One of the perks of living near Walt Disney World is also living near the Character Warehouse, a Disney clearance outlet with massive discounts (60% or more) on merchandise often still being sold full price in the parks. It's dangerous, you guys. SO DANGEROUS.
Case in point, John and I swung by two weeks ago, and I picked up this Hipster Mickey vinyl by Jerrod Maruyama for $13... down from $70:
Plus they had lots of merchandise in from Shanghai Disney - stuff you can't even buy here in the Orlando parks! Like this Alice tote bag from Shanghai's Wonderland Maze:
It's a huge bag with gorgeous colors, and was only $8! (The original price of 189Y is about $30 US.)
Another thing I couldn't resist? These Figment ears from last year's Food & Wine Festival:
I don't even wear Mickey ear headbands, but A) It's Figment and B) Look at this discount:
Daaaaang. Oh yeah, I totally bought the last two pairs.
You can still get these ears on Ebay - though for more than $5 - so let me show you how to make them more year-round-appropriate. It's super easy, unless you're like me and struggle with tying bows and/or not burning yourself on hot glue guns. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
You can still get these ears on Ebay - though for more than $5 - so let me show you how to make them more year-round-appropriate. It's super easy, unless you're like me and struggle with tying bows and/or not burning yourself on hot glue guns. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Step 1) Turn the ears over, and use a seam ripper to cut/tear off the little chef hat:
You'll be left with some big ugly hot glue lines:
2: Grab some wide ribbon (is anyone surprised I already had one in a perfect matching orange? No? Didn't think so.) and spend about 5 torturous minutes arranging it into a bow.
Eventually announce to your empty house, "WHATEVER, IT'S GOOD ENOUGH" and wrap the center of the bow with thread or clear fishing line to hold it in place:
Spend another five minutes tugging on all the loops to get the blasted thing even.
(WHATEVER, IT'S GOOD ENOUGH)
3) Cut off a small piece of the same ribbon, and fold the cut edges under:
Now messily hot glue it around the center of your bow:
Make sure you use a LOW heat glue gun so you don't burn yourself. And then maybe use a silicone spoon handle to hold it in place while it cools. (My finger tips are delicate flowers, y'all.)
4) Hot glue your new bow in place, right in the nook between the headband and the back of Figment's face & horns:
5) Finish it off by cutting the bow tails into points and melting the cut edges with a lighter to stop them from fraying. (Practice this on a test strip of ribbon first!)
Ta-daa!
Here's the finished front - the bow barely shows at all:
Oh! One last thing: there's still a little glue showing on the back, just above my bow:
If that happens on yours, too, you could always cover it with a handy pink rhinestone, like so:
I think I like it, but I'm still debating before I glue it down. Thoughts?
So that's my finished Figment ears!
Now...
Who wants 'em?
Yep, since I bought two pairs, this sparkly bit of Figmenty goodness is going to one of YOU.
To enter, head over to the Epbot Facebook page and comment on my post sharing these ears. (I know Blogger doesn't let a lot of you comment here, so I'm switching it up this time!) If you also feel like sharing my post while you're there, well hey, more virtual hugs for you! ::mwah::
I'll pick the winner at random in a few days, and message/tag the winner on Facebook, so watch that space!
The orange bow is super cute! Oh man, that store would be dangerous for me to live near!!!
ReplyDeleteInstead of using a lighter to seal the ends of ribbons, you can use a chisel tip on a woodburner to simultaneously cut and seal. Woodburners are about $10 at craft stores, and have a lot more uses than you would imagine.
ReplyDeleteI think the rhinestone is a perfect finishing touch! Those are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThose ears are soooo cute! Too bad I refuse to get on facecrook.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that the bow looks sort of like his wings, so I wonder what a little model of his tail (maybe in felt; maybe wings in felt too?) might look like back there.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought -- I think it is sooo cool that you had the perfect orange ribbon! :)
-Zippy
Have you seen the magical short video where someone uses a fork to make perfect tiny bows? Do you make a lot of bows? Maybe you could rig yourself a giant fork to make giant perfect bows! (And then show us all whether or not it works...) ;)
ReplyDeleteThe fork technique only requires two poles you can slide the ribbon over. I've used an overturned chair's legs to do a huge bow for my friend's wedding decoration. You just have to experiment for a perfect size.
DeleteLooks lovely, great save! But I think you made more work for yourself. Most ribbon doesn't fray if you cut it into the V, or at an angle. I'm sure there are ribbons which prove the exception, but see if you can do without the fray check/melting bit.
ReplyDeleteI think the bow side looks good enough to make these ears reversible -- then it would be like Figment was hiding in your hair in the back? And if people see his horns from the front, it might make them want to see the back too.
ReplyDeleteAck! I loved that Hipster Mickey when we were visiting back in November but couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of $$$ on a vinyl figure...darn you, warehouse deal!! So glad somebody I adore (from afar) is getting to enjoy that adorable little dude though!
ReplyDelete