DIY Flower Hair Clips II

An assortment of barrettes

artificial flowers stripped off their stems

The finished flower clips on their colorful cards!

Savannah has many colorful outfits, and the finishing touch is typically a coordinating bow or flower hair clip worn in her hair. She has many of these, but always needs more because they do break and wear out and take a beating, like all kids' clothes and toys do. Although cream and blush colored silk ones embellished with Swarovski crystals and pearls for brides can go for anywhere from $20 -  $100, you can make a more every day version for around 50 cents each.

In the case of this batch, for even less! My snap barrettes were purchased from Dollar Tree, and were 6 pairs for $1. The flowers typically run between $3 and $7 per stem, and there are many flowers on each stem. 

After letting them dry undisturbed for several hours, I cut some colorful flat notecards in half, sliced a slit in each, and slid the barrettes through for a nice presentation. I particularly like the way the mottled, or spotted orchids look on a tortoise-tone barrette. 

They are easy to assemble with a hot glue gun and are the perfect craft for a sick day at home, which is what I've been doing the past two days. I have a cold, and my workplace is unusual because we handle each others' computers, and shared tools and shared phones all day long. One of my coworkers, the one with whom I share office space, is expecting a baby and I would not want to give him the cold and pass it to his wife. I suspect I GOT this cold from our boss, who came to work sick last week. Our office is also kept air conditioned at a chilly 65 degrees, so I decided it was healthier for all if I sat it out. Because I can't really concentrate, I've been working on the hair clips and working through the first few lessons of my watercolor lesson book, which consists of drawing round objects and making them look real and cast a shadow. Green apples, cherries and peaches. Add shadow. Add stem.

-- posted by Dani Wendy