Okay, please tell me there are other creative mammas out there who may have possibly made too many bows for their sweet little girls….and now are stuck with nowhere to put them?! Come on raise your hand!! I know I’m not alone here!! Emma Grace has really thin hair and this cute side swipe thing going on so she still needs a bow to keep her hair tucked behind her ears. So, I admit it…I have a problem with hair bows!
I quickly became tired of having piles of bows all over the place so I knew I needed to come up with a solution. You see my daughter is a little vain and likes to check herself out in the mirror in the mornings after she puts her bows in. So I thought it would be fun to make her a little spot to hold all of those bows and make sure she is looking fabulous! I think it was a success, what about you?
Supplies:
- Picture Frame
- Mirror (to match opening of picture frame)
- Ric Rac or Ribbon
- Serger, Fray Check or a Lighter {to finish ends of ric rac}
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Staple Gun
- Picture Hanger (if your frame does not have a hanger)
My hubby and I have been playing around with making some cute frames for my daughter’s room and this project was the perfect excuse to use one! If you are going to be using this style holder for a younger child, you might want to consider using a plastic mirror rather than a glass mirror for safety reasons. Since my little girl is only two years old, a glass mirror was out of the question for us. I searched high and low and found that it is really difficult to find not only plastic mirrors to fit photo frames but plastic frames as well without ordering them online. I was able to find a large piece of plastic replacement mirror for cars that you can find at your local auto parts store or super store in the automotive section. It was super easy to work with! All you have to do is measure the size of your picture frame opening, cut it and pop it right into place!
Now you will need to cut your ribbon or ric rac to the length you would like. I love this big chunky ric rac for holding hair bows! I have used it in the past to hold my daughter’s bows because the inside curves are a natural place to hold your bows to keep things neat. Plus the thick texture of the ric rac also helps keep the bows in place and prevents them from slipping.
Next, take one of your largest bows as well as one of your average size bows and clip them to your ric rac so you can judge about the distance apart your strips need to be. If you would like, use a piece of tape to hold the ric rac in place while you decide how far apart you want the ric rac.
Flip the frame over and staple the ric rac into place.
TIP: Make sure to finish the ends of the ric rac or they will unravel like CRAZY! I used my serger to serge the ends, but if you do not have a serger, you could fold the ends up and sew it in place. Or try fabric glue, a lighter, or even fray check to finish the ends.
One thing to consider is, some unfinished frames at the craft store do not have hangers on the back. So you may need to add one yourself. With all of the frames I’ve made lately, I’ve become a pro at this and thought I would share some quick tips with you!
First, you will need to mark where your hanger will need to go. As long as your frame is symmetrical on all sides, you should be able to measure and find the middle of the width and make a mark. Now measure the height from the opening to the top and find the mid point. Where these two points meet is where the center of your hanger will need to go.
The hangers I use are super helpful because there is actually a little dot in the middle of the hanger already there to mark the midpoint!
Those little nails are tricky tricky to hold in place to hammer. So grab a pair of pliers and they make the job a breeze. Hold your nails in and hammer away!
Now you have a frame that is ready to hang!
Now that your frame is ready to hang that means…you’re done! So quick and easy!!! What I love about this project is that you can personalize it any way you want to fit your style. The curvy and funky frame I used matched the style of my daughter’s nursery. But maybe you like classic straight lines? Go for it and grab a frame that matches your style!
I wanted to hang her mirror right at her height so she can check herself out and since I didn’t want her bows to hit all the way to the floor her ric rac measured right about 22″ long.
But then I quickly realized….I still had more bows left over. Yepp, I told you had a problem!! So I cut one more strand to add onto my frame. Once all of the bows are on there I realized it was a little excessive!
If you are not going to fill it up completely, it looks nice. But with as many bows as my daughter has, I think I would definitely use a larger 5″x7″ frame so that it didn’t look so small compared to the large mass of bows!
I love how it turned out! It’s fun and funky and let me tell you my daughter was super excited when she woke up from her nap and I hung it up for her! My favorite part was was finally being able to use the picture frames I’ve been working on for so long. I started by hand sketching the silhouette and went through a dozen variations before I decided on this exact profile and I LOVE how it turned out. It is always so satisfying to be able to see all your hard work turn out just like you imagined it! If you love my frame too feel free to stop by my Etsy shop and request a custom order!
How do you organize your sweet little girl’s stash of bows? Do you have an obsession with making fun new flower bows all the time like me?
jRoxDesigns 