HEADWEAR TUTORIAL: Googly Eye Headband
If you've been following me for a while, you know I love unusual accessories. I wear normal things too, but those can be commonly found. I have trouble finding hair accessories, so I like to make my own. This googly eye headband is inspired by my friend Noah's recent comical habit of putting googly eyes on printed faces. It's been hilarious so far. I have many googly eyes left over from creating these shoes, so I decided to make a googly eye headband. I've already made some stud earrings, and have plans for a necklace. We will see. I've been collecting more used gift cards, after making three pairs of upcycled plastic earrings and geometric necklace. I think those cards will work perfect as a base for the eyes. More on that in a different post.
My daughter mentioned wanting headbands without teeth, as she finds them comfortable to wear. I finally found a few at Dollar Tree, so I bought a few. I'm working on decorating the wide ones, so she'll have something different than her classmates. There is a mix of creep and pretty. For today, this tutorial is for the googly eye headband that I finished yesterday. This is a standard sized headband, which will work for most kids to adults.
SUPPLIES:
3) After the headband is dried completely, lay out your design a bit across the top of the headband. I used mostly large eyes and staggered them. I tested out a few small and medium eyes around the large eyes. Since my headband is widest at the middle and tapers down to the ends, it was important to work with those angles.
4) I worked from the center top, down. Apply a little glue evenly to the back of the eye for the center top. Quickly place that eye onto the center top, and gently push to secure. Do the same thing for the eyes on either side of the center top.
5) Balance the headband on the sturdy cup, so those eyes will set up.
6) I did all the large eyes in a staggered pattern before applying any of the other sizes. For the sides, I glued them one side at a time, and leaned the headband against the cup as the headband dried.
7) After all the large eyes were done drying, I applied the smaller eyes in the same manner. Top first, then the sides one at time. If you have trouble applying the glue to the smaller eyes, use the wooden skewer or toothpick to spread the glue on the backs of the eyes. If any of the eyes start changing position, you have a little time while the glue sets up, to gently slide them into place.
This is the point where I finished. However, if you want to add glitter to fill in the remaining spaces, read on. You'll be working on top of a paper plate, so any excess glitter is caught.
My daughter mentioned wanting headbands without teeth, as she finds them comfortable to wear. I finally found a few at Dollar Tree, so I bought a few. I'm working on decorating the wide ones, so she'll have something different than her classmates. There is a mix of creep and pretty. For today, this tutorial is for the googly eye headband that I finished yesterday. This is a standard sized headband, which will work for most kids to adults.
A look at the finished headband on me. Also, this is my new hair cut that a friend did for me this week. I'm wearing it to the side currently, which reminds me of Twiggy. I can wear it teased and back too. I'll show you what the styling of this long pixie cut looks like, a different day.
SUPPLIES:
- A wide headband - Mine is from Dollar Tree, and covered in fabric
- A pack of googly eyes - Mine are from Dollar Tree. I used mostly large ones, but the medium and small fill in spaces. You could use all one size, but you'll need more packs to have enough medium or small eyes
- E6000 - Great glue for adhering the eyes to fabric or plastic
- Acrylic paint - My fabric headband was purple, so I painted it black
- A paint brush - For painting the fabric headband
- Wax paper - To protect your work surface
- A sturdy cup - To help support the headband while the eyes are drying
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES:
- A wooden skewer or toothpick - To help apply glue to the small eyes
- Spray paint - If your headband is plastic, and you want to change the color, you'll need to spray paint it. You'll need a color of plastic spray paint, or a plastic spray primer and any color of spray paint
- Fine glitter - Great for filling in the spaces between the eyes. Use one that matches your paint color
- Tulip glitter bond - A special glue for adhereing glitter to fabric
- Mod Podge Gloss - A special glue for adhering glitter to non-pourous surfaces, and sealing glitter
- A plate - To catch the loose glitter
- A spoon - To sprinkle the glitter
- A small paint brush - To carefully apply the glitter bond and the Mod Podge gloss
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Lay down a piece of wax paper to protect your work surface.
2) If your headband is covered in fabric and you want to change the color, paint both the outside and inside with acrylic paint and the brush. If it's plastic and you want to change the color, you'll need spray paint. You can either use a spray paint for plastic or a clear plastic primer and your chosen color of spray paint. Let the headband dry completely before moving on to the next step.
3) After the headband is dried completely, lay out your design a bit across the top of the headband. I used mostly large eyes and staggered them. I tested out a few small and medium eyes around the large eyes. Since my headband is widest at the middle and tapers down to the ends, it was important to work with those angles.
4) I worked from the center top, down. Apply a little glue evenly to the back of the eye for the center top. Quickly place that eye onto the center top, and gently push to secure. Do the same thing for the eyes on either side of the center top.
5) Balance the headband on the sturdy cup, so those eyes will set up.
6) I did all the large eyes in a staggered pattern before applying any of the other sizes. For the sides, I glued them one side at a time, and leaned the headband against the cup as the headband dried.
The large eyes are drying. I had used a paper towel tube inside a glass to help support the headband. Then, realized the glass was the perfect height to support the headband.
7) After all the large eyes were done drying, I applied the smaller eyes in the same manner. Top first, then the sides one at time. If you have trouble applying the glue to the smaller eyes, use the wooden skewer or toothpick to spread the glue on the backs of the eyes. If any of the eyes start changing position, you have a little time while the glue sets up, to gently slide them into place.
This is the point where I finished. However, if you want to add glitter to fill in the remaining spaces, read on. You'll be working on top of a paper plate, so any excess glitter is caught.
8) If your headband is fabric, you'll use Tulip Glitter Bond. If your headband is plastic, you will use Mod Podge Gloss. Dip the small paint brush into the needed glue. Carefully paint the glue onto an open space of the headband.
9) Use a spoon to sprinkle the fine glitter onto the wet glue.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 until all the open spaces are covered with glitter. Use the cup to support the headband while it dries.
10) After the glitter and glue are dry, use a clean small paint brush to paint on a layer of Mod Podge Gloss. This will seal the glitter and prevent it from flaking. Let it dry. Apply another coat. Let dry on the cup, and you are done.
That is all for this headband. I have another variation coming up, which will be perfect for all those holiday parties and past that. You can use this exact tutorial to create your own, or alter it to your needs. Use an old barrette, a thinner headband, a duck clip, colorful eyes, doll eyes, dragon eyes...what every makes you happy. These make great inexpensive gifts for that spooky person in your life. This is something I'd let my daughter wear to school. At this point, her school expects some unusual accessories, and we typically get positive feedback. It doesn't distract the students, because they are used to her having odd accessories occasionally. Tis the season for DIY gifts, so happy makery!
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