DIY Pearl Embellished Bobby Pins or Starting to Think About my Hair

I have long hair. I always have, and I probably always will. It currently goes about halfway down my back, and I have no intention of cutting it, with the exception of an inch or two, before the wedding. The whole point of having long hair is that it is fun to play with. I love doing stuff with my hair, like putting it up in a pony tail, or wearing a fancy barrette or headband. I guess it only makes sense that I am putting so much thought into how I want to wear my hair for the wedding. I mean, for a hair stylist, it is literally a blank canvas. It's long and straight, no prep work needed.

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I knew from the beginning that I want my hair to be in a complete up-do for the wedding. My hair is baby fine, and unless I brush it every couple of hours, it goes stringy really quickly. My hair also likes being straight, and refuses to hold a curl for any amount of time. I used to dream of someday having ringlets, I have learned to accept that will not happen in this lifetime. So, an up-do it is. I started looking at the plethora of pictures of bridal up-dos online, and I fell in love with the look pictured at the right. Look at all the loops! Now, imagine my cathedral length veil pinned underneath (and easily removable for the reception!). The next step was finding a headpiece to compliment everything. I originally was thinking tiara, I mean, come on, when else does a grown woman get to wear a tiara? A couple of problems came up with that. Firstly, Tom told me straight out that he doesn't care for them. Okay, I need to impress my groom. Then the next issue, the dress I picked out (more on this later) has some really ornate beading on the top of it, and a tiara would likely pull the eye away from that. Also, my hair is so thin, that I would not be able to pull off a tiara with any sort of height to it. Then I started looking for combs, but that went nowhere. Everything I liked was over $100 (for something I would wear 1 day?!?) and everything I could realistically afford looked too much like a mini-tiara. So, then I started looking at Etsy. I love Etsy, it's an like Ebay, but for handmade stuff. I like to look at other people's ideas to get inspiration for my own crafts. I found a listing for pearl embellished bobby pins, and they were really pretty. The listing only had one pearl per pin, but it was enough to inspire me, and my pearl embellished bobby pins were born!

What you will need for each bobby pin:

• 25 gage wire
• bobby pin
• three pearls
• needle nosed pliers

What you do:

1. String your first pearl on the wire and bring it to the center. 
2. Fold the wire down on either side of the pearl, then using your pliers, pinch the two wires together. 
3. Holding both wires firmly with the pliers, use your other hand to twist the pearl around several times. 
4. Repeat steps 2-4 on either side of the center pearl with your two additional pearls. Be sure to keep a firm grasp on the wire while twisting your pearls.
5. Once all three pearls are wired in, bring both wires down so that they lined up with the center pearl.
6. Grasp the wires with the pliers 1/8 of an inch below the pearls, with your other hand, hold all three pearls together and twist. This should twist the wire directly below the pearls. 
7. Now it is time to attach the pearls to the bobby pin. Using your pliers, wrap each wire around the top of the bobby pin. Be careful to pull the wires tight so that the pearls are firmly attached to the top. I wrapped each wire around two-to-three times.
8. Cut the wire, and use the pliers to pinch the cut end tightly up against the bobby pin. 
9. I found if the pearls are a bit wiggly on the top of the bobby pin, I could just twist them a couple times to tighten everything up. 

I've made ten bobby pins, which should be enough. I don't want to have the pearls look crowded. I played around with the bobby pins in my hair on Saturday, I had my hair in a bun with the bobby pins securing it in place and my veil underneath. Everyone (including Tom) approved. I also like just holding them in a group. The wire looks so intricate, and the whole look is just pretty.