Disney DIY-ing & The Dollar Store

In case you haven't figured it out, I have Disney on the brain these days as our trip quickly approaches. I'm super excited to come see the holiday decorations; Halloween blew me away so I can't wait for Christmas! I'd like to add some seasonal touches to this trip, but I'd like to have some money left in my bank account, too, you know? 

Enter the local Dollar Store. While I was there picking up my wrapping paper I decided to see what else I could find. I was super excited to find several Disney items! In addition to some cool Star Wars wrapping paper, I picked up some door decorations, Santa hats, and found these candy cane headbands. 

For some reason, my first thought was, "These could make awesome Mickey ears!" I really wanted some Christmas-y Mickey ears, but I couldn't fathom paying $15-20 for a seasonal pair. Below you will find the instructions to make ears like the ones I made. I ended up making two pairs and was pleased with the results-- I think my girls will like them and I'm excited to see them in pictures. 

Step One- Get Your Supplies
I used two pairs of these candy cane headbands to make one pair of ears. One pair is the "base" so to speak, the other pair is for parts. You are left with an extra headband you can use for another project, too. I also raided my craft stash and used my hot glue gun, a needle/thread, some green sequins trim (optional, left from a Halloween costume), and made the bowtie-style bow with some scrap fabric and my sewing machine. 

Step Two- Disassemble, Prep Pieces
I found these to be very easy to take a part because they were held together with a lot of hot glue and a few stitches. Removal was done by carefully pulling and using small scissors when necessary. I went ahead and removed the white ribbon (carefully), and the green bows. I also unstitched the top end of the candy cane. Next I went to my spare parts piece and removed the candy canes from the headband, these will become the other half of the Mickey ears. There is a small wire that runs across the headband and into the candy canes to help them hold their shape, I cut the wire about an inch longer than I needed.

Step Three- Sew it Up
Next I took the candy cane from the spare parts piece and ran the end with the extra wire into the opened seam on the other candy cane and sewed them together all the way around. I tried to make sure no raw edges were exposed, and hand-stiched it up. Mine didn't need to be perfect because that seam will be covered by the white ribbon. 

Yes, I ignored my own directions above and didn't remove the white ribbon until later... 

Step Four- Make the Ears
Now curve the ears into the shape you'd like and fasten the other end to the headband using hot glue, you could probably sew them in place as well, but I feel like to glue gave it a bit more stability. 

Here's an "in the middle" picture...

Step Five- Decorate Away
Because I was going with the Christmas theme, I wound the white ribbon around to mimic a candy cane, I secured it periodically with hot glue. I did the same with some green sequins trim as well. After some debate I decided to use some leftover tulle to make a nice, big, floppy, Minnie-style bow for the middle. I also debated finding some battery powered lights... but then this venture would no longer be cost effective (sigh.). Here's my final product:

Remember that this is just a basic overview, go crazy and customize any way you'd like! I'd love to see what you come up with! I'll post a picture of my girls wearing them, but since it's a surprise trip I don't have any pictures yet!