How to Make Eraser Hair Bows and Barrettes

 Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read 

How to Make Eraser Hair Bows and Barrettes

How to Make Eraser Hair Bows and Barrettes

With the 2025 Back-to-School season, I found some eraser letters in the Target Bullseye Playground for $1. I bought them knowing I’d make something with them. After deciding on making hair bows and barrettes, I had to problem solve for the type of glue to use on erasers. I experimented and found some answers. Read on to learn how to make eraser hair bows and barrettes.

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diy initial hair barrettes

I added my initials to my eraser hair clips

Best Glue for Erasers

There are tons of glues on the market, but not all are created equally and not all glues are for every surface. I experimented with four glues for this project. Hot glue works on erasers, but won’t last. Aleene’s Tacky Glue rejected the rubber eraser very fast. Liquid Fusion worked on gluing rhinestones to the erasers but did not hold the large pencil eraser to the fabric bow I made.

teacher ponytail hairstyle on carolyn braden

Both eraser hair accessories can be worn together

The answer for the best glue to use on erasers I found (after my experiments) was Gorilla Clear Grip Contact Adhesive. I think E6000 may work too, but the Gorilla was the best in my testing.

eraser hair clips

The initial eraser hair clip

How to Wear: Back to School Hairstyles

You can wear these hair accessories together in a cute curled ponytail hairstyle like I did, or you can wear them separately. I used to be a teacher and my students would have loved these back to school hair accessories!

initial eraser hair clips by carolyn braden

Wearing the clips in a curly hairstyle

The pencil/bow version is a little heavy, so it will stay secure in thicker hair or in a ponytail hairstyle. If you or your child/grandchild is making the eraser bow and has fine hair, keep my hairstyle tips in mind. Get more back-to school hairstyle ideas here in this article by Southern Living.

retro green dress on carolyn braden

Now for the project. Here’s how I made my eraser hair bows and barrettes.

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ticonderoga pencil eraser hair bow

The completed pencil eraser hair bow

Get the initial eraser barrette tutorial in my less than a minute video tutorial above or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden.

Supplies I Used:

Get the 1-minute video tutorial above, or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden or get the written directions below:

Apply Liquid Fusion Glue OR Gorilla Clear Grip Glue to the erasers wherever you want to apply flatback pearls or rhinestones.

adding rhinestones to a pencil eraser

Gluing the rhinestones to the erasers

Use the wax tip pencil to apply the rhinestones and/or pearls.

wax tip pencil and pearl rhinestones

Wax tip pencils help pick up rhinestones and pearls easily

Allow them to dry for 24 hours.

using a bowdabra to make a bow

Using the Bowdabra for the bow creation

For the bow, form one using your own bow making skills OR use my 1- minute Bowdabra tutorial video here or below via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden to make a similar bow. Better Homes and Gardens has lots of bow tutorials on their website here too.

I then hot glued the metal spring barrette to the back of the bow.

hot gluing a metal spring hair clip

Adding the bow to the metal spring hair clip

I wrapped the loose ends of the bow under the spring of the clip and layered the ends and glued them using hot glue to keep the bow securely glued onto the clip. I trimmed as needed with scissors and even cut the ends of the bow into a cute diagonal style.

Metal clip hair bows do require a knowledge of how to open and close them. Use my video tutorial above if you are struggling with them.

cordless glue gun crafting a bow

Perfecting the closure on the bow

I sealed the ends of the bow using a very quick swipe of a lighter. This gives it a plastic-ky edge.

sealing a ribbon edge with a lighter

Sealing the ends of the bow

I then used the Gorilla glue to glue the rhinestone adorned pencil to the front of the bow and let it dry for 24 hours.

eraser hair bows by carolyn braden

These make cute back-to-school hair bows

For the pearl adorned eraser letters, I used Gorilla glue to glue them to a flat gold barrette. I used a pointy cotton swab to remove any excess glue and allowed the barrette to dry for 24 hours. I then wore them all proudly!

gluing erasers to a hair clip

The best glue for erasers is Gorilla glue

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 Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.