Before the birth of my twins, I knew that I wanted to make something special for them - I love medieval imagery and try to work it in whenever I possibly can, so it's no surprise that I made two tiny crowns for the newest members of our family.
I had recently come into possession of a huge box of lace, thanks to the wonders of eBay, that I'd meant to use in my crafting ventures. When I searched for 'newborn crowns' online, I kept getting results for crowns made from lace... some were embellished, some were plain, but the ones I loved best looked as though they were made of metal thanks to acrylic paint. After measuring two lengths of my favorite lace from that enormous eBay box, I brushed a mixture of white school glue and water over both pieces after putting them on a sheet of waxed paper swiped from the pantry. The mixture was a simple half-and half recipe, but I added a bit more glue to it so I could be sure these crowns wouldn't crumple too easily.
As impatient as I was to get going on them, I made myself wait until the following day when they had hardened nicely. Rolling them into shape and pinning them, I brushed another coat of the glue mixture and when that was dry I finally was able to paint them. I had only two tubes of metallic paint - I believe it was by Golden - so I picked out a few more bottles of paint in the Wal-Mart craft section.
Painting was a bit more time-consuming than actually making the crowns themselves, but it was immensely satisfying to see my idea taking shape. If I had unlimited space, I would make loads more - I've found so much inspiration online for these crowns, and one of my favorites is a blue lace 'mermaid' crown with tiny seashells and netting... one of my nieces might find themselves on the receiving end of a crown inspired by it, or I may just make it for myself and wear it when I'm out doing errands!
