Fascinating Fascinators DIY

My first fascinator

by Elizabeth Van Allen

for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/

On a whim this summer, I decided to make a fascinator.  Of course at that point I had no idea they actually had a name, I just referred to them as those saucy little hat thingies.  Originally I made one to go with a dress I wore to volunteer at a childrens' fancy tea party.  It was being held at the library where my mother works, so of course I had to make one in a different style for her to wear.  Funny enough, fascinator making was one of the activities they had for the kids!  Apparently I'm not alone in my fascination for these little hats.  Maybe that's why they call them fascinators!  

Mom's mini top hat fascinator

Pretty soon I was trying to find an excuse to make another one.  Enter my Fairy Art Mother Halloween costume.  Yay for halloween!  Of course I went crazy coming up with ideas.  Eventually I settled on a painter's palette with other assorted rainbow-colored goodies thrown in there.  I sketched it out and got to work finding my supplies.

Planning my Halloween costume!

Materials:

• Painter's palette- make sure it's the size you want.  I couldn't find one in the right size, so I traced one in the right shape, sized it down, cut it out of cardboard and covered both sides with wood grain contact paper. 
• Crafty crap in assorted colors- that's my general term for the beads, shells, macaroni, sequins, feathers, puzzle pieces etc. that is inevitably in a box somewhere if you have kids, are artsy or are/know a teacher. 
• A sturdy headband that fits your head without slipping OR a pre-made fascinator headband.  Believe it or not, I found mine for cheap at a drug store.
• Ribbon
• Felt



El-cheapo fascinator



Pay close attention
 to step 2!




• Glue gun (of course)

Process:

1. Fit everything together BEFORE you take the tags off.  There's always something that doesn't quite work, even if you planned it out beautifully.
2. Fully assemble any major pieces before attaching them to the headband.  This prevents the burns often associated with the combination of awkward angles and hot glue guns. 
3. Securely attach the major pieces to the headband or base piece.  It's really tempting to break out the glitter and finishing touches, but if your base isn't firmly secured to the headband, it will fall apart before anyone sees it.  You can add a piece of felt under the base and headband to keep your hair from catching on any part of the headpiece.
4. Work from the base up, making sure each piece is attached securely.
5. Make sure that the fascinator is balanced when it's being worn.  If it's too heavy on one side you'll spend the whole time trying to keep it on your head.  Give it a test run for at little while, just to be sure!

The Finished Fascinator