Gold Duct Tape Flower Headband

I have been admiring all sorts of gold floral headbands online, but can't ever justify getting the real deal. Some of the prices I've seen are upwards of $500 to $800. Real, though not exactly a deal, especially not since I only want them for my 3-year old.

Might as well hack it. Now that Duck Tape brand carries a beautiful shade of gold, it's the perfect medium for this little piece for my little girl. It's as easy as working with paper, yet it is waterproof, won't rip despite being soft, and overall durable. Bonus: it's a craft that she and I can eventually make together, and that she can make herself in a few short years.

I hope you'll try one, or two, or more! The variations are endless. I know I will be making plenty more gold duct tape flower hair accessories for my daughter, there are hundreds of flowers to be made from a single roll!

You'll need:

Gold duct tape

Gold beading wire (I used 28 gauge)

Assortment of beads

Headband

Hole punch (I used 1/16")

Wire cutter

Pliers

Scissors

With some planning, I decided I wanted 3 different styles of flowers for this particular headband design, with no more than 3 layers of petals for each.

Each flower has a beaded pistil at the center and surrounding wired individual petals. Two of the variations (Flowers 1 and 3) have a petal "base", as shown on the diagrams.

I wanted the petals to be varied and random and so I did not make templates out of these sketches, which are more guidelines than specs.

The shapes, sizes, styles, and combinations of beads and petals comprising a single design are infinite and all up to you!

To make the beaded pistil at the center of each flower:

1. Cut desired length of beading wire using a wire cutter. I used approximately 3-inch lengths.

2. Thread a bead through the center of the cut wire.

3. Fold ends together.

4. Use pliers to grip the wire ends together while turning the bead.

5. Continue to turn the bead until the wires are twisted together all the way down to the ends.

I used large pearl buttons (totally regret that I didn't use large pearl beads because pearl buttons have a funky side profile, but these are what's in my craft stash), gold plastic beads, and small pearl beads.

1. Cut desired length of beading wire using a wire cutter, one cut wire per petal. I used approximately 3-inch lengths for the petals.

2. Cut duct tape in manageable lengths (easier to fold without getting misaligned). I cut approximately 6-inch lengths. ***TIP: CUT DUCT TAPE WITH THE STICKY SIDE UP! AND YOUR SCISSORS WILL NEVER BE STUCK OR BECOME A GOOEY MESS.***

3. Place cut wires perpendicular to the duct tape, distancing them by the size of one petal.

4. Carefully align and fold the duct tape in half, sticky sides together, creasing the fold and ensuring there are no bubbles.

5. Cut the individual petals, making sure the wire is centered on each petal.

6. To make the petal base, cut desired length of duct tape. I used no more than 4-inches. Fold in half, sticky sides together, creasing the fold and ensuring there are no bubbles.

7. Cut desired petal base shape.

8. Punch a hole in the center of the petal base shape.

The last three pictures show each flower's combination of pistil, petals, and petal base. Now is the time to multiply and repeat the above steps to cut the number of petals required for the entire project. In my case, I made three of Flower 1, two of Flower 2, four of Flower 3.

1. Place one petal against the pistil and twist the wires together. (Shown on Pics 1 and 2)

2. Add a second petal and twist the wires together. (Pics 3 and 4)

3. Continue adding each petal, one at a time. (Pics 5 and 6)

4. For a flower with a petal base, thread the wire through the petal base and push the petal base up underneath the wired petals. (Pic 7)

5. For Flower 1, using the thumb and forefinger, I curled the petals inwards (concave). (Pic 8)

6. For Flower 2, using the thumb and forefinger, I curled the petals under (convex). (Pic 9)

7. For Flower 3, I threaded the wire through a petal base and also curled the petals under. (Pic 10)

1. Place one flower in desired spot on headband.

2. Fold the wire around the headband. With pliers, pull the wire taught and wrap wire around the base of the flower.

3. Continue to place additional flowers, one by one, per above steps. (Shown on Pics 4-7)

4. Cut a small piece of duct tape (remember to cut with sticky side up!). (Pic 8)

5. Place the piece of duct tape on the headband to cover the wire, to ensure hair does not get caught. (Pic 9)

6. Continue to place pieces of duct tape to cover each wire. (Pic 10)

Now you've got yourself a gold flower headband that will amaze no matter whether or not people realize it's made of duct tape! (But it will amaze more when they do know). ;)