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Janette Crawford: Intro to Making Crowns

So this is high fashion headdresses with Jeanette Crawford, the first of our four shows about crafting the next couple days, and it really is my great pleasure to introduce Jeanette to creative life. I'll just give you a little bit of her background because she's a stylist. She's a writer. She's an all round creative entrepreneur. She lives in San Francisco, and she is the founder of Son and Daughter, which is a personal shopping for styling service for fashion conscious parents. She's also maintains the Blawg fashion Last Peaceful, which is a resource for ethical fashion. On her writing style, have appeared in everything from Cosmo Refinery 29 despite design, sponge, apartment therapy, heat, how and so many more I'm really thrilled to welcome to creative life. Jeanette Crawford, Jeanette Welcome to join us a little holiday season. We are thrilled to have you here suggested about son and daughter because it's actually daughter. As in the Icelandic daughter, I didn't even know. Yes, eve...

ryone's either a son or a daughter, so my my business it's something that our lunch earlier this year it's spelled S u N and d o T t er, and so I had a little girl two years ago. And, um, I was stressed out about about finding products for her that fit my style. And, um, and about finding products that fit my values and buying ethically produced things. And so now I'm able to do that for new parents who are like me. Teoh, help them check some of the things out there to do it so that they can focus on the special part. Happiness. And you're gonna be showing us some wonderful high fashion headdresses out this morning. Really excited about? We were talking a little bit about downtown Abbey right now. These sort of tiaras. You seem to be very much in fashion at the moment. I think it will be a perfect thing for a holiday party. I think so. I think so. And you want to do some muffling? I think I dio we're gonna stopping Santa's elf placeholders for the real real crown. Okay, wonderful. Uh, OK, Well, uh, would you mind helping me time? I can decide in a little boat. Sure thing. So So this headdress that that j k I was wearing This is something that I designed last year around the holiday season for an online pop up shop that I had of artisanal Lee made baby products. So you can see from looking at it that that it works great for kids. It's something that people have used as photo props for her newborn photos. One woman told me that she was ordering it just to be decor to sit on the shelf in her son's nursery. Or it would look great at Burning man s. Oh, so these these, um, these headdresses in these crowns, I'll have a tie closure so they can fit any size. They big like this. There was just a little bit of room in the back of a tiny, tiny little boat for you. Perfect. OK, And for you, my turn, I will let you. Okay, I'll do that. Perfect. So So this is a new design of mine which, um, which we're debuting today, and so this is sort of the more feminine version. Um, eso you see, you see lots of glitter, which is wonderful. And so this is this is a crown made out of crow shade lace that that I've stiffened and and then we put some feathers on the top, which is really fun and gives a lot of movement. It's kind of got a flapper look to it. And yes, it would work great in the twenties on Downton Abbey And then you can see here, this is another one of these crowns that I've made in this one. This one doesn't have feathers on it, but I've used some Rhinestones on it. I like to keep I like to keep the colors sort of simple, but, um, if you want to have some fun, you know, you can always get a little bit cheeky with the right stuff, which is really fun for kids, especially. So I'm gonna let you go Get off the stage on which is go do your crops were really excited to see how these wonderful things that made you look OK. Thank you. So we are going thio thio due to segments this morning s so we'll start by working on, um, the crown. And then the second thing Will dio for the second half is to work on the feather and suede headdress. So, um, so we'll go ahead and get started, eh? So the first thing to Dio is Teoh create a vision for the crown's that they were creating. So So we'll start with the design face. So, um, for the studio audience here I have, I put I've I've prepared some some pre stiffened and painted and glittered lace. But for those of you at home, I am going to show you how this works. But but to start with the design, what will need to do is, um, it's first of all, figure out what kind of crow shea lace we can get. Um, and this kind of depends on what's available at your local Michael's or any other craft store this style right here. This I actually was able to buy online from it. It's a local fabrics are here in San Francisco called Bright Tex, but it's you can find it online and its yard, and I love this one. What's so nice about about this lace in particular? Is that it? It's got the nice crown edge, and then you can just we've your tie through it, so you actually don't even need to use any glue on. By the way, we're not doing any sewing today, either, which which is nice. Just all blue, Um, which, which makes it really easy for sort of any any level. So, um, so I will admit that it can. When I first started looking for some of this lace, I wasn't able to find exactly what I was looking for. But like I said, you're looking for crow Shea lace. And so it's more than fabric. Um, and then you're looking for something that's got this zigzag edge on it. So at my local stores, I was able to find this this beautiful piece, and this one started out brown kind of a tan color. So, um, color isn't super important. It it can be pretty funny. Pretty easy to find different options. This one is a lot taller, which is really fun. And this one started out black. Um, and then you can see here another blue option that I