Back to School Bows

I have never made hair bows before but my good friend Melinda makes the most adorable ones for her girls. Since her daughter and Carissa are in cheer together this year, Melinda and I decided to make all the cheer girls hair bows. They came out pretty adorable, thanks to Melinda's expertise and a little bit of clumsy work for me. But by doing the bows with her I began to understand a little bit about how they were put together. So one night I sat down and decided to make some bows of my own.

I quickly learned that it would have been easier if I actually had a stash of LONG ribbons, but since I have lots and lots of shorter lengths of ribbon (after all, I only use it for scrapbooking!) I had to make due. Here's what I came up with:

Now each of these bows was made to specifically match an outfit Carissa has. Like these:

I made two little blue and yellow ribbons that are only about 1 1/2" across. These are on tiny ponytail holders. Carissa has taken to wearing her hair in two braids down the side and these can go right on the ends of those braids. Plus they match one of her new fave outfits.

I did find a length of bright pink wired ribbon and pulled a prodded and shaped it into this cool looking flower. It has way more depth in real life, since it's wavy and can be shaped because of the wire. But it's pretty cool and Carissa's new fave.

So there it is, my first foray into bow-making. At the rate Carissa is growing I won't be able to make them for her much longer, but for now they are adorable and so fun!