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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Valentine hair clips

Ro and Ree are pretty creative little gals, and they adore bringing things to share with their class. So I thought they’d get a kick out of making Valentine hair clips for their classmates. I was only partially right...

DSC_1937LRThey loved the idea of making the hair clips, and really got into choosing colors for each friend and putting the hearts in order with coordinating buttons. But then they each sewed on one button – yes ONE -- and figured they were done. That left me to finish assembling and gluing all the rest of the hair clips on my own. Hm.

Oh well, they’re done now, and didn’t actually take that long to do (especially once I abandoned any notion of sewing and assembled them solely with the hot glue gun). And I know Ro and Ree’s little friends will like them.DSC_1981LRDSC_1973LR

If you want to make your own Valentine’s Day hair clips, here’s the scoop.

Materials: (note that it costs about the same to make one clip as a dozen, so you might as well make a few):

DSC_1945LR- Hairclips (I use the Conair roller set clips that you can find in any drugstore). They’re $2 to $3 a package.

- Hot glue gun and glue sticks.

- Ribbon (I got a 12-yard roll of plain white grosgrain ribbon at Michael’s for $2).

- Felt in various Valentine colors. I used red, white, gray, light purple, dark purple, light pink, and dark pink.

- Buttons (I had a bunch of misfits hanging around the house, so I just used what was on hand).

- Scissors (a tiny pair of super-sharp scissors and a big pair of pinking shears).

- White thread (if you’re going to sew the buttons on).

Directions:

1. Cut out three hearts (big, medium, small) for your templates. I printed the below images on a half of a manila folder so I could cut thick templates. The biggest heart is about 2 1/4 inches across. (click the below image to open in a new window and print)

HairclipHeartTemplate copy

2. Cut three different colors of felt using your templates. I used the pinking shears to cut the medium heart because I kind of liked the jaggedy line (it was also more forgiving, so I could cut it faster). I don’t trace patterns, by the way, just hold my template shape against the material and cut around it.

3. Sew a small button onto the smallest heart (or hot glue it if you’re tired), then glue the three hearts together.DSC_1938LR

DSC_1951LR

My eyesight is so bad now that I’m (cough cough) a bit over forty, that the only way I can thread a needle is using one of these nifty threaders. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend them.DSC_1943LR

4. Cut a piece of ribbon to about 4 1/2 inches and run the ends through a flame really quickly so they won’t ravel.DSC_1970LR

5. Hot glue the ribbon around the bottom prongs and up over the top of the clasp.DSC_1949LR

6. Now glue the clip to the back of your heart (the ribbon side gets glued to the clip). I don’t have a problem with these slipping out of the girls’ hair – probably because they’re so light and the felt clings to the hair.DSC_1963LR

So, the girls in the class are done now. Does anyone have any ideas for handmade Valentine gifts for the boys? We just can’t come up with anything.

27 comments:

  1. Sorry, no ideas for handmade boy items.
    Just want to say...
    I want one of my kids to be in your girls' class!
    What FUN those clips are :)
    Great job, M3!!

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  2. very sweet and cute!!! for boys-- what about pencil toppers? a pencil with a chenile pipe cleaner (red) attached to a big red poofy (sorry- vague terminology here) and glue googly eyes on it?? cheap, easy to do- and i think a boy would think it's fun??

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  3. a) You expected differently then to do ALL the assembly of them yourself? oh. yeah. you ARE the first time mom!! (paraphrased from my sister of seven children)

    b) felt truck magnets for the refrigerator? they can use them to hang their art?

    barbara

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  4. I was just going to ask what are you doing for the boys. The clips are really cute!

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  5. What about crayon molds for the boys? Quick, easy (assuming you use a silicone *muffin liner* instead of an ice cube tray which then melts all over your oven and makes your house smell funny, guess how I know this), and it uses out all the crayon bits & pieces.

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  6. Well.. I'm about to make my boys some new superhero capes. Would that work?

    The clips look adorable. Great little V-Day gift idea!

