DIY Hair Ties and a Giveaway!

So, this started about 6 weeks ago when Whitney and I went to get our hair cut (yeah, we usually get haircuts together, so what?) and she told me about the awesome hair ties / headbands that the hairdresser sold on the side. Yeah, I’m a sucker, because we bought some.

Why?

To figure out how to copy them, of course!

I was on my phone googling “how to make hair ties” as soon as I sat down in the car. (For all you texting/driving freaks, SHE was driving, so calm down) We went straight to Joann’s to find some of the elastic so we could make our own. Yeah, well, we had to search for it, and they only had 3-4 colors of it and they were in multipacks. Oh yes, they were also expensive, all things considered. I mean, come on, it’s only elastic. Put it in some cutesy special packaging and mark it up 500%! Duh!

I had to order it online. I will admit, I was a tad bit upset about this because I was motivated to make them right then and I had to tap the brakes. The tutorial I used (if you could even call it that, because if we’re keeping it real, all you’re really doing is cutting elastic to size and tying a knot in it) can be found here, but since then I found another blog that I really love – that will be a whole ‘nother post in itself.

So here is the RCHOTX tutorial on how to tie a knot in a piece of elastic. Enjoy!

Materials:

Foldover elastic (I used 1/2″, the tutorials say to use 5/8″ – next time I will order 5/8″ but this works just fine and I have thick hair)

Ruler

Scissors

Fingers and thumbs

Lighter

1. Cut a piece of elastic approximately 8 1/2″ long. (I ordered mine from Sunshine Shoppe, but it is very widely available on Etsy as well.)

2. Fold it in half, pretty side facing out. (The elastic I ordered had a matte side and a shiny side – I like shiny, so I had the shiny side facing out. If there is a pattern on it, you obviously want that side facing out)

3. Tie it in a knot, leaving a little bit on the end. Cut the end at an angle. Why? ‘Cause I said to. And it looks better.

4. Light it on fire. (No, I’m serious. Get a lighter and burn the ends of the ribbon. It will keep it from fraying. No one wants to be seen with a frayed hair tie. Come on now!) Also, I had to buy lighters, and I’m 99.9% sure that the Target Lady was judging me for it. Crafters need lighters too!

I went a little crazy with the foldover elastic, of course. Because I am a craft hoarder, I am going to share the hair ties with YOU. Well, two of you.

Alllllllll you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what your favorite post of ours is. It’s just that easy, dudes. You can go all the way back to last July if you want to. Oh, and you might want to make sure you leave an email in the comment in case you win.

The giveaway is for TEN (count ’em, TEN) random, assorted hair ties made by yours truly.  I will choose TWO winners, and I will even mail them to you. Can’t get any better than that. I will let random.org pick our two winners, and I will email you as well as post it here on the ol’ blog, so pay attention! It starts as soon as you see this post and ends at 6:00 Texas time Sunday night (3/24/13), so it’s a quick one. One entry per person, please!

Oliver is my late night craft supervisor, and he approves of this giveaway.

Good luck! Remember, the giveaway ends at 6:00 Texas time (yes, that’s a thing).