Beautiful You

My 8 year old figured out how to braid and tie her hair a couple of weeks ago. When she first successfully tied her little pigtail, she was so proud she insisted on wearing it outside. I did not have the heart to tell her that it looked like a mess. It was hard to not think of the looks I was going to get for letting my kid go out like that.

After that day, she refused to let me fix her hair anymore. "Mommy! I can tie my ponytail MYSELF!", was all I hear every time I picked up the hair brush. 3 days of bad hair led me to ask if I could make her a sticker that read, "I did it! I fixed my hair myself today!". I couldn't take another day of staring from complete strangers, and a little sticker seemed to send the message that I had nothing to do with the mess that was on my little girl's head. Surprisingly, my kid was super excited at the idea. She was even more thrilled when she realized that a simple sticky announcement was all she needed to brag about her latest achievement and she didn't even have to say a word! 

I never made those stickers. My baby really wanted them and I actually considered making some but then I felt bad. To her, the stickers are like an award and yet I was going to use them as a way to distance myself from my child's achievement. My kid could tie her own ponytail! That's a big deal! I want to let her know that I was proud of her but surely I could find a different way to do that?

So I decided to do what I do best. I made a card.

When the twins were babies, I learned how to make hair bows for them. There was a time when all three of my girls would always have a bow in their hair. They all still love bows but I think it is time for the twins to move on to something less baby-ish.

Hair clippies are really easy to make. I received some flower embellishments from a Maya Road grab bag recently. I do not usually use many embellishments for my cards but I thought that I could use these flowers to make hair pretties instead.

I buy my alligator clips from Sally's Beauty Supply (about $6 for a box of 100) and before hot-gluing the flower to the clip, I lined each alligator clip with a strip of ribbon. I think that makes it look more finished. It didn't take long at all to finish hot-gluing everything.

Using Make-the-Cut, I started my card by bringing a 4.25" x 5.5" rectangle onto the mat. Next, I added a rounded-corner rectangle. Using the Lettering Delights Glam Girl Paper Dolls graphics set, I traced the image of the hair and face onto the virtual mat. I added in some glasses (Spectator Specs SVG) as my twins recently started wearing them. I used the LD Cinch font to add the sentiment. 

I used my Silhouette SD to cut out all the layers (my Cameo is still in the "testing/review" room and not in my craft room) and after some assembling, my gift was done.

I can't wait to give these to my girlie girls. I just know that they will love them! My babies are growing up fast and even though their hair is a mess, I am so very proud that they are trying to braid and tie their hair themselves. Someday soon, when they are able to fix a neat ponytail, I will make them those stickers.

And I will do so with pride.

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UPDATE: There are now Cut Its cutting files (SVG included) available for the Glam Girl Paper Dolls. Click HERE to get them.