Tutorial: Layered Valentine Heart Hair Bow

Back when Funky PolkaDot Giraffe was just a little Etsy Shop,

one of my best sellers during Valentine's Day was this cute little layered heart hair clip.
My little Miss Isabella was my darling model -
even though she didn't have much hair back then . . .

I thought I'd share a tutorial with you so you can get the little

lady in your life all festive in time for Valentine's Day.

STEP ONE

Cut four pieces of 3/8" ribbon in the following lengths:

5", 5 1/2", 6", 6 1/2"

You can use as many different ribbon colors as you'd like.

I cut my ribbon with a wood burning tool, but if you cut yours with scissors,

then you'll need to heat seal the ends of your ribbon pieces so they don't fray.

 

STEP TWO
Start with your longest piece of ribbon (the 6 1/2" piece) and pinch it in half,
so that the "right sides" are touching. Add a little dab of glue on the inside of the
"V" formation you've just created, so the ribbon piece stays as a "V".

STEP THREE

Pinch your 6" piece of ribbon in the same fashion, put a little dab of glue on the inside,

and then slide the 6 1/2" piece into that "V" with the dab of glue to put them together.

Do the same thing with the other 2 pieces, until you have a flying goose kind

of concoction going on with your ribbon - from longest to shortest.

STEP FOUR

Starting with the bottom piece of your flying "V, cross the ends over one another to 

make a cute little heart shape - like below.

STEP FIVE

Grab the next piece of ribbon above your cute little heart and make another heart

by crossing the ends over one another again, but this time, make sure you

glue the two little hearts together at the same time.

STEP SIX

Do the same with the other 2 pieces of ribbon, carefully layering, so that you

can see all the layers of the cute heart you've just completed.

STEP SEVEN

Finally, glue the heart to your covered alligator clip

(see the mini-tut below for how I like to cover my alligator clips)

by gluing the top of the heart to the part of the alligator clip that opens like a mouth.

Then glue the bottom of the heart to the part of the clip that you pinch to open the clip.

 

They're so cute, you just might go crazy and make lots of different versions

of this darling little layered Valentine heart hair bow.

Don't forget to see the mini-tutorial below for how I like to cover alligator clips

with a piece of matching ribbon!

How to Cover an Alligator Clip

1. Start with about a 4" piece of ribbon and glue it to the bottom of the
portion of the alligator clip that you pinch to open.
2. Add a little dab of glue on the inside of the pinching part and poke the ribbon
into little opening. Flip the ribbon up over the top, and put a little dab
of glue at the top portion of the pinching part and glue down.
3. Glue the ribbon along the top portion of the alligator clip, partially opening
the clip as you do so, so you don't glue it together.
Then, open the clip wide and glue the little tail on the inside top part of the clip.

Framed Sunshine Embroidery

For the Box of Sunshine I made a dear friend,

I hand embroidered a little bit of sunshine to add a bright spot to her home.

I used the same technique as with the Christmas and Valentine embroidery.

Embroidering is so soothing and calms my nerves, so I love doing it.

If you want to make one for your Box of Sunshine, you'll need:

Sunshine Template

Dollar Store Frames

Krylon Sun Yellow Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint

White Fabric

Yellow Embroidery Floss

Embroidery Needle

Embroidery Hoop

Pencil 

Glue Gun

This time I changed it up and added a little picture to the word.

I like the little sunshine doodle and I think it adds the right punch to the frame.

Now I want to make one for my house,

because the happy yellow just makes me smile!

Have you made a Box of Sunshine yet?

What did you include?

Have you tried your hand at embroidering?

I'd love to see it!

Be sure to link up to the Flickr group, so everyone can check it out!

Preschool Valentines: You're My Main SQUEEZE!

ETA: If you'd like to use my Silhouette cut files or a PDF you can cut yourself of the inner circle,
you can download them HERE!

We're a big fan of the GoGo Squeez applesauces.
They are an easy way to have a portable healthy snack readily available
when we're away from home.
So, when I saw these Valentines and then found our Costco is currently carrying
the GoGo's - I knew they would be perfect for Isabella to take to her friends.

I used my Silhouette SD's print and cut feature to make them,

and it was so perfect and made the process super simple.

Once you design the text, it's time to fill them with color.
With your word selected, open the Fill Color window and fill with color.
After they are filled with color, you select all the text inside of your circle.

Then, open the Cut Style window and select "No Cut".

Next open the Registration Marks window and turn on the registration marks.

You'll want to make sure you keep your design out of the grey cross marks.

Send it to your printer and then load into your Silhouette

and send to the Silhouette to cut and choose "auto detect registration marks".

Then cut!

I glued the circles onto a larger scalloped circle that I also cut with the Silhouette,
and then punched a little hole in the top and used baker's twine to
tie the little tag to the applesauce.
I also signed the "::heart:: Isabella" on the back.

