Cute As Buttons

NOW that my hair is considerably long by my standard, the styling options are endless. I'm delighted that I could, for the first time in my life, braid my hair! French, Dutch, Fishtail, Waterfall, Five-Strand braids. You name it, I learn them all on YouTube and practice on my life-size Barbie, Mek Zhin. Additionally, hair accessories like bands, hair vines and fancy pins are also catching my fancy. On the flip side, some of these things can be so dear given the materials used and its workmanship. For an example, a simple hair vine at Evita Peroni costs something like USD 170. Ridiculous. Some pearls and beads woven through wires. How difficult can that get? So I decided to take matters into my own hands! 

I had some fresh-water pearls and some shiny, black bicones. I wish I also had some diamantees to spice it up a little but the black and white combo is quite classy on its own. Using a long strand of clear nylon string, folded into two, I put in the pearls. The challenge was in keeping the irregular shaped pearls in place through the string and since I haven't beaded in such a long time, I was running out of patience by the second! It can be quite frustrating but I needed a pretty band. Alternating pearls with bicones, I made sure the beadwork was at least 13-inches long so it ended just below the earlobes. Securing the ends with crimp beads, I connected jump rings before connecting them with a black elastic band. 

It can be worn like this. I love the way it sits on
Priya's crown. 

I also love buttons. Colourful, cute buttons in different shapes and sizes make a pretty strand of hairband too and I was lucky to have found some nice, plastic buttons (pics below) to work with while in Bangkok. 

I used a thin wire for this project. It's easier to work with wires as compared to nylon strings as they give you better control over your beads. I began by arranging the buttons in a row so I like the mix of shapes and colours. Leaving about 8-inches of wire, I slipped the first button into the wire through the hole and pulled it taut on the opposite hole. I continued in this pattern for the next button and repeated the process until I had a 14-inch string of button cuteness. I finished off by looping the end wire into the last button on both sides before twisting the rest into jump rings and connecting the ends with an elastic band. Love it although it would be nice to have the buttons in different sizes as well! 

A little playful. I use it to hold back hair from my face
when I have the back on a braid or pony tail.