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: Mustache on a Stick

Yesterday I saw an ad on Facebook that featured a woman and a little boy holding mustaches on sticks. So fun! With both of my brothers coming to Michigan this weekend, I felt inspired to make a few of these to take Up North with us. I felt that these would make for some fun family memories especially since I know that Nick, a professional photographer, will be taking lots of photos.

So, I grabbed all of the black felt scraps that I had, my bottle of Aleene's tacky glue, and a bunch of wooden skewers -- which had gotten tucked into my craft stash just last week after falling onto the laundry room floor. (Why do I store my skewers in the laundry room? Honestly, I have no clue, but that is where they have been for ages. Anyway, once they hit the floor, I figured that they were no longer "food safe," but that didn't mean that they couldn't be used for crafting. I just needed an idea. Funny how things work out.)

In the end, I had enough materials to make eleven mustaches on a stick. Coincidentally, (or maybe not -- you see how these things work out?) this is the exact number of family members who will be getting together this weekend.

{My mustaches remind me of a flock of birds.}

Materials:

• wooden skewers (or dowels)
• black felt (or craft foam or card stock)
• tacky glue
• pen/pencil
• scissors
• scratch paper (optional)

Directions:

1. To begin, I cut pieces of scratch paper to approximately the same size as my black felt scraps. Then, I folded them in half, hamburger style. One each scrap of paper, I drew one half of a mustache shape, cut it out and checked to see if it fit on the felt. I then adjusted accordingly, both to make sure that it fit, and that I was happy with the shape, making more trimmings as needed. (Tip: If you don't want to draw your mustaches freehand, look for an online template such as this one.)
2. Next, I used a little bit of tacky glue to stick my scratch paper templates on top of my black felt, just enough to get each to lay flat, but not so much to make it permanently bonded. Then, I cut around the templates. Once done cutting, I peeled off my templates. You do not have to use glue, but it made it easier to cut around the template without it slipping. (Tip: For cutting felt, use the sharpest scissors that you have available.)
3. To make the wooden skewers more kid friendly, I used my scissors to cut off the sharp ends. (Note: If I had more felt, I would have made two-sided mustaches, sandwiching the sharp part of the skewer in between the two pieces of felt, and thus eliminating the need to trim them.)
4. To finish my mustaches, I used a dab of tacky glue to adhere a wooden skewer to the back side of each felt mustache. When I say "back side," I mean the side that already had traces of glue on it, left over from the templates. (Note: I have seen other mustaches on sticks that had the sticks placed off center, and while I realize that this probably looks nicer in photos, it wasn't working for me. So, I centered mine to get stability, because floppy mustaches were not the look I was going for.)
5. Make sure the glue dries completely before modeling your new facial hair. (Tip: If the tacky glue is not working, consider using hot glue instead.)

{My favorite little people model some of my creations.}