DIY Ribbon Wands, Bracelets, and Hairbands

My niece turned six last week, and I had some ideas rolling around in my head for her gifts that I wanted to make.  She loves to dance and twirl, so when I saw these ribbon bracelets on ZuZu Girl Handmade, I was inspired!

So here’s a little tutorial on how I made some pretty dance accessories for my niece!

For the wands, you will need:

~Dowel rods

~Screw eyes

~Keychain rings

~Assorted ribbon

~Spray paint (if desired)

Check the dollar store, Target Dollar Spot, and the sale bin at your local craft store for inexpensive ribbon. I bought a six pack of dowels that were already cut to the perfect length, used a coupon for the pack of keychain rings, and got the screw eyes at Wal-Mart.  Depending on the type and amount of ribbon you use, this can be a fairly inexpensive project since it makes multiple wands/bracelets. 

Insert a screw eye into one end of the dowel rods.  You may have to drill a small starter hole, or borrow your husband’s muscles!

If you want to spray paint your wands, cut some slits in a cardboard box to hold them up, or you could stick them in floral foam. 

Spray paint your desired color.  Of course I went with pink.  Attach a keychain ring to the screw eye:

You can either tie on your ribbon using knots, or loop it through, keeping it all one length or varying the lengths, whatever you prefer!

And that’s it, you’re done!  Watch your favorite princes dance and twirl with the ribbons trailing behind her!

For the ribbon bracelets, you will need:

~Ribbon

~Bracelets

Duh!

I found this cute pack of plastic heart shaped bracelets in the dollar section at Michael’s.

For the bracelets, I found it easiest to glue all your ribbon together at one end.

Then loop it on your bracelet.

And you’re done!

This leaves your dancing queen’s hands free yet still gives the twirling ribbon effect!

I used the same technique on a hair elastic, then glued a bow and rhinestone to the top of the ribbon.

Looks too cute with a “Just Dance” tank top I embroidered for her!                  

I’ll be sharing this quick and easy project with DIY Day (the last one, boo!), Get Your Craft On, Lucky Linky Tuesday, I Made It!, and other fun parties seen HERE. 

Salvaged Shutter Turned Wall Art

Ok, I think this is the last treasure from our girls’ trip to Canton that I have to show y’all.  My friend was bound and determined to find an old shutter to hang over the bay window in her kitchen.  She found the perfect candidate for $10.00:

And here’s how it looks now, after she painted and distressed it:

She used several different techniques to achieve the worn and weathered look she was going for.  She first painted the shutter a solid green.  She then sanded in spots and colored the bare wood spots with a wood stain pen.  Then she just started playing with her two shades of green paint, adding darker green to some areas and going back on top of it with the lighter green paint again to create a natural worn look,  and finally dry brushed dark green all over to "age" it some.  This takes a lot of playing around.  She spent about two days just layering paint and sanding on spots to get the look she wanted.      It’s so perfect in that spot!   

I have to thank my bestie, Jessica, for letting me share all her wonderful crafts and transformations over the past couple weeks.  Y’all be sure to give her all the credit in the comments! If you missed any of her features, check out the following posts:

Pottery Barn Inspired French Lampshade

Flea Market Find Transformation (Terrarium Base)

Ruffled Burlap Table Runner

I swear, if she had her own blog, she’d be over here guest posting all the time!  I just may have one or two other projects of hers to share in the coming posts…..

I’ll be sharing today’s post with DIY Showoff, Metamorphosis Monday, Thrifty Treasures, Trash To Treasure, Power of Paint, and Transformation Thursday.

Spring/Summer Beading Projects

I have been a little lax in my beading projects lately for the Artbeads Blogging for Beaders program, but I have finally come up with a few projects to share.

I really love my beaded plant hangers, and I wanted to create some more “jewelry” for my plants. I came up with an idea for a little jeweled stake when I had some extra supplies left over from a project I’ll show you next week.

You’ll need a wooden dowel rod, a screw eye, a key chain ring, needle nose pliers and your chosen embellishments.  I used some beautiful glass beads and a sterling silver charm provided from Artbeads.com.  Some jump rings, and wire or chain are also needed.  Artbeads is a great source for all sorts of supplies like this, and they don’t necessarily have to be used for jewelry!

Insert the screw eye into one end of the dowel rod.  You can then spray paint them your desired color if you wish.  

Attach the key chain ring to the screw eye.

Using the jump rings and chain, thread your beads and charms and add them to the key chain ring.

Stick it in your favorite plant for instant bling! 

If you’re not a plant person, this same technique can be used to make something else fun, like a fancy bookmark.  Artbeads also has a great selection of bookmarks for beading and embellishing.

You can find other great ideas in the Artbeads Learning Center.  Sharing with:

*Disclosure: The materials used in this project  were kindly provided free-of-charge by Artbeads.com, within the frames of Artbeads.com blogging program. I have not received any compensation from Artbeads.com. The post above represents my honest personal opinion.