I needed to show one of my designers how I attach charms to ponytail holders so I figured I might as well show you all.
First, run a line of hot glue down the back of your charm. Be sure you placed your charm with the top right side up before you glue. It will matter when the pony goes into the hair. Sometimes I like to angle the charm so I place it very carefully in order to ensure the charm is turned the right direction when I am finished.
Next, lay the ponytail holder on top of the glue and add another dab of glue on top.
Then I grab a piece of ribbon, about 1 ¼ to 1 1/2” long. I place the bottom portion on the glue and squish them together. Be careful because extra glue will probably come out the sides of the ribbon. Don’t burn yourself!!!
*side note* When I do burn myself, really bad, I grab my Mineral Essence from Young Living Essential Oils. I bought my bottle in 1998. We still have half a bottle. My husband used to work for the company in their building department. While I am not a crazy-passionate herbalist in the least, this stuff is MAGIC for burns! No matter what the criminal, the oven, curling iron, lighter :0), or hot glue to the point of blisters, I put a few drops of this stuff on the burn, let it sit a minute or two, then wash it off. It takes the pain away. I think the idea behind the stuff is that it puts the minerals back into your skin that the heat took out. Regardless, the burn is pain-free, while the burns I forget to medicate, can hurt for days. Give it a try:0) I found it online at a couple stores by googling "young living mineral essence". *side note from that* a burn on your tongue can be cured by dabbing with vanilla extract! It need not be pure vanilla. Magical moment number 2! Take a bite of soup or sip of cocoa before you realized just how hot it was? I am terrible. I stick my finger in the bottle of extract, then dab it on my tongue. Good, less disgusting people could probably pour some into a spoon or something. I say why add to the pile of dishes!?! After dabbing I try not to swallow or close my mouth :0) For as long as I make it, that is as much time it takes for the vanilla to work. As with the mineral essence, when I forgot to dab the pain/taste bud damage has lasted for days, where the time was only a few hours when the stuff is applied!
Enough of the crazy antidotes, back to the subject :0)
Push the top half of the ribbon into the glue. I like to kind of push the ribbon up under the elastic. It makes me feel like the whole thing will stay longer. Probably just wishful thinking, but works for me :0)
When you are done you will have something like this. You may need to cut the ribbon down at this point.
Sometimes my glue is a bit messy and maybe I didn't heat-seal the ribbon before gluing onto the charm, so I take a lighter and burn the edges of the ribbon, also melting any glue that looks messy. This step is only for the fire-savy so kids, don't try this at home! It is also particularly tricky with felt which melts at a surprisingly quick rate. It does work like a charm with my wood charms though! One option, if you didn't heat-seal your ribbon ends and they didn't get buried in glue, is to dab on some FrayCheck (sold at your local craft store). It will keep the ribbon from fraying without ever touching a flame!
There you have it. Quite quick and easy to do.
Now, occasionally I have to mount something that is quite thin. Here is how I do that...
Same supplies, ponytail holder, ribbon about 1 1/4", and your charm.
Dab hot glue on half the ribbon, lay the pony on top.
Roll the ribbon up around the elastic. Dab more hot glue on the end. I heat-sealed this end before dabbing with glue. Press closed.
Add another dab of hot glue on top of the seam you just closed.
Add your charm, let the glue cool and you are ready to go! This technique is sturdy, but I would still be careful when possible. To use the ponytail holder, grab your bunch of hair, place the charm at the spot on the ponytail you want it to sit, then wrap the rest of the elastic around the pony as you usually would-holding the charm in place. The glue is only so strong. If you pull on the charm on a regular basis it will eventually come off :0)
I bribed my model with marshmallows to get this picture :0)
Shoe-in for Mother of the Year!
That is your How-to-attach-a-skinny-charm in a nutshell. Let me know if you have any questions!