Let's Make A Statement (Ring)!

My three-year-old daughter is all girl.  Her dress-up trunk is full of frilly, sparkly, lacy things (along with the fire helmet, a pirate sword, etc.).  Last year I got an email from Etsy titled "Girl's Best Friend."  In it there was a link to a completely cool statement ring made out of white leather.  It was shaped like a diamond and embroidered with black cord.  Now, as I write this the ring has long since been sold so I don't have the original photo to show you, but trust me when I say it looked really neat.  I almost bought it for myself.

Well, it immediately gave me an idea for some dress-up accessories for my daughter.  I used felt, embroidery floss, and little ponytail holders to make her some jewels of her own.  They were a big hit!

She loves the bling!  (Notice the wings in the background.)

You can make some for  your little gal!  Here's the how-to...

The Materials

• Felt 
• Black Embroidery Floss
• Ponytail Holders & Elastic
• Needle and Coordinating Thread

Paper Patterns

You could use any sturdy type of material you want (such as leather), but felt is soft, readily available in lots of colors and patterns, and  very inexpensive.  The ponytail holders are the perfect size for little fingers.  Even I can slip one on without my hand getting too uncomfortable. This is a great project to do to use up felt scraps. 

Choose what type of jewel you want to make and pick the appropriate color of felt.  I went online and did some research about diamond cuts to get a basic idea about facets for different  styles.  I blew each of them up to approximately 2 inches across to make my patterns.

Cut two of each shape out of felt.  Using the thread, sew a ponytail holder to one of the felt pieces.
Use the embroidery floss to stitch facets into the other piece of felt.
Stitch the two pieces of felt together to make a ring. (You could also try using fabric glue to attach the two sides of the ring together.)

Stitching the facets.

 I did not try to transfer the facet pattern to the felt before I stitched.  I just eyed it.

The finished top of the ring.

A look at both sides of a ring.

Sometimes the ponytail holder matched the jewel color (like the topaz below), and other times I tried to pick something close.)

A close-up look at the collection.

Notice the "diamond" pictured above is much simpler than the one above.  I learned that it is best to keep the facet stitching as simple as possible.  

The entire collection!

There are diamonds, sapphires, amethysts, emeralds, topaz, rubies, and pearls.  The pearls in the necklace were stitched to a long elastic cord. 

She loves to wear her baby bling.  She eve went to church a few weeks ago wearing the "amethyst marquise" ring.  It really complemented her outfit!

Here is one last look at the hardware!

COOL! THANKS, MOM!   (Even Pink Woobie thinks so!)

Have fun making your little one some bling of her own!