Hakuna Matata Hand Crafted Inspirational Dangler

Back in 1994, when "The Lion King" roared into theaters, I was just 15 years old. One of the things that stuck with me most was that catchy tune, "Hakuna Matata." Sure, I loved singing along, but back then, it was just a fun, carefree phrase. The idea of "no worries" seemed simple – just relax and enjoy life.

It's funny how things come into focus as you get older. Now, I realize "Hakuna Matata" isn't just about blowing off responsibilities. It's about letting go of the little anxieties that can weigh you down. It's a reminder that not every sweat is worth sweating.

That's a life lesson I'm still learning every day. That's why I made this "Hakuna Matata" dangler for my rearview mirror. It's a little nudge to keep things in perspective, a reminder to take a deep breath and focus on the bigger picture. Maybe "Hakuna Matata" isn't about having no worries at all, but about learning which ones truly matter.

Cutting Mat

360 degree protractor

Scissors

Pencil

Art Knife

Beads

Tassels

Card stock - Different shades

Tweezers

Glue

Regular paper

Trace or Print the Words:

• Get a regular sheet of paper and your chosen font (around 1 cm tall and wide). Wide fonts work best for this project. Avoid thin fonts as they'll be trickier to cut later.
• Using your chosen method, trace the words "Hakuna Matata" onto the paper. You can either:
• Trace: Place your font template (printed from computer or lettering stencil) on the paper and carefully trace the letters with a pencil.
• Print: If your handwriting is neat, you can directly write "Hakuna Matata" on the paper in the desired font and size.

Now that you have everything traced and drawn, let's get cutting! Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Cut Out the Letters:

• Grab your art knife and carefully cut out the individual letters "Hakuna Matata" from the white sheet of paper where you traced them. Be patient and precise for clean cuts around the letters.

2. Mark Letters on Colored Cardstock:

• Take your black and white cardstock circles. Don't cut out the circles yet!
• Place the cut-out letters "Hakuna Matata" on top of separate black and white circles. Make sure the letters are centered within their respective circles.
• Using a pencil, carefully trace around the outer edges of each letter onto the black and white cardstock. This will give you a guide for cutting out the letters later.

3. Cut Out the Letters in Cardstock:

• Now that you have the letters marked on the black and white cardstock, carefully cut them out using your art knife. Remember, since these are within the circles, take your time and make sure you stay within the traced lines.

4. Cut Out the Circles:

• Finally, it's time to cut out the actual circles!
• Pick up your black, white, and yellow cardstock.
• Using your scissors or art knife, carefully cut out the circles you drew earlier on each colored sheet.

Remember: Don't cut out the circles entirely first and then try to cut the letters within them. It's much easier to cut out the letters within the circles on the cardstock before separating the circles themselves.

We've got our cutouts ready, now let's assemble them into our dangler! Here's how:

1. Assemble the Letter Discs:

• Grab your yellow cardstock circles. These will be the base for our "Hakuna Matata" discs.
• Take your cut-out black letters "Hakuna Matata."
• Apply glue to the back of each letter (the side without pencil markings).
• Carefully position each letter onto a separate yellow cardstock circle, centering them as much as possible. Press gently to secure the bond.

2. Add Black and White Backing:

• Now, we'll create a two-sided effect for the discs.
• Take your cut-out white letters "Hakuna Matata."
• Apply glue to the back of each white letter.
• Find the corresponding yellow circle with the black letter already attached.
• Carefully flip the yellow circle over, and position the white letter (with glue) on the back, directly opposite the black letter on the front. Essentially, you're creating a sandwich with the yellow circle in the center and a black letter on one side and a white letter on the other. Press gently to make sure everything sticks together well.

3. Brown Cardstock Circles:

• This step adds an optional 3D effect to your dangler.
• You'll need brown cardstock cut into strips 8 mm wide.
• There are two ways to approach this:
• Pre-cut Circles: Cut out small circles from the brown cardstock strips. These circles should be slightly larger than your yellow letter discs. The purpose is to create a brown ring that goes around the edge of the disc.
• Wrap-around Strips: Alternatively, you can skip pre-cutting circles and directly use the brown cardstock strips.
• Whichever method you choose, here's how to attach them:
• Pre-cut circles: Apply glue to the back of each brown circle. Carefully position the circle around the edge of a yellow letter disc, ensuring it overlaps the black and white letters slightly on the sides. Press gently to secure it. Repeat for all discs.
• Wrap-around strips: Apply glue to one end of a brown cardstock strip. Carefully wrap the strip around the edge of a yellow letter disc, covering the sides and overlapping the black and white letters a bit. Once you've wrapped around the entire circle, secure the end of the strip by gluing it to the glued starting point. Repeat for all discs.

Tip: Whichever method you choose for the brown cardstock, make sure the glue doesn't touch the areas where the letters show through the yellow circle. You want the letters to be clearly visible.

1. Cut Cardstock Strips:

• Cut several strips of cardstock in various colors like red, orange, and green. The width of the strips will depend on the size of the flower you want to create. For the flower in the image, the strips look like they are about 8 mm wide.

2. Roll Petal Strips:

• Take the red and orange cardstock strips and roll each one to create a coil shape. You can use a tweezer to help tighten the roll as you go.
• Once rolled, secure the end of the roll with glue. These rolled strips will be your flower petals.

3. Green Center Coil:

• Take your green cardstock strip and roll it similarly to create a central coil. This will serve as the base of your flower where you will attach the petals.

4. Attach Petals:

• Apply glue to the base of a rolled petal (red or orange).
• Secure it to the green central coil. Alternate colors as you add more petals, attaching them around the base of the green coil in a circular fashion, until you have filled the center coil completely.

5. Assemble the Dangler:

• You can now refer to the previous steps on how to create the Hakuna Matata discs (yellow circles with black letters on one side and white letters on the other).

6. Colorful Paper Strips:

• Cut strips of colorful paper in various colors. You can use leftover cardstock or construction paper for this.

7. Create a Base Circle:

• Begin layering the colorful paper strips by gluing them around the flower you created. You can stack multiple layers to create a thicker base, as shown in the image.

Assembly -

Now that our flower, base and letter discs are ready, lets assemble them.

Stick each letter disc to the created flower base. Apply a good amount of glue on both sides of the letter discs and attach them to the floral circle and the next letter disc. Continue doing this for both the words with Hakuna being on top and Matata being at the bottom.

The next step is to wait till the entire dangler has properly dried. Once thats done, go ahead and add the thread or ribbon to the top as shown so it can dangle over your rear view mirror and a tassel at the bottom.

And you're done! Our beautiful and inspiring dangler is ready!