I Heart Hats and Fascinators {Tutorial}

"A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armor, and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wearing a costume; it's the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it's the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. A hat is to be stylish in, to glow under, to flirt beneath, to make all others seem jealous over, and to make all men feel masculine about. A piece of magic is a hat." (Martha Sliter)

I have always been intrigued by hats and fascinators. Any type of flower, or jewels for hair. I am sure many of you noticed the amazing pieces adorned on woman's heads during the Royal Wedding. It was actually part of the dress code! Can you imagine getting an invite that comes with a 22 page booklet of do's and don't when dressing for a Royal affair? I wonder how many people will start wearing these little beauties to weddings this year. Maybe they will start making a come back state side.
Here are a few beauties that I noticed during the wedding.

My favs! :) What cute sisters! (Will's cousins from the Spencer side)

Who can forget Princess Beatrice....

or her sister Princess Eugenie?

Like their fascinator style, or hate it,...there is no denying that they made a statement!

Even Duchess Catherine has been known to wear a few stylish fascinators herself.

With all the inspirational creative pieces I had seen at the wedding, I decided to make a few of my own. They are really simple, and you can make them on any budget.

Here is what you need:

1.) A hot glue gun, glue, and hair clips. I found these at my local Joann's. You can also use headbands instead. (I like the clips because of their larger surface area for gluing larger flowers on.



2.) You will also need some ribbon & a role of tulle.



3.) Large flowers and leaves.



4.) Don't forget the feathers! Any size, color or shape will do!



Glue the tulle on the clip and make sure to glue it in a gathered style to add some fullness. Next cover with ribbon and glue down. (I used the tolle as a vail, but you can also use it to add bulk around the flower)



Next step is to layer the feathers on and glue, then glue flower. There is no wrong way to do this. You can also glue beads, jewels, butterflies etc. Whatever you fancy!

Here is the end result to mine!





I tried to take a photo of myself wearing one! :) This is as good as I could get. ::Shrug::



I would love to see how yours turn out! Wouldn't it be fun to get together and wear them? Tea party anyone? Happy crafting!!

photos by: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.