found. So So when it comes to the design, the great thing is that this product is totally customizable. What I think is cool is that you know, I wouldn't have seen the vision saying this in a craft store and go Yeah. Oh, I can make that into eso. That's really need. Yeah, thanks. Yeah, so, like that flat bottom, and then a zigzag top is really what you're keeping your eye out for. So once you have your lace shape, then you'll want to think about what color of paint you can use. And if you confined lace that you don't need to paint, that's fabulous. Um um, like something like a white or an ivory color, I think would look great with just some glitter on it. Um, for me, I used a a gold paint and a bronze paint these air both metallic these air Lightbody metallic acrylic paints. This brand is Lumiere, and so the great thing about acrylic paints is that they're totally washable with water and soap. So even even when you're covered in paint, you can just go to the think and wash your hands up so you'll you'll choose your paint color Then then I really recommend using glitter on top of the metallic paint because it is fabric and it is fabric paint, so the paint sort of sinks into it and become sort of Matt on its own. So the glitter that I used is an ultra fine, transparent glitter and it's got that sort of like a like a purple and green tint to it with that, like, pearlescent look. And so I love the transparent glitter because, um, because even when it's not shining, you don't really see it. You know, like some opaque glitters. It kind of looks like pepper. Yeah, sprinkled on it. Yeah. Yeah, just like more high end glitter. Yeah. And yeah, it wasn't it wasn't expensive. Cool. I am glad. So that's good of a deal on. So, um so glitter I very much recommend for for even putting on top of the metallic paint. And then, um and then you want to think about what you use to tie the crown on. And so, um, my favorite material to use for this is this is a satin cord. It's known as rat tail. And, um, this is something that, at my local fabric store, I was able to buy by the yard and, um, in in this case, I actually painted at the same color as as the lace on this one. The feathers air white. So I just left the cord white, which looks great as well. I also have some options here for you guys to use that are leather cord. That's metallic. So I actually found some that matches the paint really nicely. You could also use suede lace. Um, you have a lot of different. A lot of different options to use their and then lastly, you want to bling it out. So So this is where we choose what kind of feathers we want to use for it. Or, um, or any Rhinestones that we want to use. Um, I have for us here. I have some some small Swarovski crystals which again has that sort of pearlescent shine, which is so beautiful. And I also have these air so pretty. I love thes air called Spark, let's and, um, And on the course page, there are links to find most of these materials online. I do think it's awesome to go to your local store and get hands on with the materials so you can sort of lay it out and think about it and do color matching. But when you can't find something in person, it's nice to be able to go online and grab it, too. So these sport klutz, they, um they're just they're sort of like the fancy version of the right stone. So I really love these things. They're beautiful. Um, so you can see here that I used a few of the spark, let's and I made them about the same color as the crown. But they add some shine and they add some dimension and just make it feel a little bit more special. But then again, you know, you could have a lot of fun with the color. So So that's that's the design phase when we just have fun with all the options. So, um, so now what I'm going to Dio is go ahead and get started with stiffening some lakes. And so the studio audience here is gonna be quiet while I show you how to do this. Because I did all this for you in advance. But it's not a quiet thing to do, right? You can be loud. You play music. You can. So, um, so here. I've got I've got a piece of lace. Um, so with with the lace, um, um, just go ahead and lay it out. And the product that we're going to use here, this is called stiffen stuff. And so it comes in a spray bottle. And this is a really fun product because it'll just stiff in anything. You know, sometimes there. Well, um, eso So we'll go ahead and and spray the lace with the stiffening product, and you want to soak it all the way through because you really want it to be firm because this place, you know, it's it's just it's just a fabric lace. So it starts out pretty pliable. So, um, I've actually had some trouble with the spray nozzles on these things, and I don't think I'm getting anything out right now, So I'll tell you on that. Well, I'll tell you what I can do instead, Um, and this is Yeah, that's a little tricky. He's a little tricky playing dad. Action. Yeah, but what I've done a few times, even Teoh sort of speed up the process and not wear out. My finger anyway is to just go ahead and pour the liquid out and and then use a paintbrush. Teoh this particularly water if you get this on your clothes. No problems. Toe. Everything we're working with today is water soluble. So it's super easy. Cleanup. That's a great question. Which is good to know, too, if you have kids on the object. Yes. Yeah. And they like to roam around, not stay with the table, but that their hands on right, which hopefully doesn't happen too much. But, um but yeah, it's it's all, like, surprisingly clean herbal, which is really nice. I'm not a fan of needing to use paint thinners and anything to clean. This actually seems more simple than spring it. So making more than one. Yeah, well, and so what I've done when I'm making multiples So you can see that that with the paintbrush and, um, and by pouring the sickening product out, I'm able to soak it pretty well. You can see how much how much liquid I'm getting