Flower Hairpiece Tutorial

One of the great things about this project is that it has a lot of room for creativity and experimentation without necessitating any fore-knowledge.  If you know how to wield some scissors and a glue gun, you are already on your way to creating flower hairpieces.  It's a great way to play with colors and use a variety of different materials.

You'll need:

1. Fake Flowers- the ones I used are made of thick paper (I got them from AC Moore)

2. Glue gun

3. Alligator hair clips

4. Scissors

5. Felt

6. Odds and ends (Sequins, sharpies, a matchless earring, and tulle.  In other pieces I have used buttons and ribbon.)

Cut a piece of felt as your anchor for the flowers.  I have found that a kidney shape works well.  The anchor should be 3-4 inches long and 1-2 inches at the widest point.  These are of course just suggestions, if you want to make more of a statement go BIGGER!

Choose flowers that go well together and arrange them on top of the felt anchor.  Do your best to cover all of the felt.  Try to layer the flowers on top of each other to create depth.  Place sequins and buttons over the flowers, until you are reasonably pleased with the result.  I find that it isn't necessary to reach perfection before gluing.  It's often easier to place one or two flowers, and work around them.

I started gluing on the largest side of the kidney shape, with one two layered flowers, and moved to the other side, gluing a few flowers at a time.

To create some height, I used tulle.  I wanted to replace the height usually achieved with feathers with a more animal friendly alternative.  To create the tulle accent, cut out a circle of tulle, about 4 inches across.  Cut a pie piece out of the circle that is 1-2 inches around the "crust."  With the remaining circle fold the tulle accordion style, flattening out the fan shape.  Put a dot of glue on the tulle underneath the flower petals, then press the "handle" of the fan into the glue.  Spread the fan out, and glue the edges down on the felt, underneath the petals.

I placed glue dots on the tulle fan, and after they dried, colored the glue dots with a sharpie.  An alternative is to glue sequins or beads on the tulle fan.  You can also glue a ribbon bow as an accent.  After placing the finishing touches on the hairpiece flip it over.

Place a stripe of glue on the back side of the hairpiece, and stick the alligator clip down on it.

Carefully open the clip, being careful not to unstick the bottom.  Put another stripe of glue, and place a piece of felt in between the two sides of the clip.  Let the clip close, after the glue dries trim around the edges of the new piece of felt.

When you put the hairpiece up to your head, you will notice that one side sticks up because of the hinge.  To fix this, place a bit of glue near the hinge, and carefully bend the felt around the clip.  Hold this in place for a few seconds until it dries to make the clip rounded.

You now have a beautiful cruelty-free hairpiece.  Enjoy, and add a little pizzazz to your next outfit!

Cupcakes!

I have never had a cupcake better than those from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  I'm serious - not only will your cupcakes be beautifully party-ready, as soon as anyone takes a bite, all you will hear is "mmmmhmmm."  I took the Coconut Lime Cupcakes (pg. 107) to a faculty luncheon at my school, and everyone went crazy for them.  The best thing about this book is that the cupcakes are made to impress in both design and flavor.  This is probably my #1 favorite cookbook, and it should be a staple on every dessert-lover's shelf.

The recipes are simple and delicious.  Many of the recipes use similar ingredients, so once you purchase those staples, you're good to go for a variety of different recipes.  Admittedly, some of the ingredients are not going to be in your pantry to begin with, but I've had no trouble finding them at Earth Fare.  If you've got a health food store in your area, you're golden, but even if you don't, many of the odder ingredients can be substituted for something else.    

These were the among the first cupcakes I made from the book.  To the left are Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting.  I used the Lemony Buttercream frosting and added a bit of lemon zest for decoration.  They were soooo good - spicy and sweet, perfect for the holidays.  To the right are the Maple Cupcakes with Creamy Maple Frosting and Sugared Walnuts.  I loved the nutty flavor combined with the maple, but the frosting was not my favorite.  Other people loved it, but I thought the soy milk powder gave it an odd flavor and a downright icky texture.  If I were to do them again, I would use the simple buttercream recipe and add a dollop of maple syrup to that recipe.  On the plus side, the sugared walnuts were so good, my family ate half of them before they even made it on the cupcakes!


I turned to this book again when I was put in charge of my friend's bridal shower.  To the left is my favorite so far - the Mucho Margarita Cupcake.  I did them in a hurry, so they look a mess,  but they were amazing.  Something about the salt in the icing just works with the sweetness of the cupcake and the flavor of the tequila; plus, they've got just the right amount of novelty for Cinco de Mayo or a 21st birthday party.  I especially love the colorful rim of sugar around the edge!  I also made Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze and Almond Flowers (on the right).  They looked so lovely, especially for a bridal shower, but the flavor was so-so.  Part of that was my fault - the recipe called for matcha green tea powder, which I couldn't find anywhere, so I used regular green tea powder instead.  Big mistake.  The cupcakes turned golden brown instead of light green, and they tasted like fake sweetener.  I wouldn't recommend this recipe because the ingredients are a pain to find, and it calls for a lot of things most people don't have in the pantry and will never use again (I'm looking at you, $6 tube of vegan marzipan!).

Another of my favorites is the Crimson Velvet Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting.  Here is my recipe (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World):


Cupcakes:
1 C Almond Milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C sugar
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C canola oil
1 tbs red food coloring (make sure it does not contain carmine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp Chocolate Almondine flavor (or similar chocolate flavoring)


1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin.
2. Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a medium bowl - you'll use this later.
3.  Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the almond milk concoction.
5.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing well.  Add more food coloring if necessary, though I don't care for an overly red cake.
6.  Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake 20-22 minutes, depending on your oven.  They took 22 minutes in mine.  Cool completely.


Frosting: 
1/4 C Earth Balance
1/2 C Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cream Cheese
2 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract


1.  Combine all ingredients using a mixer.  Make sure the Earth Balance and cream cheese are at room temperature before mixing.
2.  Place frosting in the refrigerator to cool.
3.  Pipe onto cupcakes.

Enjoy!
.Love.
Rachel