DIY: Paper Button Flower Hair Pins!

I thought it would be kinda neat to create some cute hairpins/clips for Ashlyn, since I've been trying out new hairstyles with her, etc. I had to use this huge pins on her the other day and felt pretty sad we didn't have any cute girly clips for her. The other problem was that we just haven't had the money to get her cute accessories yet, so I decided to just make some with the supplies we had already. A lot of the materials I used I got from the 99 cent store or Michael's. 

These are really easy to make and can be as elaborate as you choose, it just depends on the style you're going for and how much time you want to put into these. I did some pretty simple ones, just to try it out first.

The materials I used are also pretty cheap and simple, but you can definitely make these more intricate if you decide to buy felt or some other kind of fabric, but if not these are still super cute and easy to make, and, if anything, it can be seen as practice! 

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Buttons - Like I said before, these can be purchased at Michael's, the simpler they are the cheaper, though they do have some really adorable buttons for a little extra if you're looking to do something more elaborate.

2. Glitter - It will add flare and make your little girl feel like a sparkling flower princess! 

3. Paper or Felt - Again, I used paper to cut cost and to keep it pretty simple. 

4. Hair Clips 

5. Scissors or an x-acto knife - I ended up using an x-acto, but either one is fine, it just depends on the length and thickness you want your petals to be. 

6. A quick drying glue or glue gun

7. Some kind of paint to color the hair clips (This is definitely optional)

Cut out your petals

If you want to be very precise I'd recommend using a tracer to draw them out. I wasn't really going for an "exact" petal look, but more free-flowing and whimsical so I just cut out different sizes with different patterns, some plain and some more decorative.

Grab a button and add glue to the very center. 

I like to do this because it gives me a base to work with and allows me to easily lay the petals atop one another.

Add your petals

Keep adding petals in a circle until you are happy with the amount of petals your flower has, you can even add bigger petals in the back add smaller in the front to give your flower depth!

Add your details! 

After you've added all your petals, take some time to let the glue dry (I used the quick tacky glue so I didn't have to wait too long) and then add your details! I decided to go with adding glitter, to make the clips more girly and cute!

Petals or curly cues! 

This step is optional, sometimes I like to add curly cues to my paper flowers to give it another layer of fun, it looks cute and it's easy to do if you're working with paper. All you have to do is simply wrap a long, thin strand of paper around a pen or pencil (I used the x-acto) and it will form a beautiful curl that will act as a curly strand on your flower! You can attach it the same way you did previously with the paper petals. 

Color your clips and attach your flowers!

I ended up using nail polish because it has a nice glossy look at the finish. I used glitter on some of the clips as well, just for fun! :)

And there you have them! 

Another very simple hair clip idea is just adding buttons to the end of the clip. You can see here that I've layered them to give them a creative look. I can't wait to show Ashie! 

Let me know what you think!

And in other news....

This past weekend I worked as a face painter, it was really fun, and although most of the face designs were very simple, it allowed me to use my drawing and painting skills in a way I don't normally get to. After the event, I asked Ashlyn if she wanted a face painting and I did my very first Fairy Face painting design. It was really fun and she enjoyed it thoroughly!   

You can see from the pins in her hair why I decided to make my own for her!

And also, this:

Aaron and I bought Toffee her first snacks, these little turkey and salmon bacon bits by Wellness. I left the room momentarily to grab something and left this little guy in with Toffee, in turn she pretty much destroyed the packaging. 

This must be like some kinda of kitty crack because she will not stop whining to have some. It's pretty funny, but kinda weird! It makes me think of my addiction to chocolate and how I'd do anything to get my hands on it. 

What's a snack/candy that you're extremely addicted to?

xox, a modern dame

Reward Stars

Last weekend Aaron and I had a long discussion about teaching children good behavior and how to get kids to remember their manners & chores. We thought about what we could do to encourage good behavior in one particular area, like eating veggies, for example. 

We thought that a simple Star Reward Chart system would work best after talking to a few other parents. I have looked online and noticed a lot of nay-saying about reward stars, stating that it encourages bad habits, like a child assuming every good deed will result in a reward, but after careful consideration and discussion with Aaron, we found that if we emphasize more on the "good behavior" and less on the "rewards", perhaps it would have a more positive effect.

Boy has this system really worked! Aaron's daughter is more focused on achieving the reward stars than on the rewards themselves, which is really amazing to see. I think it's because we created more of a game-like system with it that Ashlyn views as something fun and rewarding in itselfs, the rewards being a secondary thought.

Since using the Reward Stars Chart, her behavior and willingness to try new foods has improved immensely!

Here is what we used to create ours:

1. A wood board to stick the stars on

2. A bag of stars from Michaels for $3.99

3. Paint

4. Brushs

5. Glitter

6. Velcro to stick the stars on the board

6. Something to put the stars in, we picked up a cute little box at Michaels for $6.95

After gathering all our materials, Ashlyn and I picked a theme she liked from one of her favorite movies, Tangled.

We used the Art of Tangled concept book that my brother and his wife bought me for Christmas some years back, it's been a life savor for so many of my creative projects!

 I let Ashlyn do a lot of the color blocking, Aaron and I wanted her to feel like she was a big part of the process. We figured if she enjoyed making the Star Chart, she'd associate it with a fun memory and therefore be more apt to participate with it.

Ashlyn was in charge of making all the stars, and she did an amazing job! Just look at all that glitter! 

Aaron was in charge of putting the velcro on the stars (a very tedious job indeed!) 

 

After that I wanted to make sure the stars and the colors were working well together before painting the rest of the chart and treasure box.

I did my best :/

Finally finished with painting! Pew!

After putting fitting the velcro on the chart, Ashlyn painting the inside of the treasure box! 

Aaron and I took a long time coming up with rewards, as you can see they're nothing big, just little things we thought Ashlyn would appreciate when she gets enough stars.

On one side it has a list of things she can do to earn the stars, on the other, the rewards she can get from them. She often brings the list over to Aaron and I so we can describe everything to her since she's still learning to read. Usually Ashlyn just wants to play with Dad's phone. Se's pretty addicted to the games, thus it being the first reward on the list, haha. 

It's pretty great waking up to her knocking on our door and describing how she got up, got dressed, brushed her hair, brushed her teeth, took care of her bedroom and fed the kitten.

I don't know how long her enthusiasm will last with this, but it's been a great two weeks :}

xox, a modern dame