DIY Custom Minnie Mouse Ears

I’ve mentioned our impending trip to the most magical place on earth a few times over the last few weeks and it’s finally so close that I can taste it! With our school struggles of late, this fall break couldn’t have come with better timing. I fall to my knees with gratitude over all of the love, support, encouragement and stories y’all have shared with me these last few days. Honey and I now have a plan and we have a date on the calendar to start to making headway on that plan. Since there is nothing I can do between now and then, I’m forcing myself to make it through this week of school and then to let it go. Sooooo, rather than walking around like a zombie with a pit in my stomach, I’m going to shower (why is that always the first thing to go when I’m distraught?), put on a smile and spend the next week getting ready for our trip. I’ll be blogging about my projects and fun finds non-stop for a while!!

 

Many, many months ago I began thinking of a few ways to combine some of my favorite things: Lilly, Disney, preppiness, pink, hair accessories, etc. You get the picture. I searched the internet for someone that was using Lilly fabric to make ear headbands (at the time there was nobody, now there is) and I came up with nothing. So, I then searched the internet for instructions on how to make my own. Again, I came up with nothing. And with that, I set out to make my own and ended up with the cutest ears I ever did see.

DSC_0024 copy

The first pair just turned out so good that I made another in a different Lilly print. And then a third. Because I had to have one in that print. And now I have a fourth in the works too. More is just more, sometimes.

DSC_0255 copy

Obviously these instructions are the same for whatever fabric you’d like, and you don’t need a whole lot of it. Without further ado, here’s how to make your very own custom Minnie ears…

You’ll need:
foam board
exacto knife
ear pattern (below)
headband (wide enough to hold the ears)
fabric (I found my Lilly fabric on etsy. There are numerous sellers. I just used one that had prints I liked.)
glue (spray glue + hot glue are ideal)
ribbon
a bow

As far as a pattern for the ears, mine is below. Save it to your computer and print it at full page size.
Minnie Ears
1. Trace your pattern on to the foam board. You will need TWO layers for each ear per headband. So, one headband will require 4 cut out ears. I used an exacto knife. This is the hardest part, fellow crafters. I marked top and bottom here, but I’m not sure that it matters.

DSC_0001 (2)

2. Glue the two pieces for each ear together. The reason for needing two layers is that 1) I couldn’t find a board already thick enough, and 2) even if I had it would be the devil to cut.

DSC_0002

3. While the glue is drying, lay out your fabric. Use your ear template to draw cutting lines slightly larger than the pattern. You want them to just be able to wrap around the outside of the ear. You will need four pieces for each headband – two for the front of the ear and two for the back of the ears.
DSC_0003

4. Cut out your fabric. And then iron it! No sense in ruining your project with wrinkles :-)

DSC_0005

5. Glue the fabric to the ears. I started off with good old elmers on this first pair. It took forever to dry, seeped through the fabric and was just a little hard to deal with. For subsequent pairs, I grabbed my spray glue and it made a world of difference!! Whatever glue you choose, firmly attach the fabric and smooth out any bumps or wrinkles.

DSC_0006

Each ear should look like this now…
DSC_0007

6. Use hot glue to glue down the sides of the fabric. I ran a thin bead down the middle of each piece of foam board and went along, burning my fingers, and pressing the fabric down.

DSC_0008

Now it looks like this…

DSC_0009

7. Run another bead of hot glue around the ear and adhere coordinating ribbon to cover up all the seams and mess! It’s the perfect finishing touch.

DSC_0010

8. Glue the ears to your headband, again using the hot glue. (This is where I fell of the picture taking train and just wanted to BE DONE.)

9. You can certainly fashion a bow out of ribbon or fabric, but I had a coupon and just picked up a bunch of the cheer bows at Michael’s. I snipped the tails off at the back of the bow.

DSC_0011

10. And, I used a blob of hot glue to attach the bow to the headband!

DSC_0024 copy

I cannot wait to wear these on our trip!!!
xoxo

38 thoughts on “DIY Custom Minnie Mouse Ears

  1. What a great idea! You should add those to your Etsy store- I would buy a pair. Can't wait to hear details of your Disney trip. I am planning our 4th family trip there in April. Can't wait!

