i’m a flashy lady. i’m a firm believer that polka dots and stripes were meant to be worn together. when it comes to my personal style two wrongs tend to make a right. the bigger the better.

so, when my beau told me about the shipwreck-themed leap year party at frog’s leap winery (where he spends his days slinging wine and touring people around the organic gardens–i know poor guy) it seemed like the perfect excuse to make an over the top facinator to top off my otherwise boring black dress i planned on wearing.

i set out with inspiration from a facinator i bought from melissa at the shop party indie craft show in santa rosa a few months back. melissa not only makes things (like rad facinators), is a barber at daredevils and queens but also is a mind-blowingly good lindy hop/swing dancer. the one i

bought from melissa featured a handmade ship. although it was perfect for daily wear, i needed something way bolder for the party that only happens every four years and features an indoor beach and waterfall, on-site tattoo artist, eight piece soul band and traditionally dressed island dancers drumming their way through the crowd.

after rummaging through my craft bins and a stop at micheals i poured myself a glass of frog’s leap wine, put a log on the fire and a little parks and recreation on the roku and started making the ‘shipwrecked facinator’. it was really nice to be making something just for myself. i didn’t have to tame any of my crazy impulses during the creative process since the goal of the piece was to be over the top. i was so happy with how it turned out and the feeling of the freedom of making just for me that i made two more that week. the bird facinator and the sewing machine one, both of which i wore at craftcation. want to make a obnoxious object d’arte for your head too?

what to get:
long clip
glue gun & glue sticks
tulle or netting
round disk of some sort, i used one intended for needle arts, but you could cut one from cardboard
piece of fabric large enough to cover the front and back of your disk
scissors
misc cake toppers, small objects, tree, birds, birds next, covered buttons, and whatever else you want to glue to your facinator

what to do:
1. cut a circle piece of the fabric intended to cover your disk, make sure it’s large enough to cover front and back of the disk
2. set disk in the middle of fabric (printed side of fabric should be facing down). pull edges of circle up onto the back of the disk and get busy with your glue gun securing the fabric to cover the disk
3. if you want to have a tulle border of fluffiness around the edge of the facinator…
a) cut a length of tulle that’s about 7 inches wide by 1/2 to 1 yard long
b) fold tulle in half and hand sew a running stitch seam down the length of it then pull the thread to gather it

4. glue the tulle around the edge of the fabric covered disk
5. go crazy with the glue gun put all your fun cake toppers and other objects on top of the disk

6. flip the disk over and glue the long clip to the back. you can also glue a small rectangle of fabric over the the bottom part of the clip to help ensure it will stay on