Whether you call them head chains, headbands, circlets, fairy head adornments, or hippie bands, these beautiful head adornments can be seen all throughout the Summer: at music festivals, on the beach, and at weddings. Growing up, I never saw them at all – the high school I went to was super-preppy, and I never knew anyone who rocked these. Then, at some point I started making them (mostly for this blog), and found that I loved them! I normally don’t dress very boho, but when I do, I feel these head adornments are a must for dressing up what usually feels like a very dressed-down ensemble to me. For me, the more jewelry the merrier! And I love the Medieval/Grecian princess vibe they add as well (Game of Thrones cosplay, anyone? ;-). There are so many DIY versions out there done with chain, but I wanted to take it to the next level with some pretty stampings instead. And it’s so easy to do! Here’s how:

You Need:

raw brass leaf stampings  /  heavy gauge (around 16 ga) small round jumprings in matching color  /  drill with small bit or metal hole punch (pictured: micro hand drill)  /  pliers

How To: (sorry no step-by-step photos; it’s pretty easy to figure out!)

1. Usually brass leaf stampings don’t come with two holes in them, which is why the drilling/hole-punching is necessary. Use your hole punch or drill to make a small hole in the tip of each leaf stamping. (If using a drill, be sure to place a block of scrap wood underneath so you don’t drill into your countertop!!)

2. Use jump rings to attach the tip of one leaf to the stem of another. Link all the stampings together.

3. Try the head adornment on for size. You need it tight enough so that it won’t fall down into your eyebrows, but loose enough so that it can go over the crown of your head.

4. Attach more stampings as necessary to close the gap at the back, or use jump rings linked together to size it properly.

And that’s it! A simple, pretty piece that will jazz up your head and look fabulous wherever you go this Summer.

I found my leaf stampings on Etsy originally, in this store. Here are some great options for different types of Brass Leaf Stampings:

Matte Gold Plated Over Brass Leaves, Natural Raw Brass Leaf Stampings, Vintage Brass Leaf Stampings, Large Antiqued Gold-Plated Brass, Vintage Brass Leaf Stampings, Large Raw Brass Leaf Stampings

And, to help you along with ideas for your hippie headbands, I’ve put together a Pinterest board with some Pins of great Summer head adornment. Please follow me on Pinterest, and

Check out my Inspiration: Head Chains Board for ideas!

Wearing: DIY Gold Leaf Head Chain, DIY Owlita Pheasant Feather Earrings, mocha layered cotton sundress

In case anyone was wondering, the earrings pictured above are my DIY version of Owlita feather earrings, made from cruelty-free pheasant feathers sourced on Ebay (I haven’t shared the tutorial for those; they were just something I wanted to try my hand at making)

Now you’ve got your head adornment for the music festival, you could also try out a Tribal Stamped T-Shirt, Watercolor Scarf, Flowered Ballet Flats, Fringed Gladiator Sandals, Fringed Bag, Double Fringe Necklace, Lace Vest, Lace-Covered Boots, or Lace Maxi-Skirt made from a Curtain.

Please let me know if there are other Summer jewelry projects you’d like to see DIY versions of! (Anthropologie-inspired layering necklaces are on the way…)

Happy DIY’ing!

xo
Carly

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