White butterfly for a girl’s first day at school

Although the summer school holidays in England have only started today the beginning of the new school year is not too far away. The department stores kindly remind parents about it with their “Back to school” display windows.
In Russia the school year starts on 1 September every year designated as a public holiday. Well, unless it falls on the weekend. For first year students  it is an important day. The parents try their best and prepare their children for this new step in their lives by investing a small fortune in the outfits and designer stationary.
In my day girls would wear a school uniform dress as well as a lacy decorative white apron. The hairstyles would vary with plaits prevailing but what most first year girls would have in their hair were enormous foam-like organza bows. Here’s roughly how it looked:

Although the organza bows are still quite popular, they are becoming less so for the discerning Mum. For those of them who are looking for original and one-off accessories I am happy to offer this delicate white silk and lace butterfly:
White butterfly headband
I used only the best materials to make this unique butterfly headpiece from scratch, including pure satin silk with its soft shine, pure silk organza to double the wings for extra firmness, pure silk dupioni to wrap the headband, as well as floral lace, glass and seed beads and ostrich feathers.

Not only is it great for a girl’s first day at a school in Russia, this versatile girls’ accessory is also ideal for a wedding or a christening party too. The butterfly headpiece is available for purchase from my Etsy shop.
If you are brave enough (or curious enough) to give it a go and try to make a similar headband with a lace butterfly yourself I have prepared a detailed photo tutorial for you. More information on the tutorial as well as a nice bonus you can find in my Tutorial e-store .
Should you have any questions I am here to help.

Little princess’ teasure box

As well as their Mummies little girls love to get dressed in new pretty outfits for special occasions. And what can be the best compliment to that outfit if not a cute designer custom-made hair accessory
I have made floral accessories in silk and other fabrics as well as fascinators in sinamay for young ladies.
One of my long-standing favourites is this original silk and lace butterfly headband in sugar pink. I painted all the fabrics by hand  using colours for silk. This allows me to create the accessory in an array of colours to perfectly match a little girl’s dress. The butterfly is decorated with ostrich feathers and Japanese seed beads.

 This is an example of a delicate floral headpiece accented with pearl beads in a matching colour. I used pure silk fabrics of several types and painted them by hand. A headdress like this one is ideal for little bridesmaids at weddings.  Other colours are available to order.

 This alice headband decorated with a distressed denim camellia flower is a versatile hair accessory for the coming summer. Not only will it complete little princess’ denim outfits, but it will also complement her light romantic dresses and skirts with floral prints. I would recommend it for everyday wear. To get  your own complete set of denim accessories you can order a brooch and hair clips made with the same fabric.

My latest creation for young ladies is this elegant triple bow of sinamay and birdcage veil on a headband. I embroidered the centre of the bow with Japanese seed beads and covered the headband in Indian dupioni sik in a matching colour. 

 This fascinator is perfect for special occasions and can be made to order in other colours to complement an chosen outfit and to complete the look.

I have more ideas to add to the collection of little princess’ accessories so keep your eyes peeled for them :-)))