Behind the magic!

Everyone wants to be a princess!

So this weekend was THE weekend I got to dress up as Rapunzel again! My awesome friend had a Disney themed 30th birthday party so we all made a big effort with our outfits! I’ve been Rapunzel before but I wanted to do the flower plait hair this time. Everyone loved it and it was actually quite easy to do. If you fancy having a go yourself – read on!

What do you need?

• I used two and a half sets of clip in extensions but the half was for the plait detail so two is enough if that’s easier/cheaper!
• extra clips to go on the top clip in section, just so there’s more to hold on to your hair. I didn’t feel the usual 4-5 was enough.
• Bobbles and grips! Lots of grips! I used one normal bobble to secure the second set of clip ins to the top. Some clear thin bobbles to tie the small plaits at the end
• Artificial flowers/Paper flowers. I do have lots hanging around in my studio so I didn’t need to buy any in. You can get cheap daisies from eBay and the rest of the flowers were from cheap corner shops.
• I also used some fabric glue and florist wire to add the smaller flowers and wrap around the hair to secure or add on to a grip.

I have a box full of different blonde clip in extensions so I had a few to work with. I washed them up as these were older ones. I usually use a fabric conditioner to wash them as they aren’t human hair (also makes them smell amazing!)

I wasn’t sure how many I was going to use. I only ended up using two, it was already getting pretty heavy at that point anyway!

For the plaits I cut off a strip of hair with the clip on and plaited it. It was then clipped and sewn onto the top of the hair extensions. Only two were needed as I only used to sets of extensions.

Now it’s time to do the big plait!

I clipped the second set of extensions around the bottom and also secured it with a bobble. A daisy will conveniently be placed over the join so I didn’t need to worry about making it look nice and neat. I realised this after several attempts!

Originally, I was going to have it all plaited. But it got quite thin at the bottom and I looked at adding another set of extensions but it really added to the wait and I hadn’t even added the flowers yet! So I did choose comfort instead of costume correct-ness :(

 Oh, and I also added LIGHTS! They were small micro LED lights with a small battery pack that only has two watch batteries inside. I made a little pouch under the hair to hold to battery pack and also so I could turn it on and off.

Next it was just time to add the flowers!

                          

Feel free to get in touch with any questions or ideas!

Neon Wings - The How To

Here is a little behind the scenes look on how we make our feather wings. These ones were custom made for a customer to match her rainbow rave tutu. A lot of time and effort goes into these as each feather is glued on individually. 

Always helps to have some good music on while you work and who better to listen to than Katy Perry when you're working on rainbow wings that wouldn't look out of place in one of her concerts? (I can dream, right??)

I just stick to a standard shape for our wings right now but you could easily make these up in any shape, size or style to match your theme. I do have to watch how big I make them to keep postage costs down for my customers but if you're making them from home for yourself you could go crazy! 

It's best to draw one half of your desired shape on some card so you can then cut it out and draw around it so both sides are the same. Don't worry about having any lines on the card as you won't be able to see them once the feathers are on.

So after it's been cut out we need to make slots on each side so we can insert some straps to enable them to be worn. I've used thin elastic here so they're not too visible but I've also used elasticated sequin trim or you could use ribbon or even dress net. It's always worth checking where abouts the slots would be best placed to fit you. Could always get someone to help with this bit to get the perfect fit!!

Now, cover the straps on the back in some tape for extra hold. 

I start adding the feathers from the bottom so it's a realistic 'angel wing' look. I usually paint some glue over the space where I'll be adding the feathers as well as on the top of the feathers. Try not to get too much glue on the bottom ends of the feathers so they're quite free and still quite 3D

Now the feathers need to be layered so you can't see the card through them. As long as you've got a good base to layer the other colours on top then it will be fine.

It's up to you how much space you leave between colours/rows 

It's slow going in parts but keep going and....

ta-daa!

Rainbow Wings

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                                   email me at thetutufactory@hotmail.co.uk

Inside The California Gurl

Well, that's it! I've completed my Katy Perry California Gurl outfit! Just got to see if I've got the guts to wear it out now! This post will have pics of the process and up close and personal ones to show the detail.

This is how the corset looked before I worked on it. One of the cheapest on ebay which is always good!



corset before I start work on it



Then I cut out candy cane shapes from pink stripe fabric (you could use red, I just love pink) and covered the pink stripes in pink glitter.



The Beginning

Then I printed out some images of sweets, lollipops and unicorns onto printable fabric and glued onto the corset. I then painted glue over the top to keep from running if it rains (probably in England) or spill my drink (also very likely) 



Before the sparkles!





Let the sparkling commence!!



So now all I need is the Katy Perry California Gurl loveheart headband! Luckily I already make those anyway and they're really easy to make and great to add to a fancy dress outfit!

Cut a loveheart out of card or cardboard, as long as it's quite thick and not too bendy. Cut a hole in the middle and basically all you need to do is get some strips of net and thread it through the hole and around the loveheart. You can do multi coloured, two colours or just a block colour. Best to leave any birds in the cage as they don't help the process! Once you've come to the end of your piece of net tie it in a knot onto what will be the 'back' of your love heart. You can always cover the knots up later



Rocco likes to help out



If you're doing a multi coloured one sometimes the colours might not look great together half way through but keep going, once you've got all your colours added it will come together! It can be pretty slow going the first time but you'll get the hang of it. You can add as many layers as you like, there's no wrong way of doing this.

And voila, that's your heart! Slide a headband down the side of some of your strips, glue it in place so it doesn't wobble and there you have your very own Katy Perry Califronia Gurl headband!



Katy Perry Headband