down there. But another thing I've done if I if I need to be even more efficient, is to use the roller. And so this is a really simple roller that I picked up at the hardware store. And, um, the tack A gene on the boxes, the tray that's nice and fancy Recycle. Yeah, exactly. So So if I wore something here, I don't think we need Teoh demonstrate that but it get the idea. Yeah, so, you know, you can just fill this up with the liquid and And this roller, it's from the hardware store, not the craft store. And it's something that's made for touch ups on trim. So I just got the smallest when I could, and I got one. Um, that wasn't going to suck too much of my product up in it, you know, because some of them are a lot thicker. And then, like, you lose more, use more glue or more product in it. Are you able to wash this and use it again and very easily. So, yeah, it's got plastic on the inside, so it's really easy to use. So I've used this for a few different things. So, um, so as we're with the stiffening, like I said, you want to soak it through, and you can do that quite a bit on on one side. Um, as you can see. But then, uh, but then I would also recommend flipping it over because, you see, there are a few places that the the liquid went through, but it didn't in all places. So then I'm just gonna flip it over and and go ahead and ADM. Or on the back and just be really generous with this stuff. And, you know, it's a pretty big bottle. It's it's You don't have to be too conservative with how much you're using. And, um And, um, so this is something that you need to let dry, I think ideally overnight, or if you need to speed along the process, you can use a blow dryer to dry it, which is something I've done. And it worked out great. Um, if you need, it's defended that. Hurry. Exactly. So But this project is something that will take you might do over the course of a couple days. Um, and you can hurry the process up with a blow dryer, But, um, in a perfect world, you might stiff in the lace one day, let it dry overnight, painted the next day, let it dry overnight and then put put the crown together with the embellishments. It doesn't matter what you do. The painting it does, yes. So we're starting with the stiffening, and we'll get to the painting next. So, um, so with the stiffening, um, if if if it feels after you've done it like it's not stiff enough, you can do it again and it will get stiffer. Um, the paint will add some stiffening to the lace. So So every step we're taking is making the lace a little bit more stiff so that it makes for a nice crown. Right? So you're saying the paint will add another level of stiffness? Gotcha. Yeah. So if it's not stiff enough with the Stifter, there's paint coming. Yes, Okay, exactly. I would be inclined to just dip it. Yeah, better or in the paint dinner in like, Yeah, that's a great idea. I mean, is there totally no, that would be great. And I think that would work better for actually soaking it all the way through, because that's what's important, because I think there are times that even if it looks kind of soaked, it's not getting all the way into the lace. So I think that would be perfect. And again, this is a product that you've kind of got a lot of. So so if you want to just poured into a bull, I think that's awesome. And then, um and then just set it on something to dry. And when I when I let this dry, um, it's nice. Teoh toe Let it dry so that it's kind of dry to the touch and then flip it over so that the other side can dry as well. Just helps the dry a little bit faster. Get your process whatever you like. If you want to know if you want to brush, if you want to roll yet Cool. It's all great. So any any questions about that? I'm just demonstrating a strip of, ah, couple inches here. And I think you can see here how the color it almost looks bluish here it will. It will dry clear. So if you're not going to paint the lace, you don't need to worry about the lace changing color. Oh, good to know. Yeah, just in case you don't want to add pain to let stuff, you might just want to add your bling. Right. So any questions about the stiffening, Okay, so we'll go ahead and let that dry, okay? And you have more stuff to do right here. Do we want to let it dry over here? Um, yeah, that'll Look at her face right awesome. I get I get the glue out of the way now. Okay, So, um, why don't I slide this back over just to protect the table? And, uh so so here I have a piece of lace that has been stiffened, and so you can you can see and feel here that, um that it's got some stiffening in it. And this is one that I stiffened twice. Oh, really? Uh, I would think it would be more stuff. You would. I would. The paint actually does add quite a bit of stiffening into it. So if we compare this Teoh, say this, Yeah, this is there's definitely different. The paint adds a lot of stiffening to it. The stiffening product just gets a good start and you know, you dio you do want it. Teoh, hold up on be firm, especially if it's going to be used by kit. You know, right on. And so the title of this class is high fashion headdress with which is maybe ambitious. These aren't going to be walking down the runway and New York Fashion Week getting time seen, but but the reason we use that title is is Teoh. Describe that that some of the techniques and the methods that I'm gonna show you today they just really help. Help it look not as much crafty as handmade and and nicely finished. So so, like, we'll get to this in a little bit. But But if we add feathers will line the feathers on the back so that so that it feels very polished. And, you know, it doesn't feel like something that a five year old maid, so that makes it work great for gifting and decorative. Because when you're when you have something on the shelf for you or your not just wearing it, you want to see that behind it. It's It's nicely put together and fashionable on both sides, Right? Okay, cool, right? Exactly.