Make a Fun Tie Necklace

 Hello Readers. St. Patrick's Day is coming. Are you Irish? Do you celebrate this holiday? I am and I do. I don't go overboard but I play Irish music, eat some Irish foods and always wear something green for good luck of course. 

  Let's make a fun necklace with a men's tie. I used a shamrock tie because of the holiday but you can do this with any tie you like, whenever you like. You can use a solid color or a pattern, whatever style you like. No holiday is needed.  

 You just need a tie, rubber band and a strong necklace or ribbon to fit around your neck. This tie is perfect for St. Patrick's Day but a different tie would make a dressy accessory for any occasion you are celebrating. 

 I am using a strand of pearls, no they are not real. You can use any necklace or string of beads that can hold the weight of this tie. A dainty chain necklace is NOT going to work here. The delicate chain could snap. Use a strand of beads of even a length or ribbon that is long enough to tie around your neck and shirt collar comfortably. 

 I folded the tie on itself. The top folds need to stay together and even in length at the top but the lower folds should be shorter and shorter so you can see the different layers of the tie on top of itself. The short end of the tie is in back and it is a couple inches longer than the whole folded tie.

 I wrapped a rubber band around the folded part of the tie, about 1/3 from the top. (It doesn't need to be exact.) The rubber band gathers the tie together and make it look very full and eye catching. It also holds the whole folded tie together securely. I left the small end of the tie hanging down in the back of the tie. 

Next, I wrapped the narrow end of the tie around the front to cover the rubber band. The narrow end of the tie covers the rubber band because the rubber band is important but it is not cute. 

 

After I wrapped the end of the tie around the front I wrapped it to the back as well. I tucked the very end into the rubber band in the back. This will hold the whole thing together. I want that small tie end to stay in place hidden in the back. The rubber band will keep it in place.

I slipped the necklace into the widest top fold of the tie. It will lay against my neck and under the shirt collar best that way. 

I added this necklace around the collar of my button-up shirt. The necklace slipped right under the collar. The tie necklace is a fun piece that adds a lot to this outfit. I liked the look but I can always take it apart and wear the tie normally if I want. 

 

I added this faux pearl earring through the front layer of the tie just for fun. You can add a pin or something like this to the front of your tie if you like, but it is not necessary. I just liked the look of it. 

 Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. And Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. Erin go bragh! 

Men's Tie to Headband

 Hello Readers. I made a fun head band to match my purple pants. Let me show you how easy it was. All you will need is a plastic headband, a man's necktie, glue, and scissors. You might have all those items sitting around your house right now.

Necktie to headband.

 

I found these fabulous purple corduroy pants at a thrift store. I could not resist the fun color. And they were only 50 cents. 

 

I wanted something to match that wonderful purple color. I had this tie and I guess I could have worn it around my neck but that just doesn't seem comfortable. (My heart goes out to all the men who have to wear a tie for work. It seems awful.) I decided to use the tie to make something else.

 

I wanted to make a headband so I used one of these plastic headbands as my base. These were really inexpensive but the colors were very neutral and very ho-hum. That was OK because I was going to cover the headband anyway. Use any narrow headband you have on-hand.

 

Neckties come in every color and design imaginable so there is always something you can coordinate with. Raid a man's closet and steal a tie, he won't mind. I wanted to use only the narrow side of the tie. I held them together just to see how much tie I needed to fully cover the headband.
 

I cut off some of the excess to get it out of the way. It would make it easier to work with. I made sure there was about an inch of extra tie hanging over the edge of the headband. I just wanted a bit of extra tie to ensure the plastic headband won't show at all when I am done. Don't worry about that cut edge. I will fix that in a minute.

I got out my trusty glue gun. (Be careful. It is so hot. It will burn your fingers if you get hot glue on them.) The back of the tie had a seam that was directly in the center. That seem was a guide as to where I will  my glue. 

I started gluing the finished end of the tie to the headband. The end of the tie that had the small triangular end was a good place to start gluing.

I added small squirts of glue on the tie and pressed the headband into the glue while it set. I kept adding glue and holding the headband to the glue along the headband. 

When I got to the cut end of the tie, I wanted hide the cut edge. I squirted some glue into the middle of the tie and tucked the edges into the middle of the tie. The glue would hold the cut edges inside the tie and keep the cut edge from fraying and falling apart.

The tie looked really nice and smooth over the top of the headband. The plastic is hidden well and all that is visible is the beautiful silk fabric of the tie. 

I liked the pop of bright purple that coordinates with the purple color of the corduroy pants. It keeps my hair in place too. That is always a plus. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.