Many of our readers (including myself) are often astonished by the price of children’s hair accessories. I have to admit that I have been drawn in more times than one, by some super cute, really snazzy head band or barrette that went perfectly with that outfit. You know the one she loves to wear. The one that makes her feel fantastically girly and sweet. Yep, that one.
Accessorizing little girls has become a mega market with boutiques and shops dedicating their entire inventory to beads, bows, clips and what-nots. I venture to say starting an accessory business would be a can’t miss enterprise for a budding entrepreneur because many mommies (and daughters) just can’t get enough. Seriously, my daughters and I have cases full of awesome accessories, but we inevitably still buy more.
This is not a sin. But given the current economy and shrinking budgets of working people, such superlatives can no longer be prioritized in families today. Given this fact, mommies (and daddies) may have to employ creative ways to attain goods that they don’t want to give up, but may not have much surplus to afford.
People can produce ingenuity when pressed to. And lots of creative expression can result from that ingenuity. One easy way to stretch your budget a little farther is to do it yourself. This really can apply to anything. With a little imagination and skill, we all have the ability to create if we want to. More specifically in the area of accessories this could not be more true.
How to do-it-yourself? Don’t stress. It is easier than it sounds. As a matter of fact you could produce intricate and complicated items if you wanted to (and some of you may want to), but if you can use a hot glue gun, in most cases you can make a really chic hair accessory for your daughter for pennies. The following tips are definitely not "rocket science", just a few hints you may not have thought of before.
1. The simplest strategy to make hair accessories is to find a really cute silk flower from Michaels or Wal-mart and glue it to a plain head band.
2. Even easier than the above suggestion, take that same silk flower and use a regular house hold bobbi pin and just stick in her hair.
3. Go to your nearest Hobby Lobby and head straight to the fabric section. There you will find ribbons (in the same area where you find trim). In this section you can find a myriad of textures, colors and widths of ribbons and trims that can be used as ribbon for your little girls’ pony tails. The best part is you can usually buy an entire spool for about a $1.50 (Example, 3 yards on a spool).
4. Find unconventional objects to put in her hair (safe items of course). Try sprinkling a little glitter in her hair for added whimsy and fun. Go to the clearance section of your friendly neighborhood craft store and see what interesting objects you can find like feathers or scrap pieces of fabric. Use these items to create something unique for her hair.
5. Nothing is better than using something you already have. Turn an old accessory into a new one, by adding a little sparkle. Craft stores like Hobby Lobby always have a clearance section of old or returned “stuff”. I have found packages of rhinestones for $1 or less. Hot glue clear or colored rhinestones to pre-existing hair accessories and revive their life. This way you can get some use out of some items that you already have.
I am aware that even with the simple instructions above many of you may not desire to mess with the fuss of creating your own hair accessories. BUT you can still save money. My hidden treasures (which are not really all that hidden at all) are Wal-mart and Hobby Lobby. At these stores one can purchase already created ribbons, barrettes, clips and other hair accessories for cents. Hobby Lobby especially was a pleasant surprise for me. Sometimes I am able to find accessories from “no-name” manufactures that look almost identical to many of the accessories found in higher end shops.
Finally, if you don’t mind shopping on-line, you can find the most unique bows and accessories in the world on Etsy.com, an on-line market place for all things vintage and handmade.
Below are a few pics of my oldest daughter with some accessories that I created in less than five minutes.
I purchased ribbon with wire in it off a spool from Hobby Lobby. I purchased about a yard each color to have surplus in case I messed up. I folded each color into an “accordion” shape and secured them all together (with hot glue) making all the pressed together folds appear like a flower. I spiraled the overhanging pieces making them cascade down from the “flower” (hence the reason for the wire). Finally, I glued clear rhinestones to the accessory to dress it up and added a few sprigs of artificial "babies breath". This accessory cost approximately $4.00.
These yellow accessories are as old as she is. We breathed new life into them by simply gluing clear rhinestones to them. The original accessories came in a pack for $1.99 from Wal-mart.
This hair accessory was free (sort of). I bought her a pair of shoes from a boutique and this was the little surprise that came in the box; a free gift with purchase (but the shoes cost enough to cover the cost of the bow and then some ;-))
Ribbons from Hobby Lobby. Spool less than $1.50
Silk flower (can’t remember where I got it). I added a sheer ribbon tied in a small bow. In the center of the small bow I attached one little sparkly rhinestone.
So as you can see, DIY can be full of fun and excitement. And if your little one is mature enough, she can help you create these little accessories giving her pride and confidence to know that she too can do it herself!
Examiner
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