self made hairtoys thread

**Mely** · February 1st, 2009, 09:31 PM

You're right, the rayon wouldn't work for a snood since it isn't stretchy. Although, as you say, it would be possible to use elastic in a casing. Or I suppose you could make the band out of a different material than the rest of the snood.

I was hoping to do some sewing this weekend, but I frittered away my time and now it is Sunday night and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I did make one thing this weekend: a hair stick with a squirrel on it. I wish I had some tiny gold acorn beads to add as dangles.

**Sashay** · February 1st, 2009, 09:44 PM

Ooh, I love it. Nice action shot too. Is he just glued up there?

**Mely** · February 1st, 2009, 10:37 PM

He is held on with a pin and a large dob of super glue. He seems very solidly fixed.

**Sashay** · February 1st, 2009, 11:01 PM

I had a feeling it was more than glue. Did the squirrel come with a hole in it, or did you make it yourself?

Here's what I've been up to...

They're drying now. I can't wait to try them out!

**Mely** · February 1st, 2009, 11:07 PM

Very nice! Did you carve the spirals by hand? Post action pics when they are dry!

(the squirrel came with a hole in the bottom--I'd be afraid to try drilling in porcelain for fear it would explode, as the bead that squiggy tried to drill did.)

**Sashay** · February 1st, 2009, 11:13 PM

Sure did! Thank you. It took me about 9 hours between the two, but the second set is going much faster. I'm starting to get the hang of this, and it's really fun, but my arms are getting tired. I'll be sure to post action pics when they're done!

**squiggyflop** · February 2nd, 2009, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Mely

Very nice! Did you carve the spirals by hand? Post action pics when they are dry!

(the squirrel came with a hole in the bottom--I'd be afraid to try drilling in porcelain for fear it would explode, as the bead that squiggy tried to drill did.)

oh yeah that was pretty bad the way it exploded like that.. i only had a small cut but i was all nervious for the rest of the day..

your squirrel is super cute. i think you are going to have to graduate to a longer stick soon because your hair is getting long..

Originally Posted by Sashay

Sure did! Thank you. It took me about 9 hours between the two, but the second set is going much faster. I'm starting to get the hang of this, and it's really fun, but my arms are getting tired. I'll be sure to post action pics when they're done!

be careful.. i wrecked my arm for a week once from the repetitive motion of the carving on some of my pieces.. take breaks and stretch your arms often.. you dont want to end up not being able to use the arm for a week..
those are very nice spirals.. im far too lazy to make spiral sticks anymore.. i just dont have the time.. goodluck on the econd set..

please excuse me my dog is beating me up with his paws.. looks like he wants some attention..

**Sashay** · February 2nd, 2009, 03:56 PM

Oh my! I definitely won't be drilling any beads.

As for the repetitive motion...my fingers are pretty weak and get sore easily, so that's been a pretty good limiter for me. It makes me stop and I've been giving myself mini hand and arm massages to help. But thank you for the warning, my arms have still been getting tired.

(I have to wait for my DH to finish working outside and clean his hands so I can make him take an action pic of my sticks)

Thanks for the compliments, and thanks for the spiral stick tutorial Squiggy. I wouldn't have gotten this far without seeing your example first.

**Sashay** · February 2nd, 2009, 06:08 PM

Ok, action shots!

I just twisted something up and it turned out to be a figure 8 bun

The first picture is fuzzier, but the flash is more diffuse, you can get an idea of the blond tones in the wood.

I think they might be a little long for me right now, but I don't think I'm going to shorten them.

Here they all are together.

They don't yet have that "smooth as glass" finish, but they didn't catch any hairs when I tried them...I think I'm still going to give them another good sand and coat.

**Rohele** · February 2nd, 2009, 09:36 PM

Alright, I've been reading through this thread, and you've all inspired me to give it a go as well

I've got absolutely tools for carving wood, so I've bought some pre-made hairsticks and I'm just going to attach beads to the tops.

I have a question about the headpins used to attach the beads. How rigid should they be? The only ones I can find are fairly thin and bendable. I'm also wondering how far they should go into the sticks to be secure enough? I have about 1/2" of the headpin available (after piling the beads on) to secure inside the stick.

(I'm sorry if these questions have been asked before, I skimmed quickly through some of the pages, and probably missed some information).