Make Holly Hair Clips for Christmas

What You Need:

• 2 hair clips, available at craft stores – small spring latch clips are used in this example
• 2 pieces of red ribbon, each 2 ½” long x 3/8” wide
• Low-temperature glue gun
• Scissors
• White thread and a needle
• Green felt
• Red felt
• Hole punch
• Glitter glue, optional
• Blue or black felt tip pen

What You Do:

1. Once your child has all of these supplies in front of her, she can begin to assemble her one-of-a-kind hair clips. Start by using a felt tip pen to trace a holly leaf shape onto the green felt. Parents, you can facilitate this step by drawing a paper template of a leaf for your child ahead of time. All your child has to do is trace the template onto the felt and carefully cut it out. Make one leaf per hair clip.
2. Center one piece of ribbon on top of a hair clip, making sure that an even amount of ribbon extends beyond the length of the hair clip on each side. Put a dot of hot glue on one end of the ribbon and fold it over so that it adheres to the underside of the hair clip. Press it between your fingers for several seconds.
3. Repeat Step #2 with the other ribbon.
4. Punch holes in the red felt, three for each hair clip. These are the berries.
5. Glue three red felt berries onto the stem portion of each leaf.
6. Next, thread the needle and sew small stitches down the middle of the green felt leaf, starting at the top of the leaf and sewing down toward the stem. Try to make the stitches an even distance apart from each other. This forms the midrib of the leaf.
7. Tie several knots in the thread and trim it close to the knot.
8. With a strip of hot glue, secure the leaf to the ribbon-covered hair clip. Make sure the leaf is centered on the clip.

Voila! Now that your child has the hang of it, she can make many more customized hair clips in all sorts of styles!