I super adore how they came out and Isabella loved them because
the applesauce is her current obsession.
It was the perfect option for her class of 12 kids
but I'm doing something else a little more cost effective for JT's class of 32.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Are you done with your Valentines?
What are you making this year?

Framed Valentine Hand Embroidery

Ever since I made Halloween framed embroidery for my Pinterest party I've been obsessed with them.
I made some from Christmas and I decided I needed some for each holiday.
They are quick and easy to make and I think they are super cute.
I think embroidery hoops are adorable, but I have a strange aversion to hanging things on my walls.
It's true. Ask Kara Noel.

You'll need:
Frames
Krylon Spray Paint
White Fabric
Red and Pink Embroidery Floss
Embroidery Needle
Embroidery Hoop
Pencil
Glue Gun

I followed the same steps as I did with my framed Christmas embroidery.
I grabbed some cheap frames from the local dollar store.
Then grabbed some Krylon paint and spray painted the heck out of them - Kara Noel and Julie would be so proud!

I made a 4x6 and 5x7 and this time I cut the fabric piece 7x9 to make
sure I had a little bit more to work with when I was framing them.
I printed off some cute words - love and be mine - and since I was working
with white fabric I ditched the tracing paper and slipped it behind the
fabric and traced the words onto the fabric with a pencil.

I used the back stitch again because it gives a great fine line for tracing the words.

I did two different words, because I really like having a pair.

Boo. Eek.

Ho Ho Ho. Noel.

Love. Be Mine.

Perfect!

They turned out so cute and I think they would make great Valentines for friends!

I was thinking I should make a third.

What do you think?

What Valentine word comes to mind?

Let me know if you make some and please upload them to Flickr Group - I'd love to see them!!

12 Fun Things to Do in January

Last January I shared a bunch of "snow" themed ideas and printables.

If you're new here I wanted to show them off without having to re-post them all.

If you're an old friend, then now you have them all one place!

I hope they help you pass the time during the chilly inside days!

{Snowman Soup Neighbor Gift}

{Snowman Hairclip}

{Snowman Paintstick Craft}

{Mixed Up Snowman Snack}

{Fleece Snowman Hat}

{Winter Subway Art Printable}

{Roll-a-Snoman Felt Board Game}

{Snowman Printable}

{Keep Calm and Snow On Printable}

Superhero Birthday Playdate

My little guy turned seven in December and we celebrated with a
SUPERHERO BIRTHDAY PLAYDATE!!!!
I'm totally sold of birthday playdates.
We invite friends from one social group and keep it low key.
The other thing I love is hosting them at a park,
because then there is built in entertainment for the kids.



The kids played and colored for the first little bit,
while munching on pizza and other snacks.
We had it about an hour after school, so I knew they would be ravenous :)



I found some fun villain coloring pages they could color so they
could practice being superheroes when they got home.



One of my favorite activities to do is to blow up a giant picture
of the child and play pin the _____ on ______.
At the Tutu & 'Stache Bash it was pink the 'stache on JT.
This year is was pin the mask on Superhero JT.



JT got a kick out of the giant picture of him.
I print it at Costco for about $10 and then laminate at Lakeshore Learning.


The kids loved the game and I like seeing where all the kids put the pins.




Next we did a Superhero obstacle course relay.
It consisted of a tunnel to crawl through, a "building" to jump over,
a villain to shoot with a Nerf dart, and a rocket to launch.
The Stomp Rocket wouldn't work, so we skipped that part.



I broke the kids into two teams - the six year olds versus the seven year olds.
They had to put on a Superhero disguise and then run the obstacle course.


And then come back and tag the next person.
It turned out really well.
I had plans to make it more elaborate, but it turned out it was perfect
for this age/group of kids.

Then it was present time.
I like to snap a picture of the birthday boy with the friends and the gift.
It makes a great visual and an even better thank you card!

Next up were the amazing cupcakes from Lady Cupcake's Corner.
I am lucky enough to be related to Lady Cupcake herself and she is amazing.
I always email her with my wild and crazy ideas and then say - can you do it?
And she always can!

The Superhero cupcakes turned out so cool!

We had Captain America, Batman, Spiderman and Superman.

JT's favorite was the Spiderman.

I made Superhero masks for each of the kids to take home.
(Tutorial and pattern coming this week!)

 

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get a group picture of all the kids

with their masks on.

So you'll just have to settle for these solo shots of my Superhero Kids!

Be sure to come back later this week for the mask pattern and tutorial!

And check out the Angry Bird Birthday, as well as the Barbie Birthday

playdates we had last year!

Party Details:
Giant Personalized Pin the Mask on the Superhero: Printed at Costco and laminated at Lakeshore Learning
Cupcakes: Lady Cupcake's Corner
Invitation: Designed by me in Photoshop using graphics from Zenware Designs and Kate Hadfield Designs