DIY Floral Headband

You might've already seen this headband in my biking post. I wore it in Belize and I promised I would share the DIY (even though no one asked for it) so here it is, complete with unnecessary backstory and a few narcissistic photos.

Months ago, I saw a floral headband with giant poppies from Topshop (sold out now so I can't link to it) and I wanted it so badly but I couldn't justify the $40 price tag. So, what did I do? I did what I always do - I decided to make one. It took me a while to actually make it because I had a hard time finding the right faux flowers to use. I visited a few stores but couldn't find ones that looked great but also fit my budget because believe it or not, faux flowers can be quite expensive - especially the well-made silk ones.


Eventually, I found some flowers that were quite cheap ($1 for a big bundle from Christmas Tree Shops) but still looked pretty and not terribly tacky. They sat in the corner of my room for a few weeks collecting dust until I decided that I wanted to wear a pretty floral headpiece in Belize.

You'll need:
artificial flowers*
ribbon
elastic
scissors
hot glue
**You could do this with fresh flowers too for a special occasion but they wouldn't last quite as long as a headband made with artificial flowers

Start by removing the flowers from the plastic stems but be v. careful not to let them fall apart. Most of the fake flowers I've dealt with have a wider plastic stem at the base that can be pulled off of the actual stick-like stems, if that makes any sense. Just give your flowers a pull to see if you can pop them off. Once they're popped off, trim off the bottoms leaving about 1/8" of plastic stem still in tact. And of course if the flowers you're using won't pop off the plastic stem, just trim with scissors.

Next, trim your ribbon to fit around your head completely and then trim off 4". Cut a piece of elastic that's 4" long. Now, start gluing the flowers to the ribbon. Space them out evenly and do your best to make sure to overlap them enough so the ribbon won't show through.

Trim little 1" pieces of ribbon and glue them perpendicular to the main ribbon just to secure the flowers in place and make sure they won't fall off.

Glue each end of the ribbon to the elastic. Use another 1" piece of ribbon to glue around the joint where the elastic and the main piece of ribbon meet. This makes it look prettier and also adds a bit of security.

Last step is to try it on, make sure it fits, and marvel at your own work. I felt like a forest nymph. Or something. By the way, if you're wondering, my eyeshadow is 'woodwinked' by Mac, blush is 'orgasm' by Nars, bronzer is 'baked' by Urban Decay, contour bronzer is the chocolate soleil matte bronzer by Too Faced, and highlighter is 'amber diamond' by Dior.

I actually ended up using some of the leaves from the flower bundle to cover up most of the ribbon. I thought it looked prettier and also made it a bit more "natural" and hippie-ish. Don't glue any leaves to the elastic part though, because it needs to be able to stretch and fit your head.

I decided to make a headband for my dog too, with the leftover leaves. I think George Michael felt lovely and glamorous too. Or not.

Happy crafting.

xoxo.