If you have read my recent review of my daughter's Stun floral dress, then you may have already seen her proudly showing off her pink and purple ribbon barrette that I created for her using the My Ribbon Barrette Maker (from the creators of the My Friendship Bracelet Maker and the new My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler). This well-designed award-winning product is recommended for children ages 6 and older, so I was the one who had the privilege of testing it out, while our 5 year old daughter reaped the benefits. Although she would have understood the simple steps involved in making a ribbon barrette, it does take more care and patience than a 5 year old would have. For example, much care must be taken to make sure the ribbon is not twisted and that there are no gaps in the weave.The My Ribbon Barrette Maker is designed to store all your supplies, as well as be the extra pairs of hands you need to create a beautiful barrette. To get you started, it comes stocked with 16 ribbons, 128 beads, and 8 barrettes. The work area doubles as a lid that slides into place to cover your supplies, making this kit very portable for your child's next long car trip or rainy vacation day.
(Click any photo to enlarge)
Making a ribbon barrette is as easy as following these simple steps . . .
1. Place an open barrette in the holder.
2. Select 2 different colors of ribbon and tie it to the top of the barrette, knotting it on the underside, while making sure the length of the ribbons on each side are similar.
3. Slide the 4 strands of ribbon into the clearly marked slots, the first color into slots 1L and 1R and the second color into slots 2L and 2R.
4. Feed the ribbon from slot 1L downward through the center of the barrette, pulling it taut and sliding it into slot 3R. Do the same with the ribbon in slot 1R, then slide it into slot 3L. Repeat this with the second color of ribbon from slots 2L and 2R, inserting those into slots 4R and 4L. If you have done this correctly, you should see an alternating pattern of color.
5. Move the ribbon from slot 3L to 1L, the ribbon from slot 3R to 1R, the ribbon from slot 4L to 2L, and the ribbon from slot 4R to 2R.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until your barrette is completely covered. Then double-knot the ribbon to secure the weave in place.
7. Select which beads you would like to tie onto the ends of the four strands of ribbon. (Remember that too many beads might make the barrette heavy and cumbersome.) Then trim the end of each ribbon at a slant to make it easier to feed them through the beads.
8. When deciding on the length of the ribbons, the longest one should be no longer than the child's hair. The rest of the ribbon lengths should be staggered. Once the desired lengths have been determined, simply tie a single knot in the ribbon to keep the beads from sliding off and trim the ribbon about 1/8" from the knots.
I made this barrette to match my daughter's Easter dress. I look forward to making more where she can choose the colors. I think these would also be fun for her to give to some of her friends at school just like giving friendship bracelets.
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In keeping with the theme of friendship, the Choose Friendship Company launched an anti-bullying campaign earlier this year with this music video of the song "Inside Out" (sung by Marisa Nahas) promoting friendship and how one person can start a chain reaction to stop bullying.