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  7. tara neal2/02/2011

    Oh, I have an idea!
    You could do little first aid kits with decorated band aids. Really, so cute! This family took pictures of each child dressed as a nurse or doctor, and then put them on the labels! You have to see it!
    http://www.babeofmyheart.com/valentine-blessing-cookies-a-worthy-repost/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BabeOfMyHeart+(Babe+of+My+Heart)

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  8. I was going to say keychains, but of course magnets! Truck magnets with a little heart on them, that would be perfect.

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  9. These are crazy cute! Pottery Barn Kids will sell them for $8 a clip. I looked everywhere for those clips last year. Conair...I should have guessed.

    I always struggle with the "boy" question. I like the magnet idea, but I would do aliens. That way if they are funky and crooked, they would still look OK!

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  10. k1polzin2/02/2011

    Hot glue a small dinosaur or alien to the top of a pencil. Take a pipe cleaner and wrap it around the pencil to add some color and some fun twirls!


    Kim Evans

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  11. Hey, great idea! I'm going to use it for Caroline's Pinkalicious birthday party!

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  12. I LOVE LOVE the clips, thanks for the idea and posting pics on 'how-to'...I like the magnet idea for boys, but what about small 'monster tooth pillows' with a heart pocket for the tooth!

    Good luck & happy CNY
    Donna

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  13. What great clips!! The girls are going to look so cute with their matching clips.

    For the boys? Not creative but I know matchbox cars are all the rage for kindergarten age boys.

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  14. for the boys, how about a felt book mark? shapes like frog head or monkey, may not be to hard to free hand????

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  15. Anonymous2/03/2011

    Love the hair clips! How can I print out the template?
    Pam

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  16. Anonymous2/03/2011

    Yes, magnets - for the 'fridge to display . . .
    And, at this age, boys like hearts, too.


    Cute hair clips, M!

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  17. I need to find my inner creativity. I've got nothing for ya! But I do like the clips. Very cute, and what a fond memory it will be for the girls one day. My mom used to make me hair clips.

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  18. I understand your point--my MIL made the cutest cupcake purses for the girl grandchildren. She ended up making pillowcases out of fabric she knew the boys would love for the boys. The problem? No boy wants what the girls have, of course (and the girls love their purses), but now Grannie is making some pillowcases for the girls on the sly...
    Good luck with that! (felt train car pins??? or are they too dangerous?)

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  19. Just saw the magnet idea--that's what I'd if I were you! Great idea!

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  20. This is GREAT!! Thanks for the step by step "how to" It would be a fun project to do on say..... a snow day!! I am sure there will be a few more in my future...unfortunately.

    How about braided multi color bracelets for the boys? About two summers ago Nick was on this big kick to make these bracelets. We bought the colored thread at Michael's or AC Moore. They looked pretty cool... like something you would buy on the board walk. Just a thought...... other than that, I am at a loss.

    Let us know what you come up with.

    Have a great week....and Happy Chinese New Year.... the girls look adorable as always:)

    xo,

    Lisa

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  21. So cute!! Love these hairclips.

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  22. Wow! This hair clip idea is adorable. You are super crafty and talented. I feel like such a bad Mommy. I guess there's still time to get myself in gear and plan something for the girls' classmates.

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  23. Nice idea. I think I'm going to pinch it. If you don't want to use a flame, there's a nifty substance called Fray Check which will do the same job without risk of catching on firs. Available from the sewing section of most stores.

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  24. Anonymous2/03/2011

    Another time to be grateful that they're in the same class . . .

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  25. We are doing the robots on this link for one of my son's classes. I think they are adorable. (scroll down a little to get to them) http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/

    We are doing the one above the robot for my daughter. They turned out so cute with a big sucker! Taking the picture with her arm just right took a couple of tries!
    Have fun!
    Gina

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  26. Anonymous2/03/2011

    Thanks for adding direction to print out the template. I made these today for my daughters preschool class, lucky for me all girls!
    Pam

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  27. Those are cute! BTW, Sally's has boxes of 100 clips for $4.99.

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