prince – Elizabeth Smillie

making mini crowns

July 31, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Yesterday I showed you how I made the pretty little crown for Emma Grace’s birthday {and she still keeps it in her dress-up box. After over 6 months of wear, I’m kind of impressed by how sturdy card stock can be!} and then mentioned that I had another darling little DIY tutorial up my sleeve :)

One of the “crowning” touches to E. G.’s party was the little tiny tiara that I made to grace the number “4” I had made from pink paper to hang over the table. It was so cute, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away when I took down the rest of the princess things, and now it’s sitting on top of a Winnie the Pooh figurine in the kids’ room. {It’s the little touches that make a room (and a party), you know :)}

After walking by it, day after day for months, it occurred to me that the tiny crown would be perfect for a baby shower, too. Or a first birthday, a Quinceanera, a Sweet Sixteen, gracing the top of your jewelry stand or a birthday package, um, the list goes on and on :) And these little things are so easy to make, too! Ready to see how?

materials: scissors, ruler {optional – you can also just eyeball it}, glittery paper, hole punch, narrow ribbon {I used about 7″, but the length is up to you} starting with a 4″ by 3/4″ {or so} piece of paper, bring the ends together to form a circle.Punch two small holes where the ends overlap, thread the ribbon through these holes and tie a pretty little bow. Next, make the little triangles on the top of the crown with your scissors – because the crown is so small I just freehanded these, but you could measure if you want :) And there you have it! A darling little tiara for …. whatever you’d like!

I think Winnie the Pooh is enjoying wearing it, don’t you?

Tell me, what would you use this tiny darling for?

I’m sharing this at the Vintage Farmhouse <3

how-Tuesday: DIY Birthday Crowns

July 30, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Today’s promised how-Tuesday: DIY Birthday Crowns! Do you remember the princess party that Emma Grace requested? Well, I realized that I had never shown you how I made her darling Birthday Crown {and, since I’m kind of on a birthday theme at the moment, now is the perfect time to change that, right?}!

Too cute, isn’t it?! Now, let’s get started:materials: mid to heavy weight card stock in size 8 1/2″x11″ or larger {I used white for these so my kiddos could color them, but you can use any color you wish! For E.G.’s birthday I used a gold glittered paper}, ruler, pencil, scissors, hole punch, ribbonstep one: with your paper in the “portrait” position {so that it’s facing the “tall” way}, draw a line down the middle {4 1/4″ from the edge} and then cut along this line. You will now have two 4 1/4″x11″ pieces.step two: find your middle point on one long edge of the paper {at 5 1/2″} and make a small dot. Then, measuring from this same edge, measure 2″ toward the middle and lay your ruler along this 2″ line. Make a dot on this line at the 2″, 4″, 7″ and 9″ marks.

Now it gets just a bit more fun … you get to play connect the dots! Draw lines connecting the corners on the long edge with the dots you’ve just made, forming a series of ……triangles along what is now the top edge of your crown.Step three: cut along this line. It’s beginning to take shape! step four: punch two holes on each end of the crown, about an inch apart. step five: cut 2 lengths of ribbon, each about 18″ long and thread a piece through the holes of one end {like in the photo} and it to itself so that one side has a knot and the other … …looks like this. Repeat for the opposite end. Now, at this point you can either be finished or you can pass it on to a child and allow them to decorate it to their heart’s content :) This cutie modeled her party crown again as she colored her new, custom decorated by her tiara.So intent on her work!Tada! Wouldn’t it be a sweet party activity to decorate your own crown? Maybe with feathers, glitter and sequins, too? I think a little one {or several} would be just over the moon with these!