know it's a little bit of a stretch as an accessory, but a nice scent kinda counts as an accessory, right? I love the amazing aroma of this dryer sheet liquid. I've never used dryer sheets before since I have such bad fragrance allergies, but since these are made only with essential oils my clothes can smell like a dream without the nasty side effects!

I hope you enjoyed checking out all these amazing accessories!

What are you wishing for this week?

Til next time!

-Becca

P.S. I strayed a bit from my usual wishlist format on this post. What do you guys think? Are you fans of this format or do you like to see everything clustered together? I kind feel like there might be a time and a place for both?

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DIY Fabric Flower Belt

Hi guys! Today I'd like to share a DIY for a lovely belt embellished with pretty fabric flowers!

You may recall that in my last Weekly Wishlist post, I was drooling over a gorgeous belt from Anthropologie that fit that description.

Ah, yes, that's the one! Such a pretty accessory, but alas, it costs a pretty penny. So what's a crafty girl to do? Mope? No, of course not! Just do it yourself! 

And so, I set out to create this pretty accessory by myself with a budget of $10. I actually came in at half my budget! Since I have plenty of fabric as well as needles and thread at home, all I had to pick up was the belt, which I found for $5!

Want to make one for yourself? Here's how!

For your supplies you'll need: scrap paper, scissors, a needle and thread, fabric (I probably used 1/4 yard each of three different prints), a small amount of stiff fabric, and a stretchy belt. Make sure the belt doesn't have a standard buckle in the front, but anything with a clasp similar to the one pictured above will be great!

The first thing on the agenda is to make a bunch of fabric flowers in a couple of sizes. I made 4 large flowers and 5 small flowers for my belt, but you can definitely play with the number and scale.

Begin the flower making process by cutting these totally flower power shapes out of your scrap paper. Then, cut circles roughly 1" in diameter out of your stiff fabric. You'll need 1 circle per flower.

Next, cut (or tear) a strip of fabric that's slightly wider than your flower template.

You'll need to cut out 8 flower shapes to make 1 fabric flower. Because that's an awful lot of cutting, I folded my fabric, then cut 4-8 out at once. Your cutting doesn't have to be perfect for this, so I say just try to make life easier!

Ok! So we've got a stack of 8 flower shapes, a circle cut from the stiff fabric, and a needle threaded. Let's get to business!

Fold one of the flower shapes in half, then in half again. Now, "in half" is definitely relative as this shape isn't exactly meant for perfect folding, but do your best! You want to end up with a little wedge when you're done folding.

Place your first fabric wedge on your stiff fabric circle with the point of the wedge at the center of the circle and stitch it into place. Repeat with 3 more of the wedges until you have what looks like a weird four leaf clover.

The next four wedges should be stitched on just like the previous four, but this time you'll want to center the wedges over the lines between the wedges on your previous layer.

Once the last of your fabric wedges are sewn on to your circle, knot the thread at the back of the circle and trim off the ends. At this point your flower is alllllllmost done. You just need to grab the top wedges and give them a little twist between your fingers to floof them up a little. (Floof being an official term, obviously!)

Voila! Flower complete. Make some more and then you can work of placing them!

Now it's time do some flower arrangement (ha! See what I did there?). The layout is ultimately up to you, but I did my larger flowers towards the center and added the smaller ones in to help taper the shape. Once you get a layout you like, pin the flowers into place, being sure to pin through the circle underneath the flower since it acts as a nice anchor.

Once your flowers are pinned, stitch them in place one at a time. You don't have to be super neat with your stitch work, but be sure to stitch all the way around your the circle anchor on your flowers so it will be well attached to the belt. Stitch all of your flowers on, remove the pins, and then sit back and admire your handy work!

Isn't that lovely? Other than the obvious color and pattern differences, I think it's a dead ringer for the Anthropologie belt and at just a tenth of the cost! I'll definitely be wearing this with pretty full skirts all summer!

Til next time!

-Becca

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