First Post! & DIY Lace Cat Ears for Halloween ✌

I've recently come to the conclusion that one creative way to endure my (typically) droll life is to blog. Since Tumblr serves as a virtual inspiration board for me, I sought a more structured/ mature medium in which to share my projects, product reviews, and personal tidbits. Admittedly, I am a person who probably cares far too much about the aesthetics of my environment; as a result I spend a lot of money on needless things as well as a lot of time on little crafty upcycling projects. Now I've established a place to exhibit the 'fruits of my labor' without clogging up Facebook feeds or annoying my Tumblr followers that only want to see reblogged photos from fashion magazine editorials. So that's that and here's me, uninhibited and uncensored.

All Hallow's Eve is right around the corner and I chose to get hot glue on my fingernails and clippings all over the table rather than purchase pre-made accessories. That's a partial lie considering I did buy an American Apparel bodysuit as part of my costume, however I did create my ears from scratch. I snapped some quick photos throughout the process in case anyone wanted to try their hand at lace cat ears as well :o) They turned out rather spectacular!

DIY Lace Cat Ears

I needed some ears for Saturday night and I saw these on ASOS (so precious, I know), but due to their seemingly simplistic structure I felt more inclined to make them myself.

Here's what you'll need:

~ thin black ribbon  (at least 3 ft for one set)

~ black plastic headband

~ black duct tape (highly suggest the 3/4 in. width)

~ florist wire
~ 1/8th of a yard of black lace

~ hot glue gun (not pictured)

~ black sharpie (not pictured)

Step 1:

 Create the shape of the ear that you want with the wire- it can be any size you'd like. Cut two pieces of wire equal in length based on the ear shape you've created (I have four shown here because I was making two pairs of ears). but be sure to leave an extra inch and a half of wire on either end (my ears had a perimeter of about  5 1/2 inches with 1 1/2 inches at either end for a total length of 8 1/2 in). 

Step 2: 

Cover the outstretched pieces of wire with a strip of duct tape to thicken them and to provide support for the ear shape. Leave the the 1 1/2 in tails on either end uncovered. This was a bit tricky but I figured out that pinching the tape around the wire continuously allowed for a tighter and more even wrap.

Step 3:

Get your gluing station ready! First, reshape your cat ears and bend the uncovered wire ends at 90 degree angles as if to create upstanding prongs. Also, cut out small squares of lace for each ear.

Step 4:

Put a dab of glue at the peak of the ear as well as the bottom two corners at the junction of the covered wire and uncovered prongs. Press the shape down onto a square of lace. Once it dries, cut around the wire leaving a centimeter margin of lace at the sides and a 5 centimeter margin at the bottom. I don't show the next step, but place hot glue around the back of the wire and fold over the excess centimeter of lace to completely cover the exposed wire ear shape. 

Step 5:

To give you a more clear representation of how to attach the ears to the band, I took a photo of the shape without the lace or tape covering it. The prongs were left so you could use them to wrap around the band and connect the ears to them. Make sure both ears are placed an equidistance away from the top center of the band (I counted the little inner teeth from the bottom of each side to ensure congruence). I covered the exposed wire that was wrapped around the band with pieces of duct tape. Don't want any rough edges rubbin on your head!

Step 6: 

Once the ears are attached, pull the extra 5 centimeters of lace at the bottom of the ear down and over the inside part of the headband so the lace within the wire frame is taut. Apply hot glue over the material that is pressed against the plastic and snip the excess so that no lace is showing past the inner rim of the band. Next, take your black satin ribbon and tape the end of it to one bottom side of the headband. Wrap it around all of the exposed plastic and over the pieces of duct tape that are covering the wrapped metal prongs of the ears.

Note: I had to wrap for three separate incidents- for the bottom left (snipped the ribbon off at the intersection of the band and ear and glued the ribbon down), for the space between the ears (hot glued the edges of the wrapped ribbon), and then for the bottom right (hot glued at this intersection too and then taped at the very end to complete the ears!). 

Tip: Use the black sharpie to color in any apparent white edges from the duct tape!

Now you're done!

The supplies amounted to a total of about $15 and I had enough material to make five pairs of ears! The one set from ASOS costed over $18 not including shipping. So you will save money but more importantly you will have fun making them yourself!

Enjoy :D