Christmas Headband

I love headbands and I feel like I will never get tired of wearing them. I saw this ribbon in Hobby Lobby and realized that I didn't have a red plaid headband. So of course, I decided that I needed to make one. Headbands can be as simple or ornate as you want them to be, but with this one I was going for a simple somewhat flat bow. All you need is a plain, basic headband, ribbon and a hot glue gun for this DIY project. When you are determining what base to use for your headband, choose something that blends because you don't want it to stand out too much.

This is a super simple bow to make and you can use it one tons of different things. You will need a plain headband, ribbon and hot glue gun. You will need to cut three different lengths of ribbon. You can be super precise and use a ruler to measure out the ribbon or you can eyeball it like I did. Take the longest piece and glue the two ends together to form a circle.

 In the middle of the circle, put a dot of hot glue and squeeze the two sides together. Take the second longest piece of ribbon and repeat the process. Make a circle and glue the ends together, then glue the middle. Take the smaller loop and glue it on top of the bigger one.

With the smallest piece of ribbon, wrap it around the two loops and hot glue the two ends together. Make sure you glue the ends together on the underside. Flip it over and you have your bow! Hot glue the bow to the headband and you have a fabulous new Christmas bow headband. You can make these bows for all kinds of craft projects and packaging.

DIY: Rhinestone Sweater

One of the hot new looks for all are rhinestone embellishments on sweaters and sweatshirts. This subtle sparkle and shine takes a piece from drab to fab and makes something appropriate for all occasions because let's be real...rhinestones are always appropriate. I have almost bought one of these pieces one or twice, but finally decided that I was going to make my own. I had a plain gray sweater that I could update, so I headed to Hobby Lobby to pick up some rhinestones and glue. I wanted a design that would function like a statement necklace, but that wasn't too over the top. I didn't have a particular design in mind, so I just went for it and started placing the stones on the sweater.

I have been around quite a few rhinestones (in dance you are surrounded by rhinestones and glitter!) and know that some of them look cheap and definitely didn't want my sweater to look tacky and cheap. I chose to use rhinestones that were in silver "settings" to make it look more upscale and because that's how most of the ones I was looking to buy were made. I wanted to go for colors that were really versatile, so I opted for mostly clear and sprinkled in a tiny bit of black. The best thing about this is that you can create whatever pattern you want with whatever colors, sizes and shapes your little heart desires. I used some larger clear rectangles, some medium size clear circles and some tiny black circle rhinestones.

Make sure to put a piece of wax paper in between the the front and the back so the two sides don't accidentally get glued together. I found this permanent jewel glue and decided to give it a try. The directions say to let dry for 24 hours and then wait 7 - 10 days before washing. I am not sure why there is such a long delay in the washing time, but around here I won't be wearing a sweater anytime soon, so I had some time to wait for it to dry and be ready to wash.  This is your chance to be as creative as you want to be. You can't go wrong with the design and the best part about it is that you will have a custom piece of clothing! Who doesn't love something made just for you without the price tag that usually goes along with it?!