Feel the magic - Mickey/Minnie Mouse ears DIY

Today, I would like all of you to meet a good friend of mine, Summer! She's the crafty mummy blogger behind A Happy Mum, where she writes about her loving family and shares creative DIY ideas. And, I must share our story of how we became great buddies! We were secondary school classmates and upon graduation, we went on separate paths to pursue our higher education. 10 years later, we met again, 6000km away from home in a little town in Sweden! Can you believe that? We hung out a lot in Sweden, talking about our life, sharing about our dreams and playing with her cute little girl, Angel! She has been so supportive and it is just so amazing to have found a great (old) friend!
Her DIY ideas are really fun for children and parents. If you are a fellow mum (or dad), you will love her awesome craft tutorials! Thank you Summer!


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The magic of Disney.


I never did think much of it until the first time I stepped into Disneyland and was blown away by its fairytale lands, dreamy castles and fantasy characters which never fail to evoke a great sense of euphoria.

One of my favourite characters has to be Minnie Mouse who always appears with a cheerful smile clad in her cute polka-dotted dress, round ears and big bow. I'd love to get a pair of the classic Minnie Mouse ears but decided it was not worth it for over US$10.

Then I thought, hey, why not learn to make these ears myself? Young kids can wear these ears and parade in the park, grown-ups can wear them as a fashion accessory or to dress-up parties, grandmas can wear them to reminisce the good old days and feel young at heart all over again.

What you need:
1) Black felt
2) Pink based, white polka-dotted cloth
3) Hair bands approximately 1cm wide
4) Foam paper
5) Scissors (Pinking shears and a sharp scissors for cutting cloth)
6) Glue (Suitable for use on felt)
7) Pens/ marker
 

Do up a template that consists of two circles, 3.5" in diameter, with a 2cm wide spacing in the middle as shown. Use the template to draw out as many shapes on the black felt, trace their outline with a gold pen and cut them out nicely.

Cut out rectangular strips of black felt. The length should be just slightly longer than that of the hair band and the width three times.

Draw 3" circles on the foam paper and cut them out. I used the base of a Pringles can for this. You don't have to cut these circles out too perfectly as they will be covered up with black felt later.

Apply glue on the hair band and roll it along the rectangular strip of felt. Then, apply glue on the two sides and fold them in one after the other. For the ends, use a little glue and fold them in neatly.

Stick two pieces of foam paper together so that the ears will be firmer. Apply glue and press it onto one circle of the black felt, place the hair band in the middle, apply glue on the opposite circle, fold to make the circles meet.

Press down firmly all around the circle to form one ear. Repeat for the other side and you would have made a pair of Mickey Mouse ears!

To turn it into Minnie Mouse ears, simply add a bow using the polka-dotted cloth. I used pinking shears to cut out big rectangular strips (28cm by 9cm) just to give it that ziggy-zaggy edging. Next, use normal scissors to cut out small short strips.


Fold the cloth to form four creases in the middle and secure them using the short strips. Place the bow between the ears, use the small strip to wrap over the bow and hair band, then tie a double knot at the back. Cut away the excess cloth from the strip and tuck away the corners.

Ta-dah! We now have Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears to wear whenever we wish to feel the spirit of Disney.

Believe in the M-A-G-I-C always!


For more craft ideas and DIY tutorials, visit A Happy Mum or like my Facebook page here.