July 09 Ribbon Colors to Match Janie and Jack’s Soda Fountain

If you have a better ribbon color match for Janie and Jack’s Soda Fountain line, please post a comment with your thoughts!  Also, feel free to comment with a link to your M2M Soda Fountain hair bows or accessories incorporating these colors – I’d love to see your designs.

Pleasing Little Miss Independence

I was about to design a bow for my daughter to wear for our Fourth of July celebrations, but now that she is 6 (going on 20) I figured I’d better consult with Little Miss Independence first to avoid one of those last-minute battles.  (You know the ones that start 30 seconds before you’re scheduled to walk out the door?  Good times.)

Anyway, I was lucky enough to find an adorable Bandanna Print Hanna Andersson dress on eBay that we both love for the holiday… whew!  After careful consideration, she requested a woven headband incorporating all the dress colors, and decorated with some pre-made red velvet flowers she found in my embellishment stash.  “Hmm…” I said, “I don’t usually use velvet in the summer”.  “Mom, they’re a perfect match!” And so they are (aside from being velvet).  So we embarked on the creation of a mutually acceptable, made-to-match, woven headband.

We settled on solid Navy and Capri ribbons, as they are the primary colors in the dress, along with a patriotic Red, White and Navy stripe – perfect for the holiday.  The completed weave came out pretty, though a little busy, so I tried to talk her out of the red flowers once again.  Since she would not hear of it, I decided to clump them all together rather than spread them out.  The end product is pretty cute and by some miracle – pleased both of us!  “It doesn’t even look like you made it!” she said, thrilled.  (This was supposed to be a compliment.)

Not sure how to make woven headbands?  I’m a do-it-yourselfer by nature and I typically figure out how to make things through trial-and-error, but woven headbands had me totally stumped.  I bought #1 Woven Headband Instructions from Devon at NoBowNoGo.com over a year ago, and was very pleased with her comprehensive and detailed directions as well as the many different weave patterns she outlines.  If you plan to make more than a couple, her instructions are well worth the modest price, and I highly recommend them.  I’ve been making these for my daughter, friends and customers for over a year and they are always a hit.

Wishing you and your family a peaceful Independence Day weekend!

7/5 UPDATE: I whipped up a pair of matching flops at the last minute.  What a fun outfit!

Free Hair Bow Instructions Now Available

Want to try your hand at making my popular Posh style hair bow?  My free instructions are now available for download in a new e-book tutorial.  Everything you need to know to make this bow in four different sizes is included!  Just click on the image below to download the .pdf file.  This pretty, classic bow is so easy and versatile, you will be creating your own variations in no time!

While I’ve been making bows forever, this is my first attempt at writing instructions so please let me know what you think.  I plan to write several more and would love to incorporate your suggestions into future efforts, so don’t hold back!

click e-book image to download .pdf

May 09 Ribbon Colors Matching Gymboree’s Mermaid Magic

April 2009 Ribbon Colors to Match J&J’s Coastal Swim

FREE Bow Pattern: Medium M2MG Flower Garden Easter Bow

Try this pretty bow on for size! I designed this Medium (3.5” wide) bow to match Gymboree’s 2009 Flower Garden/Easter collection. You can make it too, in plenty of time for Easter. Planning on an Easter bonnet? Clip the bow to your bonnet and make it the perfect coordinating Easter accessory! Here’s my pattern:

For the bottom layer, cut 18” lengths of each:

• Turquoise ruffle ribbon 1.5” wide
• White grosgrain 7/8” wide
• S Blueberry grosgrain 5/8” wide

For the middle layer accents, cut 4” of each:

• O Lemongrass/White stripe grosgrain1.5” wide
• S Apple dot grosgrain 3/8” wide
• S Hot Pink grosgrain 7/8” wide (x2)
• Navy stripe grosgrain 3/8” wide (x2)
• O Navajo Turquoise grosgrain 5/8” wide
• S Apple grosgrain 5/8” wide

For the top layer, cut 17” of each:

• S Hot Pink grosgrain 5/8” wide
• O Pink Swiss dot grosgrain 5/8” wide

Tie the center knot with 3/8” Navajo Turquoise dot grosgrain ribbon.

Color help:
S = Schiff brand grosgrain ribbon
O = Offray brand grosgrain ribbon

Have fun and feel free to email me any questions/comments!

March 2009 Ribbon Colors to Match J&J’s Floral Spring

Feb 09 Ribbon Colors Matching Gymboree’s Flower Garden

Yes, it’s true, my store is closed.

• My Congressional Reps
• Waxman and his posse: Rush, Rockefeller and Pryor
• Nancy Nord
• Senator DeMint to ask that he keep pushing his reform bill (I still can’t believe I share any political common ground with Jim DeMint – hey you just never know)
• All 18 members of the board at Consumers Union to let them know I canceled my subscription to Consumer Reports because of their continued support of the obviously flawed CPSIA (Yeah, I know, they’ll be crushed. Interesting to note, however, that among the board members is none other than Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. He seems like a good guy, and surely he can appreciate the value of the used goods market? Will Craigslist grow as mamas with loads of outgrown banned hazardous childrens clothing fear selling ‘out in the open’ on eBay?)

Tip: Tack Layers for Easy Assembly

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