DIY Cooling Hair Tie

In Texas, temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees, and average during the summer is anywhere between 95 and 110. This past week was girls' camp and as the camp director, I knew one the of the things the girls would complain about the most was the heat, so I made (with help) over 50 "cooling hair ties."

You may or may not have seen those "cooling necktie/hair tie" things that you put into water for a couple minutes and they keep you cool all day? Well, generally they cost upwards of $8 each. But really, they are quite inexpensive and really easy to make.

 Just as a reference, I spent $15 on the crystals and $5 on the fabric (most of it I got for free from donations), so for 50+ neckties, we spent about $20

DIY Cooling Hair Tie

Supplies:

Fabric (how much will depend on how many you need to make, but for each necktie you will need 4 1/2" x 44" of fabric)

Thread

Scissors or Rotary cutter with mat

Iron & ironing board

1/8 teaspoon

Sewing Machine

Water Absorbing crystals/polymers (I bought a 3lb. bag on Amazon for $15, but you only need a 1/2 teaspoon per tie, so I definitely didn't even use close to a 1/4 of that bag. You can find it at Home Depot in the gardening section).

 1. Cut your fabric into 4 1/2" strips. Fold in half "hotdog" style (or the long way) with the right sides together (meaning the side with the more vibrant fabric you would iron together) and iron.

2. Next, sew the two sides together along the long side. You should have a long inside-out tube. Pull the fabric through to make it right-side-out. (My genius husband did this using a broom stick handle. It made things go much faster.)

 3. Now you're going to mark the middle by folding your tube in half. Sew a straight line across the middle. Once you've done that, pour 1/8 teaspoon of the water absorbing crystals into one side. Mark 4" from the middle and sew a straight line again. You've just made one pocket with the crystals inside. Now, make three more pockets so there are two on each side of the middle line. Sew the ends together and voila! You've got yourself a cooling necktie

 *Note: There are many variations on this. You can do three pockets, with one large pocket in the middle. Or you can have one big pocket. Whatever you choose. Just keep in mind that though the little crystals don't look like they take up a lot of space, they will expand 10x their size or more, so in this case, less is probably better.

Round Up: Girls' Camp Crafts

For the past couple of weeks, I have had camp crafts, long hikes, summer breezes, canoeing and swimming, and planning craziness on the brain.

Somehow, I managed to become Camp Director for our Girls' Camp this year {it's a LDS aka Mormon church thing}. Now, I loved Girls' Camp, but I had no idea how much work went into it every year {including time, money, talents, creativity, ideas, planning, etc, etc, etc}.

Anyway, one of my duties is to plan the crafts. I love crafting, but these crafts have to be on the more simple side. That is, we won't have a sewing machine; we can't really spend hours and hours working on them {well....I guess they actually could; the girls have quite a bit of free time}; they can't cost too much; and most of all, they have to be fun!

So after much searching, I've compiled a round up of 20 great Girls' Camp crafts. Or just simple and fun crafts you can do with your kids or yourself.

No Sew Braided Headband

Washer Necklaces

Decorated Journals

Wire Jewelry Holder

Fabric Flower Headbands and Barrettes

Resin Pendant Necklaces

Rolled Fabric Flowers {for headbands, hair clips, etc}



Button Bracelet



Button Rings



Lantern
{and the wire handle tutorial link as well}




 Fabric-wrapped Pens
{blogger said to make these pens, follow the same tutorial listed above,
but to wrap the fabric around the pens instead of a hair band}

Soda Pop Bracelets

Charm Bracelets

 Paper Bag Journals

Heart Pattern Friendship Bracelet

 {or you can check out these tutorials or this one or even this one
{the last one is a bit of a different take on it}


Duct Tape Wallets

 Ribbon Bracelets

Super Cute Pinwheels

Lace Crowns
 


Tile Coaster

Whew! That was a lot more work than I thought! But I think there are a lot of great ideas here {thanks to other crafty and creative bloggers}. Hope you find something you enjoy!

UPDATE: I found a couple more good ones, 

so I'm throwing them in here too

Cereal Box Notepads

 

Duct Tape Bags

(image source)


Canvas "Deer" Diary
{Find the canvas journals here}

Jersey Knit Bracelets

Popsicle Cuff Bracelet

 

And there you have it! If I find more good ones, I'll be sure to post them. And if you have any good ideas, be sure to let me know!