Show off your inner mermaid with a DIY Mermaid floppy hat! DIY your own custom painted floppy sun hat to create the perfect addition to your summer wardrobe.

She just might get you lost,
And she just might leave you torn,
But she just might save your soul
If she gets you any closer….
–Rooftops and Invitations 

Dashboard Confessional

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Today’s music selection comes from my current re-discovering of Dashboard Confessional. Do you guys ever go back and listen to a band you liked years ago and realize that you still love them and their songs still hit you in the feels? And it just feels like… coming home. I don’t really know exactly how to quantify it but that’s what it feels like. So, you know… just listen and enjoy.

You know all that stuff about being secretly a mermaid? Yep, there’s hats, swimsuits, shirts, necklaces, leggings, pencils… all of it. But lets be real here, if you were a mermaid, wouldn’t you just tell everybody? Just own that shit because ITS AWESOME! But… you know… more like the Daryl Hannah or Peter Pan kinds. Not the Harry Potter ones, those give me nightmares.

MAKE IT: MAGICAL MERMAID BARK

Anyway. The moral of the story is be a mermaid. Be magical. Own that shiz and don’t care what anyone else says. Oh! And you know, it doesn’t hurt to have something that looks like a mermaid on to REALLY identify yourself. Like a Mermaid beach floppy hat perhaps?

Aside from Mermaids, the inspiration from this project came from the wonderful Rachel Mae Smith of thecraftedlife.com and Sarah Hearts who hosted a DIY Floppy hat workshop at Craftcation 2017. If you’re a maker, creator, seller, etc. I definitely recommend signing up because it is a truly amazing learning and connecting experience.

DIY Mermaid Floppy Hat

Supplies:
Floppy Hat
Large Foam Pouncers – These Martha Stewart pouncers are great! Scroll down for an easy hack so you don’t have to buy a million packages of these things.
Medium flat paint brush
FolkArt Color Shift Paint in Purple Flash
Deco Art Dazzling Metallics in Crystal Green and Peacock Pearl
Deco Art Extreem Sheen in Antique Bronze

Cost: $20 or less
Time: 1-2 hours
Waterproof? um… no? maybe? Don’t use it while you swim. It’ll make you swim slower and clumsier, not like the mermaid you are.

MAKE IT: DIY MERMAID TRINKET TRAY

I’m in love with the Martha Stewart pouncers but I really didn’t want to buy more than one package so I hacked them with melamine sponges. To do this, you’ll need some magic eraser sponges – I got mine from the dollar store, a large Martha Stewart foam pouncer and a craft knife.

Remove the foam part of the pouncer and use the casing to create 2 circle cut outs from each sponge. Glue them together – on top of each other – and let it sit for about an hour or two to dry. Stick the stacked sponge into the empty pouncer container and use a craft knife to carefully trim away the sides to create a neat circle. Now you’ve got a total of 3 pouncers, one for each color!

Okay, on to the hat!

Start by creating a pallette of each color for dipping. I like using the lid of a sour cream container or a paper plate. Stamp in a random pattern around the edge of the hat.

Once that’s done, start layering colors in random order around and up until the entire brim is painted. Stop as close as you can to the crown of the hat.

Grab a medium to large flat paintbrush to add in some detail with an accent color. For this project, I used metallic bronze. Lightly brush paint around a few of the “scales” and finish by painting a band around the base of the hat to give it a more finished look.

Allow it to dry completely and you’re off to show everyone your fancy mermaid self!

Don’t forget to PIN for later!

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