03/03/2012 - Mardi Gras Bead Hairband

Zoe got an awesome package from her Grandma Judy in Chicago celebrating all the spring holidays, including some fun Mardi Gras masks and beads. She had a little bit too much fun with the necklaces and broke a couple, so they got added to my craft supply. This could be done with none broken beads and a rubber band or piece of elastic too.

Reclaimed Material: beaded necklaces, bicycle inner tube
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors

How I did it: The first thing that I had to do was tie the broken ends back together, so I took really skinny strip of the rubber and tied it between the end beads to connect them. Next I lined up the two necklaces where I tied them together and folded it in half. I took another rubber strip and looped it around the necklace fold and the skinny strips used to tie the beads back together and tied the bigger strip together.


What I would do differently: There were a few other ideas that I was going to try, but they just didn't quite work out. I know there are about a million different things to do with these colorful buggers.

02/20/2012 - Rubber/Antique Button Hairband

Yes, another headband...for a friend. I got this done the night before I went out of town so I just took a quick picture.

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube, antique(ish) button
Other/New Material: none
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, tape, paper

How I did it: Again, I did the same thing as the other headbands. My grandmother-in-law gave me some of her old sewing stuff and I found the awesome button for the middle of the flower.


What I would do differently: As you can see the flower rolls up on the sides. I found with some of the inner tubes that they roll up depending on how I cut them.

02/10/2012 - A Different Rubber Headband

This headband is for a friend's daughter, so I hope she likes pink! It is pretty much like the rubber headband I did a few days before with a few changes. 

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube, buttons
Other/New Material: decorative eyelet
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, tape, paper, Crop-A-Dile

How I did it: I followed the same steps I did for the headband I made from February 3, but made the center flower a little smaller and added a flower on either side of the larger one. Instead of using a button, I used a decorative eyelet I bought a long time ago. I thought it would be perfect to try and I am happy that it fit to hold the rubber pieces together. I used the Crop-A-Dile to attach the eyelet in the middle flower then found coordinating buttons for the smaller flowers.

What I would do differently: I ended up braiding the band again because it does stretch out and hold nicely. I think I am going to make some of these for my Etsy shop because I now have other design ideas floating around in my head.

02/03/2012 - Rubber Headband

I get headaches from regular headbands and fabric headbands always slide off my head, so I have never had a good headband option...until now. The rubber makes a great headband because it stays in place and has enough elasticity to stay in place without squeezing my head or slipping off.

Reclaimed Material: rubber inner tube, button
Other/New Material: none 
Tools: scissors, needle, thread, tape, paper

How I did it: I used three strips of inner tube a little bit wider than 1/4" and 25" long each. I wrapped a small piece of tape around the three pieces on one end then did a regular braid and taped off the end. I fit the band to my head and stitched the ends that were overlapping. I wrapped an extra strip of rubber around the overlapping ends to cover them and did a small stitch to hold the cover in place. For the flower, I cut out my pattern on the paper then cut out two flowers using a wide piece of inner tube. Both flowers were sewn onto the headband then I found a coordinating button from my random box of buttons that everyone seems to have and sewed it on top of the flowers.

What I would do differently: Braiding the band looked nice, but the rubber strips kept twisting and the band curls up. I think doing a round braid or just using wider strips would work just as well.