Beelieve

Tame that little girl's...

...hair clip clutter!

A friend had waved the white flag of hair clip calamity.  The little box was just not working out any more and she made a request for a hair clip control system that will serve a purpose and be aesthetically pleasing.  I immediately worked up some ideas but one in particular came to mind.  This one from our gal Martha featured in a little "Organizing Good Things" magazine I had from 2004.

I started with a frame I had and added various spools as did Martha. Went over it all again with watered down gesso with a hint of pale peach to "de-white" it a bit.  Sanded it to distress it a bit  Then I tried attaching the ribbon with a staple gun but it seemed to cause more stress to the frame so I opted for a super strong glue in a hotter glue gun. (note this is a bit stronger than an average craft glue gun).

A secret to the ribbon hanging frame is not to actually hang the frame with the ribbon.  There is a picture hanger on the frame and my friend may use a decorative nail or hook to loop the ribbon over once the frame is in place.  Should she not want the ribbon hanger it is attached with basic thumb tacks on the back for easy removal.  I see it as an extra place to clip hair clips to. 

(Since this is photographed in PJ girl's room, I have used her stuff, available nails and just a tad of masking tape to keep the ribbon up out of the way)

Speaking of extra hair clips I made up some "extenders" in case more room is needed.  Made with ribbon glued around a hair tie and some "rejects" from some of my hair clip experiments on the end to assure clips do not slip off.  My friend's daughter "Wooga" may want to use the one with the dolphins for "school clips" and maybe another for holidays or special clips.  If they are seasonal she may want to store them in a drawer...easy peasy!

 

Since I started with so many hair-clips, Pajama Girl has a few...ok...lie!  She has so many and when we designed her "big girl" room a few years back there was a butterfly theme here and there so I made this one with the "butterfly" nets and attached it right to a small closet door. 

A note on this...I need to weed some well loved ones out but as I was looking at them I have noticed some have faded because this is next to a window.  You may want to think about where to hang these.

One last tip.  Keeping control of ponytail holders is a whole other story but we prefer plastic shower rings and tucked away in a drawer!

More custom gifts

Here are a few more custom Scrabble tile necklace requests I made a while back.  I never want to post gifts too early since I would never want to spoil a surprise for anyone.

The first one the only request was it had "Nan" on it for a women enamored with her grandchildren and their name for her.

This next one is for a wonderful teacher who was honored with "teacher of the year" last year.  I felt she must be really exceptional as there are so many amazing teachers out there.  I could not give this teacher an apple, she deserved a pear. Something unique to symbolize who she is.

My last request in this group was for a visitor from Australia and the giver wanted her to have a souvenir from her visit which would be special as she is.   I do not have the request right in front of me but I believe the women was a guest speaker/teacher to a sewing group.

A few more tidbits before I finish up here.

Happy Birthday to Olivia who is 21 today!  Please feel free to go to "ahh to be 21" and read the beautiful comment her "Daddy" posted for her today and leave any wishes you may want to give.  Her daddy will send her the link today once she has gift in hand!

I am also going to post an update on the fun stationary swap Pajama Girl did in a few minutes as well, a very rewarding experience.  One we will never forget.

Cheers to the Team inTraining running in the Adirondack Half Marathon today.  This is a wonderful way to show your support and what you can endure physically, emotionally and raise money for a good cause at the same time.  Their effort is to help raise money to cure blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.  S & D,I beelieve in you!

ahh to be 21

A good friend and co-worker asked me to make a special card for his lovely baby who will be celebrating her champagne birthday, legally this month.  Olivia will be 21 on the 21st.  I had to make the card special for her, I have never met Olivia but have heard so much about her.  The best are the stories from when she was little.  Olivia, if you ever read this, please know how much your daddy loves you and talks about you.  All good too!

So here is what I came up with for the card.  The color is a bit off due to poor lighting but I had to snap a picture fast so I could deliver it.  It is a bit more mauve then appears here.  I used sheet music for her dress since she is quite accomplished in her music talents. 

A funny unplanned present happened...this always happens.  My wonderful "put-it-right-under-my-nose" muse threw a bingo chip at me.  The chip clearly states "I 21" .  Hysterical as a form of "proof", what bouncer would not accept that?  hee hee!  Had to make the perfect case for it too!  Thank you my dear muse for enlightening and delighting me with my creativity!