Jewelry Lovers

Barrettes are part of the official uniform for childhood for just about every girl with long hair. Many girls take great pride in coordinating their barrettes with their outfits. Help them out by customizing prefab barrettes to wear and share. Buy plain barrettes at your local drug or discount store and decorate them with your personal style.

Glittery Bugle Bead Barrettes

This project is easy for kids of all ages. Choose bead colors to coordinate with an outfit or a school spirit day.

Tools and Materials

Paint brush

Paper plate or shallow dish

Selection of glittery bugle beads (you’ll need enough to create a shallow layer of beads in the paper plate)

2 autoclasp style barrettes with flat face, any size

Clear-drying craft glue

1. Spread the beads on the paper plate.
2. Paint the barrette face with craft glue.
3. Dip the barrette, glue side down, into the beads. Continue dipping the barrette into the beads until the beads cover the entire surface. Press the beads into place, as necessary.
4. Take care not to glue the clasp shut. Keep the glue only on the flat face of the barrette. If you accidentally glue the clasp, wipe the glue off while it’s still wet.

Let glue dry entirely before wearing. Enjoy your sparkly new barrette!

For a variation, use tiny seed beads and contour clip barrettes. For best results, open the barrette before applying glue. Keep it open until the glue dries completely.

Polymer Clay Tie-Dye Barrette

Polymer clay is one of the most versatile jewelry-making media used today. It’s great for kids and adults to work with. This project is an excellent way to use up bits of clay of different colors. Because there’s no set design, kids of any age can create them with ease. I used the extra clay left over from my speckled cane project.

Tools and Materials Clay roller

Oven

Glass baking dish

1/4ounce polymer clay in each of three colors (I used yellow, purple, and green.)

2 autoclasp barrettes with a flat face

1. Preheat oven according to the directions on your clay package.

2. Condition each color of clay separately. Clean your hands between each color.

3. Roll each color into a snake. Twist the snakes together.

4. With the colors barely mixed, roll the clay into a sheet about one-quarter of an inch thick. Place your barrette face down on the clay sheet. Trim around the barrette. Press the edges of the clay onto the barrette face and onto the top of the barrette. Repeat with second barrette.

5. Bake your barrettes in an oven-safe glass container according to the package directions. Cool them completely before wearing.

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Decorating Barrettes, make them your own