Ingredients: (1) Imperial Party Crown Kit (1) Gold bric-a-brac Trim (1)Photo of Crown Recipient Party Supply Store Items: (2) 2” Plastic Champagne Bottles (1) Plastic Rattle Favor (2) Wooden (half) Flower Pots (1) Bunch of Posies— divided (10) Little Plastic Babies (2) Pipe Cleaners (6) Mini Gold Coins (1) Gold: “Mother” Charm

How long did this crown take to make? I put this crown together in an evening, let it dry over night and added finishing touches such as spotting sequins with glitter glue and adding pom-poms to the crown tips the next morning. Like any creative endeavor, it’s the results, not breakneck speed of completion that counts. Some crowns take me a week (off and on) to complete. Enjoy the royal ride!

No two crowns are exactly alike, but we hope that this step by step “How To” feature will give you some ideas to consider. Here’s how I created this crown, which is fairly elaborate.

1. First, I decided on a theme. This was a baby shower gift, so “The Queen Mother,” seemed appropriate.
2. From there, I found a pretty photograph of the mother-to-be and started looking around and collecting decorative accents that would support the theme of celebration, motherhood, and babies.
3. Using an Exacto knife, I cut a slit above and under the hand in the photo so I could insert the little toy rattle purchased at a party supply store.
4. I glued a red starburst crest in place high on center crown base and glued the gold “Mother” charm onto it and little gold coins onto alternate points of crest.
5. I then glued a flat slice from a round Styrofoam ball on center section, and glued the gold starburst and photo onto base and over Styrofoam. Styrofoam provides depth and an anchor to plug in pipe cleaners or other things you may want to have some from behind main graphic.
6. The rest is fairly self-explanatory. I glued gold bric-a-brac above felt, and other accents on with craft glue. Then used glitter glue to write, The Queen Mother. It’s important to let the glitter glue dry for a few hours before working further on the crown.
7. Using the craft glue, I dotted the felt and tiara foil layer and added sequins on top of glue dots. To make this easier, use the toothpick included in kit. Dip toothpick in one of the glue dots and this will allow you to pick up sequins and place on top of glue dots easily. Dot each sequin and around it with glitter glue for extra sparkle. Let dry at least three hours before wearing.
8. Place a dot of glue on each pom-pom and squeeze around crown points one by one as crown is standing upright in a circle.