Winter Queen Crowns for all your fancy friends...

I spend a lot of time searching for the unusual and interesting for the stores, but now and again I get a gift and the stuff finds me. Once, long ago, it was a warehouse full of vintage buttons. One time it was an attic filled with antique wall paper rolls. Just recently, I was offered many boxes of 50's, 60's and 70's holiday decor. Honestly, I almost passed on this as we are pretty busy and I didn't know how I would find the time to sort it. The boxes were really dirty. Then I peeked inside, and how could I possibly say no to 23 boxes of glittery snowmen, tinsel wands and golden leaves? I can't. I made my patient business partner* load up the van a few times and now all the boxes are in the back room at the store. I am sorting through them, uncovering treasures in each dusty, crumbly box. I have packaged some of the best goodies into Crown Kits to make festive crowns for special occasion or everyday wear. The crowns were inspired by the very inspiring book, Crowns & Tiaras (Judd/Montecinos.) Here is how I made mine:

I used:
One Happy Birthday crown snitched from my six-year-old's party loot. I ripped off the mass-marketed-doll cardboard and just used the metal and foil base.
One Winter Queen Crown Kit bag, with enough left over to make a second crown (or, assorted bits of plastic glittery faux greenery, small plastic or glass ornaments, tinsel, beads, tassels, glittery snowflakes, ribbon and slightly-cute-but-creepy elves, deer, angels, and Santas.
Glitter (from the bottom of the Kit or your own stock)
Hot glue gun
Wire cutters

How to:

1. Place the foil crown base on a box to stabilize it. Select the item you would like to feature in your crown and glue it to the center of the foil base. Sprinkle extra glitter from the bottom of the bag onto the hot glue. Continue to add ornaments or greenery along the foil base, glittering the glue as needed.



2. Using wire cutters trim apart some of the faux greenery (or in this case, rederey) to create several small pieces. Using the glue gun, attach these pieces to the base to fill in any gaps. Add larger pieces such as elves or ornaments as needed.


If you don't happen to have a Happy Birthday crown at home you can make a circular base from thin cardboard and cover it with foil or pretty paper...or make a wire form and paper mache it. More crowns ideas can be found in the book Crowns and Tiaras...the Kits are available while supplies last at both stores.

Here is a review (by me!) of Crowns and Tiaras with an old pic of little Nora in a sweet crown...

*'Patient business partner' is otherwise known as my husband. That's why he's such a patient business partner.