    Kristen in Boston

  2. Very cute!! Love the Lilly prints! I hope you remember to keep a small bowl of ice water next to the craft area when using that hot glue gun! I invariably end up needing to dip my finger in it when I get some glue on me!

    Glad you are feeling better about your dilemna…I find if I have a plan then I can move forward.

  3. Oh my word. The wonderfulness is almost too much!! I'll definitely be making some of these before our December trip! I just wish Lilly made a Christmas-y print!

  4. Oh Amanda, these are adorable! Love, love! I am going to make some of them for our next Disney trip! Thank you for all of your creative ideas! You always inspire me!

  5. They're perfect! ! I can't wait to see the outfits you put together. You'll be the cutest girl in The Kingdom!

    Please, oh, please make a mini pair for you-know-who soon! (I'd bet they're finished already!)

    Enjoy your week of preparation and keep living in each moment. Many hugs to you and yours.

    "When you wish upon a star…."

    Jane ~ San Diego

  6. Love the ears!!! Just a note you might want to think about. Hot glue and heat don't usually go well together and I surely don't want an ear to fall off while you're at Disney, so I suggest that you add a bit of Tacky Glue, as well as, hot glue when putting them on the headband. The hot glue will adhere them quickly but the tacky glue will keep them on there longer and won't melt in the hot sun. I am speaking from experience since I live in Florida and have had things fall off projects glued together with hot glue when the hot sun hits it – especially on something plastic.

    Since you're coming to my town, we're still steaming down here and I want you to look as precious as you always do!

  7. You KNOW I love these. It's an idea I've had all along, but am not crafty enough to bring them to fruition. Great job! (insert clapping emoji here). If you decide to carry these in your Etsy shop, let me know as I'd love to link to them through IG.

  8. Thank you so much for this tutorial!! I am going to disney with my family in a few weeks and wanted to make some for all of us but I am having a problem with the foam. I bought Elmer's Foam Board, the one kids use as poster boards that comes in neon also, but I have a feeling I bought the incorrect one. Which was the one you used in this tutorial?? Thank you again :)

  9. Love the tutorial! Curious as to how sturdy the ears are one glued to the headband. Could that stand up to being put in a backpack?

  10. I needed some quick ears for Disney day for my daughter’s homecoming week – these are a quick work up and I can’t wait to see her pics tomorrow complete with a mickey tee, black tutu and tights, and her ears!!! Thanks for the how-to.

  11. hi ! i love this tutorial but i can’t find the foam board anywhere :'(
    Can you kindly let me know ? I would appreciate it soooo much !

    <333
    Thanks .

  12. I don’t understand the concept of saving the ear templates, and printing as a full size.
    My printer does not give that option. Is there another way of getting the ear template?

  13. This is amazing! Just seeing your process makes my heart happy! :D Thank you for sharing! We are taking our girls in a few weeks and my oldest daughter wants Jack skellington ears! Haha, thank you so much, again! :D

  14. You have seriously just saved me. We planned a last minute trip to Disneyland, and I really wanted custom ears, but there’s not enough time for me to order them from a shop on Etsy (also a lot of those shops fill up so quickly that it’s hard to get your name in even if you do have time). I had never even thought about making my own until I saw this post. Can’t wait to get started on them! Thank you so much for breaking the process down!

  15. Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome tutorial! My sister and I both made Minnie ears using your tutorial and they turned out perfect! I am sharing pictures of them in my blog post about Disneyland next week and linking to your tutorial since it was so awesome!! Thanks again!

  16. Probably going to be Minnie for Halloween, and I like all things DIY. Thanks for the great tutorial. It might be too late to ask, but is the ribbon 3/8?

  17. I can’t seem to access your ear pattern. It says the page can no longer be displayed. Could you post a new link to the pattern please?

  18. What is the approximate diameter of the ears on your template? I am not sure my printer printed them at full size.

  19. Turned out great! I used a utility knife to cut the foam and using a low temp glue gun worked fine and kept me from burning my fingers. I also made a clear template for the fabric so I could position the character fabric just right.

Leave a Reply to dixiedelights Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *