I have seen tons of tutorials for headbands and hairpins and things, but what I use in my hair most are hair sticks and I have been trying to think of a good way to make them.

the ones I like best are like this
http://www.crystalkini.com/store/hair-sticks/hair-sticks-with-cowry-shell/prod_133.html

or
http://www.stone-bridge.co.uk/allure-french-hair-stick---dark-stone-1568-p.asp

and I have seen really cool ones like

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=357014.0 which I adore.

Saw one tutorial on how to make them from wooden dowels but I cant imagine that they would easily slide through hair.

well just an idea. wood...wire and then the additions, but I haven't tried it yet since i dont have the materials.

have you tried chop sticks? I usually paint them, then seal them. Then I take a bead and glue it to the top. I then take some colorful wire, run it through the bead and then "tangle" it around the chop stick it self. I made some for my best friend a while back. I need to take some pics of them and post them.

chopsticks are what I use in my hair right now, but the ones I have gotten are usually already decorated and used for food. but I can see if i can find a plain set and do that. the important thing is to make sure the end of the chopstick is pointy enough. when its blunt it tends to catch and pull on the hair.

I'm a hair junkie, I love my hair sticks.

What you could try are metal knitting needles like these:


They're durable, smooth, there are always tons of different size and colored knitting needles at second hand stores (around where I get them, anyway) and they're completely waterproof. The only real problem is that they're a little tougher to decorate than wooden ones, since you can't really drill through them. Just don't get needles that are too thin, they have a tendency to bend. For shorter metal sticks you can find smooth spikes at hardware stores. Some days I like not having so much stick show. Aaaand that sounded dirty. O.o

What else, hmm... Blank pencils can work. Pencil sharpeners are great for pointing the ends, btw. You'll have to sand and lacquer them of course, but I prefer to do that either way.

Another possible idea might be to get some regular wooden chopsticks from your local takeout place (most of the time they'll give them to you for free) and go to town with some sandpaper to make them pointy.

After that, Mercy_Mile's idea about painting and sealing them would probably work wonderfully. I like the knitting needle idea, but in comparison to free chop-sticks, they're too expensive lol.

I did these ages ago.... Wow, I didn't realize hom many posts I made on TB! It took forever to find it.
http://forum.threadbanger.com/showthread.php?t=11727

Do you have access to a plumber's torch a hammer, and a drill press? Do you have a good hardware store that sells thick copper wire? (or a scrap yard and some luck!) I can do a tutorial but it will be essential to anneal the copper and drill a hole. Also you would need needle files, but those you can find relatively cheap!



I made this plain one a while back, but it's WAY too long, so now I use it for a tool.

well, It's not a tool any more! I cut off the end and turned it into this!
[img][/img]


(Luna moth wings on Plexiglas sealed with gloss medium, riveted to a spot where I hammered the copper flat so I could drill a hole into it)