DIY Puppy Ears

These fun puppy ears doubled as photo props (for the upcoming thank-you cards) and as party favors. What can I say? I like when stuff serves double-duty -- it's just plain smart. Plus, I saved money by making them myself instead of purchasing them from this site! Here's how I made these cute puppy dog ears (I made 11 pairs total) for about $6.

{Some of the finished puppy ears}

Materials:

• tan felt (I bought 6 sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" size at Wal-Mart, 23 cents each)
• brown marker
• scissors
• brown/black plastic headbands (These came in 3-packs from Dollar Tree. I bought 4 sets.)
• hot glue gun
• cream felt (This came in a neutral colors multi-pack at Wal-Mart, but I only used cream for this project.)

Directions:

1. Fold a piece of felt in half, width-wise. Cut along the fold. 
2. Now, take one half piece and fold it in half, lengthwise this time. Cut along the fold. 
3. Draw a floppy ear on one side and cut it out. Mine had a triangular notch at the top end.

   

   {This is how I folded and cut my felt to get started.}

4. Use this as a template for all the other ears. Trace around it onto the felt. A brown marker works nicely, and even if it shows on the felt later, it doesn't really clash. (Note: You can either cut the felt smaller first, or just trace an ear, flip it over, fit the template ear against the tracing, and trace again. Then, cut all traced ears out. I did it both ways, and didn't really have a preference.)

   

   {How I laid the ears for tracing with as little waste as possible.}

5. Lay out ears in sets of two, facing them the desired direction. (I made each one curve toward the center.) Then, using a hot glue gun, adhere each ear to a plastic headband. Lay them flat while the glue cools.

   

   {Here is my triangle tip + hot glue, before folding.}

6. Cut spots from cream felt. Mine were all shapes and sizes, but you can make basic circles if you prefer. Apply the the ears using the hot glue gun. I took my triangle tip, turned it over, applied the glue to that area, and then folded it over on itself around the plastic headband. Again, lay flat while glue cools. Tip: If glue strings bug you, use your fingers to remove any glue strings.
7. Your puppy ears are now ready to wear!

Make Your Own: Head Band Organizer

Anyone with daughters will appreciate how difficult it is to keep all of their hair accessories organized. I have tried several things ranging from shoving them all in a bathroom drawer (not advisable) to tying different colored ribbons on a hanger and clipping barrettes to them (seemed like a good idea, but wasn't that practical since I couldn't hang it in the downstairs bathroom, where we usually do hair) to putting clips and hair elastics in a plastic craft container with many compartments (where they are currently residing). But the biggest problem with all of the aforementioned storage solutions is that they did not hold head bands, and obviously, head bands take up more space than most other hair accessories. After searching the web, I found a few that can be purchased, but didn't really want to spend $30 or so on something like that. Then, I stumbled upon this very simple idea: use an oatmeal container. I decided to use a Country Time Lemonade container instead, since it seemed sturdier than an oatmeal container (and I had one that was already empty). I was inspired to create this head band holder for Mia after I saw this. You can make one for your favorite girl, too. It's easy to personalize and inexpensive. And it's actually practical!

(Holder minus head bands)

Materials Needed:

• decorative paper (I used two 12" by 12" pieces of scrapbook paper)
• paper cutter (or scissors)
• lemonade container (or oatmeal container)
• adhesives (scrapbooking squares and clear tape)
• Mod Podge
• foam paint brush

Optional Materials:

• felt ribbon
• chipboard letters, tag, and flower
• pink marker
• alphabet button embellishments
• glue dots

Directions:

Bonus storage!

1. Trim paper to fit your container. (You might also use pretty fabric in place of paper.)
2. Adhere paper to container. I used a few scrapbook square adhesives to hold the paper to my lemonade container and a small amount of clear tape to hold the two pieces of paper together. I used some of my scraps to decorate the inside of the lid since I was planning to save and use it.
3. If you want your container to be a bit fancier, add some extra embellishments (stickers, chipboard shapes, ribbon, etc.). Or you can just keep it simple with pretty paper, and follow up with a coat of Mod Podge to protect it. I covered my whole container with this, embellishments included.
4. Allow the Mod Podge to dry completely and then arrange your head bands on the outside. You could also leave the cover off and drape head bands over the top, but I chose to use the inside for additional storage of hairbrushes, combs, detangling spray, and tiny hair elastics (in their own container).

P.S. If you want to buy a cute fabric head band holder already made, I also came across this one.