To bling or not to bling…
…THAT is the question!
A few days ago I posted another Valentine-y hair clip tutorial; I’m still on my “candy alternative” kick. This 5 layered heart clip is a cinch to make and lasts way longer than a box of chocolates. You can bling it out, use your own color combos, and have some fun with it…and it won’t send the wearer to the dentist.
THINGS YOU’LL NEED:
- A glue gun and glue stick
- A lighter (to heat seal the ribbon ends)
- An alligator clip (small or large, can be purchased at Michael’s, Wal-Mart, online, etc)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- 6 pieces of ribbon: (1) 6″ piece, (1) 5.5″ piece, (1) 5″ piece, (1) 4.5″ piece, (1) 4″ piece, and (1) 4.5″ piece in color of your choice to line alligator clip (if you’re using a large alligator clip, you’ll need a piece that’s 5.5″ long)
1. Heat seal all your ribbon ends using your lighter. To do this, run the lighter near NOT AGAINST, the ribbon ends. If this is new for you, please click here for a closer look at this. I don’t want the fire department showing up at your house because of me.
2. Take your longest piece of ribbon and fold it in half, right sides together (if you’re using a pattern/ print). In this picture, I marked the center with water-soluble pen, but just a good finger crease is all you need.
3. Right sides together, place a TINY, ITSY BITSY drop off hot glue in the center of your ribbon and pinch it together. Did I mention you only need a little glue?
Hold it there for about 10-15 seconds to let it set, and now you have a pretty bird of sorts…
squeeze and hold
be free, little birdie!
4. Now take your next piece (the 5.5″ ribbon) and also crease it in the middle. Put a dab of glue on the pinched part of your first ribbon and conform your 5.5″ piece to it. Now it’s lying flush against your first ribbon piece. If this sounds convoluted, check out the pictures below:
dab of glue on 6″ ribbon
fold the second piece of ribbon (5.5″ length) around the outside of the first ribbon (6.0″ length)
5. Repeat step 4 with the remaining 3 ribbon pieces. Now you’ve got a sassy fountain of ribbons in descending lengths. Like this:
6. Remember that extra piece of ribbon you heat sealed in preparation for lining your alligator clip? It’s go time! Keep in mind you’ll need 4.5″ of ribbon to line a small alligator clip and 5.5″ of ribbon for a large clip. Go ahead and line your alligator clip now with your ribbon. If this is unfamiliar to you, please check out another tutorial of mine where the process is discussed in-depth.
Your clip now looks like this:
top view
underside view
A note about lining clips: I have seen some people line the entire clip, but that can make the clip slip easily out of the hair. Just as tragic is the fact that it’s a waste of your ribbon. Hey, it all adds up, right?
7. Place a dab of hot glue on the top of your clip, slightly lower than the end that opens. (In other words, not at the side with the hinge).
8. Affix your ribbons to the clip and hold there for 10-15 seconds to let the glue set. Treat this heart like a real one; hold it firmly but don’t crush it.
9. Place a dab of hot glue just slightly under the ribbon cluster you just glued on. Take one end of the nearest ribbon (the shortest piece measuring 4″) and adhere it to the glue dot. Here’s a visual:
10. Now place a small dab of glue on THAT ribbon end you just glued down to then attach the other side of that first heart. Like so…
a little dab will do ya…
first layer of your heart is complete…woohoo!
11. You’ll repeat steps 9 & 10 to complete the other 4 layers of your heart. Note that each new heart layer will overlap the previous one slightly.
Here’s what your completed heart looks like:
EXTRA CREDIT: Add some bling, any embellishment you like. A button at the top, a rhinestone or two at the bottom. Glitter. Sparkles…ooooh, the possibilities are endless!
To purchase these layered heart clips or see other variations, please visit my etsy store. They should be listed on January 21, 2014.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you! 🙂
Sewing with Scooby Snacks 