Hellobee

by: Brittany from The House That Lars Built

My little friend, Kip, was having his 4th birthday and I wanted to create something special for him. Since he loves all things royal, I thought he deserved a crown. A personalized crown.  I came up with this customized wire version, which I think could be used for a number of purposes including birthdays or just play time.

Materials: thick wire (plastic coating might be safest for kids), thin wire, wire cutters, adornments, spray paint, glue gun

Step 1: Start by measuring the size of the head with the wire, making sure it doesn’t sit too low or too high.

Step 2: Leave extra room, about 8 inches, before cutting.

Step 3: Wrap the edges around the circle shape. Make sure you wrap the edges into the wire so that they don’t stick out. To be extra safe, try glue gunning the edges or putting tape on it.

Step 4: Take a new piece of wire to start forming the letters of the name or word. Plan on using a cursive script so that the letters will flow into each other. Leave extra room at the beginning for an extra flourish.

Step 5: Form the rest of the letters making sure that you crinkle the letters as little as possible, but keep them loopy. Also remember that the words will need to be seen from the front angle so keep them small.

Step 6: Leave enough room at the end for an extra flourish before cutting.

Step 7: Going back to the circle base, figure out where the middle point is and put the name in place. With the thinner wire, start wrapping around the circle from the back to the front, keeping it as tight as possible to the thicker wire. Secure the letters to the circle by interweaving the thinner wire through the loops at the bottom.

Step 8: Continue to the back of the circle, cut off the extra and wrap it through the bigger wire.

Step 9: To give the crown some extra umph, spray paint it a metallic gold. I find that metallic colors work best. Wait 20-30 minutes for it to dry and spray again if needed. Let it dry for another half hour.

Step 10: Once it’s fully dry, add on any accoutrements you’d like with the glue gun. I made a little paper flower for the Queen crown, a bell for Kip’s, and a bee for the bee crown.

Step 11: Voila!

Photos by Hilda Grahnat and Brittany Watson Jepsen