Talk Like a Pirate Day is almost on us again, so it's time to start making accessories.

Captain Jack Sparrow was the inspiration for these hair clips my daughter and I made.


You will need:
Snap clips with holes in them, the pink ones are kiddie clips made by Scunci, the brown ones are contour clips that Goody makes that coordinate with natural hair colors.
Beading wire like Beadalon or Softflex
Crimp beads
Crimping pliers
an assortment of beads and a charm if you want one at the end
Wire snips for the beading wire

When we started putting these together, I pull out the extra crystals and such I had from other projects, and since I knew my daughter would want skulls, I cut apart a little plastic skull bracelet a friend gave me.
If you are doing with this with kids, I do recommend doing the crimping, I also recommend inexpensive watercolor dishes for the beads. The ceramic ones are great for adults beading, but the little plastic ones do just as well for kids. I let her pick the colors and types of beads, and included some bigger seed beads for spacers. Size E, 8s and cubes work great.

Cut a length of wire the same length you want your hair beads plus 3 inches.
I crimped the wire to the clip, leaving a bit of slack. Don't push the crimp all the way up to the hairclip or it won't lay right. I used 2 crimps on mine for extra security.
For the mini clips, use a lot of lightweight beads as well as the crystals so the weight of the beads won't pull it out of your hair.
String the beads on. I wanted it fairly random, so after picking out my beads and mixing them up, I just strung them as I grabbed them. The pink on is the one I made, and it's also got little mother of pearl bird fetishes on it.
String on beads until you've only got a couple inches of wire remaining, then string on a crimp bead or two, and pass the wire through either a bead big enough to keep the other beads from slipping off if you used beads with large holes, or a charm on the bottom. Pass the wire back through the crimp beads and through the beads above it. Crimp the beads to finish. Make sure all loose wire ends are tucked into beads. Clip it in under the top layer of your hair to hide the clip.

Both of our clips stayed in all day when we wore them out for the first time, but mine did occasionally slip, I have very straight fine hair. Her's didn't budge. I think on September 19th, I'll use a bobbypin to secure the clip a little better.
Want to dress like a pirate? Check out Make a Pirate Costume from our Creativity Editor.