masterofmidgets (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
masterofmidgets) wrote2009-06-30 10:33 pm
masterofmidgets) wrote2009-06-30 10:33 pm
Why Yes I'm Awesome
I did a craft! I made hairsticks, to be specific. I've been working on this intermittently since this weekend, and I finally have some finished products to show off.
After some shopping around, I decided to go with 12 inch length, 1/4 inch diameter wooden dowels as my hairstick bases - the wood is very smooth and splinter-free, and I got a pack of 8 at Wal-Mart for a dollar. Definitely in my price range! To get them the proper hairstick shape (and to get smooth ends that wouldn't snag my hair) I had my dad saw them in half to make 6 inch hairsticks, and then, with a little instruction, I used a Dremel (a rotary tool, like a very small electric sander) to sand down the ends into smooth points. It's not as tapered or pointed as most hairsticks I've seen, but I tested them several times on my hair and didn't have any problems using them. After I finished sanding them off, my dad coated them with a few coats of polyurethane stain - it gave them a more natural wood look, made them even smoother, and will keep them from staining/get getting water damage/whatever else.
Sanded ends - nice and smooth!
Length compared to my plastic hairstick from Claire's
After we let the stain dry overnight
Today, my mom and I went over to My Friend The Casual Jewelry-Maker's, and she helped us do the rest. First we used a hand drill to drill a small hole near the end of each hairstick - this took about half an hour, but only because we were doing it by hand, it would have been a five minute job with an electric drill. Then she took a small loop of jewelry wire and hooked it through the hole in the stick. I had two sets of small jewelry charms I got at Michael's last week, and she attached the ones I wanted to use to the loop of wire on my hairsticks. Voila! (And with the extra charms I had left over when we were done, I made a pair of key earrings to match the lock-and-key hairsticks)
London Phonebox Hairstick (aka the Master's TARDIS)
London Underground Sign Hairstick
Old-Fashioned Key Hairstick
Old-Fashioned Lock Hairstick
All four of them together on the counter
Lock hairstick in my hair (messy braided bun)
All in all, I'm really happy with how this project turned out. It probably took me about 3 hours all together to do it, and the total cost was about 10 dollars - less than I would pay for buying a single hair stick online or in a store and totally within even my cheap college student budget. They aren't nice enough to sell, maybe, but I think they look pretty cute! And most importantly, I had a ton of fun. I'll definitely be doing this again.
Bonus picture! My room fan, which doubles as a bedside table and is where I keep all my super-necessary hair stuff - wooden comb and BBB, hair ties for night braids, jojoba oil, etc. (Booster Gold insisted on being in the picture)
After some shopping around, I decided to go with 12 inch length, 1/4 inch diameter wooden dowels as my hairstick bases - the wood is very smooth and splinter-free, and I got a pack of 8 at Wal-Mart for a dollar. Definitely in my price range! To get them the proper hairstick shape (and to get smooth ends that wouldn't snag my hair) I had my dad saw them in half to make 6 inch hairsticks, and then, with a little instruction, I used a Dremel (a rotary tool, like a very small electric sander) to sand down the ends into smooth points. It's not as tapered or pointed as most hairsticks I've seen, but I tested them several times on my hair and didn't have any problems using them. After I finished sanding them off, my dad coated them with a few coats of polyurethane stain - it gave them a more natural wood look, made them even smoother, and will keep them from staining/get getting water damage/whatever else.
Sanded ends - nice and smooth!
Length compared to my plastic hairstick from Claire's
After we let the stain dry overnight
Today, my mom and I went over to My Friend The Casual Jewelry-Maker's, and she helped us do the rest. First we used a hand drill to drill a small hole near the end of each hairstick - this took about half an hour, but only because we were doing it by hand, it would have been a five minute job with an electric drill. Then she took a small loop of jewelry wire and hooked it through the hole in the stick. I had two sets of small jewelry charms I got at Michael's last week, and she attached the ones I wanted to use to the loop of wire on my hairsticks. Voila! (And with the extra charms I had left over when we were done, I made a pair of key earrings to match the lock-and-key hairsticks)
London Phonebox Hairstick (aka the Master's TARDIS)
London Underground Sign Hairstick
Old-Fashioned Key Hairstick
Old-Fashioned Lock Hairstick
All four of them together on the counter
Lock hairstick in my hair (messy braided bun)
All in all, I'm really happy with how this project turned out. It probably took me about 3 hours all together to do it, and the total cost was about 10 dollars - less than I would pay for buying a single hair stick online or in a store and totally within even my cheap college student budget. They aren't nice enough to sell, maybe, but I think they look pretty cute! And most importantly, I had a ton of fun. I'll definitely be doing this again.
Bonus picture! My room fan, which doubles as a bedside table and is where I keep all my super-necessary hair stuff - wooden comb and BBB, hair ties for night braids, jojoba oil, etc. (Booster Gold insisted on being in the picture)
