Stick ‘em up!: Last Minute DIY for Events
The wildest hair clip in the West.
Howdy pardner! I just snapped a picture of my latest creation – a pistol and holster hair clip that I threw together last night. Now, I must confess that I can’t take much credit for this project as something I made entirely myself as it’s a simple re-engineering of a store-bought item. Also, I’m not sure how ‘last minute’ the project was seeing as how I’ve had the components for more than five years and every intention of turning ‘em into this very thing.
Let me explain the sorted provenance of my latest craft. Before I lived in Austin, I lived further out west in California – I grew up and went to college in the same quaint town, and during school, in addition to fostering a life-long love for making stuff (a tale for another night), I took a film class all about Westerns. I quickly gained an affinity for the bad ass films of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, and others. In 2005, on a family vacation down south, we stopped at the Gene Autry Museum in large part because of their special exhibit all about Leone. The exhibit was great, and in the gift shop, I scored a pair of holster diaper pins that would, five years later, adorn my hair.
The back of the holster hair clip.
Now, converting these bad boys into hair clips couldn’t have been easier – I removed the safety pin, and replaced it with a quilt binding clip (basically a simple contour hair clip but with a hole in the end, available in the quilting section of most fabric/craft stores). I like the binding clips because you can sew or wire through the clip to secure whatever decoration you want to the clip. A couple stitches and a dab of hot glue later and the holster hair clip was born.
So why did it take me nearly half a decade to get around to this project that took all of ten minutes to complete? Well, that questions is perhaps best answered with another question – what last minute event inspired me to finally get around to this project? Tonight Bug and I are going to see A Western, a theater piece that’s part of this year’s Fusebox Festival wherein a local bar will be transformed into an old West style saloon. Audience members (including us!) will participate in the performance by playing cards, interacting with the piece’s hero who will ultimately be shot down in a furry of gunshots and ketchup. Suffice it to say, I’m excited about it, and knew I had the makings for the perfect accessory!
For better or worse, I am perhaps most inspired and motivated by last minute occasions that demand just the right craft/accessory/gift/etc. My crafting gateway drug came in the form of hand painted tee-shirts that I designed and made, stating in junior high, to wear to all ages rock concerts. That obsession led me to taking a screen printing class my freshman year of college which solidified my full DIY addiction. I have spent many a late night slaving away on the perfect birthday gift, baby shower present, outfit for a party, or delicious treat for a potluck. I for one, wouldn’t want it any other way.
