A Very Fancy Nancy Dress-up Flower Belt for only $4.

***WARNING: This post contains MANY PICTURES!!***

My toddler is in love with Fancy Nancy. I have the only four Fancy Nancy books we own (two actual books, two on my iPhone) memorized. I could recite them verbatim for you if you wanted! (But I don't think you want me to...really!)
So for Christmas this year I am making her some Fancy Nancy inspired items. One of which is this fun ribbon and flower belt! Total cost: $4.

Inspired by this picture:

Supplies:
Dollar store ribbon - 5 yard spool (I used grosgrain so that if the ribbon flipped around it would look exactly the same on the opposite side)
Dollar store flowers (3 bunches of them)
Plus some things I already had on hand: glue, thread, needle, plastic beads, and plastic rhinestones.

First tie the ribbon around the child that you want to make the belt for (or a child of similar size). And measure how long you want it to hang.

Then cut off the ribbon after adding about an inch to how long you want it. Next measure out how long you want each of the ribbons that will hang down to be, and again add an inch before cutting.

Cut several more ribbons the same length as the one you measured to hang down. At least 6, probably more! How many you cut depends on how many inches your child is around their waist and how "full" you want it to look when it hangs down.
Then lay cut pieces out. Start with the long around the waist piece, then in the center lay a cut piece, then at each end lay another cut piece just before where it would be tied. After that just play with the spacing until you get it how you like it.

Pull the flowers off of the stems, and then pull the flowers apart so that there are no plastic parts left in them.

Take one of the hanging ribbons and sew the flower onto the end using the bead in the center as a hole cover and anchor for the flower. You only need to go through a few times to have it secure if you use the thread doubled over.

Add a little dot of glue on the other end of the ribbon on the same side that the flower is on (the FRONT side). Turn the ribbon over to put the area with glue onto the ribbon for the waist.

Put a little bit of glue onto the back of a rhinestone and then place it right on top of the thread from where you sewed the flower onto the ribbon. This helps cover up the not so pretty thread in case the ribbon flips around backward (which it likely will) and to make it even harder for the threads to come out if your little one tries to pick things apart....like mine does.

Continue sewing flowers onto the ribbon, gluing the ribbon on, and then gluing on a rhinestone onto the back. Do this on the ends for the part to tie it on also.

View from the back

View from the front

Add rhinestones to the ribbon wherever you want. I added them on top of where the hanging ribbons were attached to the waist ribbon, and then halfway between using two different colors.

After looking at how far apart the ribbons that hang down ended up being I decided it needed more. So I cute more ribbons shorter than the first to go in between the other ones. I originally had 7 hanging down. I added 6 more with other flowers that were the same color scheme but a different type.

Close up of the flower from the front.

Close up of the flowers from the back.

I can't wait to give it to my little one with some new Fancy Nancy books to read!! I'll be happy for the variety! LOL
This would also make a fun party favor at a Fancy Nancy, princess, or dress up party. Maybe make the ribbons a little farther apart so it doesn't use as much. For this belt for my daughter, who wears about a 2T took roughly 4.5 yards of ribbon and 15 flowers!
You could also glue the flowers on instead of sew them on. But you would have to glue each layer on individually stacking them up and then put a rhinestone in the middle to cover up the hole instead of a bead. OR you could use puffy paint or puffy paint with glitter sprinkled on top. Any way about it, it would be cute and secure! Linked up here: