Vintage inspired pin-up hair clip

That title was a mouthful wasn't it?

Well it's been fantastic weather lately and you know what that means! Cruise-ins! Blame it on my parents - who grew up in the 50's - but I love classic cars. My friend and I would put on our poodle skirts and pile into the back of our 1951 Chevy Bel-Air and hit all the local car shows. Yeah really, I wore a poodle skirt. I even have vintage cat's eye rhinestone sunglasses I wore to complete my ensemble.

I've tamed my wardrobe a tad since then and stick to sunglasses and this awesome purse I bought at Cherry Redd.

Looooooooooove!

To add, and yet not go overboard, a little flower for my hair seemed like the right idea.



Instructions:

Start by picking a faux flower you can pull off of the stem. The flatter the flower the easier it will be to attach. The first clip I made I used an orchid which was perfectly easy for a first try.

But for my second I wanted to try a rose.

Choose a ribbon color that complements the color of the flower and will blend in. I was having trouble deciding between brown and pink but went with the pink because it was wide enough to cover the whole clip.



Unwind a little ribbon from the spool and dab a bit of tacky glue on the back and front of the clip handle.

Hold the ribbon in place using something like a clothespin or a paperclip until this part dries.

Once that portion is dry, apply the glue along the rest of the top of the clip and smooth on the ribbon. I like to cut my ribbon a little long and tuck the end under the clip's edge. With the clothespin now holding the end in place until dry it also prevents the top and bottom of the clip from being glued together!

Now walk away and keep yourself occupied until it has dried COMPLETELY - I'd say around 45 minutes to an hour.

Your flower should have a little nobby on the back from where you pulled it from the flower sprig - clip that off with scissors.

I like to attach my flowers to the be-ribboned clip with E6000 adhesive because that stuff is amazing and it doesn't take a whole lot to work well.

Line up your flower somewhere near the center of the clip and try to get a leaf or petal to cover the clip's handle so it won't show when you wear it.

Now put this somewhere flat and safe where it can dry for a few hours. If the flower you choose is flat like the orchid, it's easy to leave, but if it has more dimension like my rose, you may have to prop the flower up with something to make sure your end product doesn't come out crooked.

And there you've got your very own vintage inspired pin-up hair clip. Or if you're not into that its still really cute if you just like flowers!

I was listening to music while I worked, heehee!

Need some vintage inspiration?

Try this from my favorite group of all time: The Ventures.