I’ve been so giddy about this What I’m Makin’ Monday since I came up with the idea to make this a few weeks ago. I had been looking for a way to organize my daughter’s hair bows. She has dozens and dozens of headbands not including the flowers and clippies that go on them. Until now I’d been tossing them in a bin on her dresser, and while it’s somewhat organized, I have to dump the entire bin out to find what I want each day.

I wanted some kind of organizer like a necklace holder. I remembered seeing a jewelry tree before and it clicked… How about I make a headband tree!

I read this tutorial which proved to be slightly helpful, but not totally, because we don’t have the same stores here that carried the same supplies (like manzanita tree branches). None of the craft stores I called carried those. I could order some online but I opted to go the hood route and rip a branch one off an unsuspecting tree for Free 99.

So here’s what I used:
-Tree branch(es) trimmed down to the size I wanted
-Flower pot
-Craft paint
-Primer (optional)
-Quikrete (cement)

1. After ripping the branch off the tree I brought it inside to dry out a few days. Then I broke the branches off to the sizes I wanted, and sanded them down.

2. I had a little primer left over from a previous project and tried to prime the branches, but it ran out about half way through so I gave up on that idea. I don’t think it’s crucial… But I’ll let you know if my paint starts chipping in a few weeks.

3. I grabbed some copper craft paint I had left over from her mobile project and used it to paint the branches. I did two coats and let it dry.

4. Lil’ J and I went to the store to find some kind of mold for this project, but Home Depot said I should go to Michael’s for the “plaster” I was asking for. But instead of loading her back in her car seat and across the street and out again I decided to get some quikrete (just add water stuff). The smallest size they had was a 60 pound bag. Luckily it was only $2.13, so I didn’t feel so bad. My husband still freaked out wondering why I had a huge bag of concrete in the car and rolled his eyes when I told him it was a craft project.

Anyway…

5. I poured the concrete in the flower pot and stuck the sticks in. I added too much water, poured it out, and let it dry. Then I added a little more to stabilize it more, and left it outside to dry more.

6. When I brought it all inside I touched up some spots I saw I missed painting and let that dry.

7. Add the hair bows, and TADA!!!!

What do you think? Are you impressed? I hope so! This whole project cost me about $6 since I already had the paint. I just got a $3 pot and some concrete and BAM! Fabulous hair bow organizer! It’s easy to see and grab which bow I want for the day.

I still have another dozen or so plain-colored headbands still in her bin. I decided I’d just hang the pretty boutique ones on her tree.

*note* I made sure to pick a branch with lots of little twigs coming off so I don’t put too many bows on one branch, requiring me to pull several off the same branch to get to one.