Royal Mickey Ears

If you’re as much of a Disney nerd as I am, you may have encountered this dilemma when planning your Disneyland outfit: ears or a tiara? They’re both fan favorites in the parks, and I always have trouble deciding which to wear. (#Disneyproblems, right?)

Instead of choosing, why not wear both? You can create your own Royal Mickey Ears with a little felt, foam, and imagination.

What you’ll need:

• Black headband
• Black stiffened felt
• Gold foam
• Scissors
• Strong glue (I use Fabri-Tac)
• Paper
• Pencil

Instructions:

1. Draw your pattern for the ears on a piece of paper. You’ll want to make two circles (for each side of the ear), and a small rectangle piece that will wrap around the headband. Something like this:

Tip: This project is very much about trial and error. You may have to measure a few times to get the size you want. Standard Mickey ears from Disney are about 3.5” across, and I made mine 3” across.

Trace your pattern onto the stiffened felt, and cut the pattern two different times, one piece for each ear.

2. Use the glue to fasten the ears onto the headband. Remember that when you put the headband on, the ears will bend upward slightly. It will look a little strange, but put the ears lower than you think you need them.

3. Create a crown pattern on a piece of paper. I used Aurora’s crown as a model, since it had a very simple outline that made it easy to trace. Use the top of your headband as the guide to trace the bottom of the tiara. Once you’re happy with you pattern, cut the tiara from the foam.

Tip: I cut two pieces and glued them back-to-back, so that the ears would be reversible!

5. Glue the tiara onto your headband. Make sure to press down so that the whole bottom of the tiara touches the headband. Let the glue dry (at least 1 hour) before trying it on.

And that’s it! What I love most about this project is that it’s so customizable; you could replace the tiara with Woody’s cowboy hat, or even decorate the ears to match whatever princess you used as inspiration. Now you can combine a few different Disney park staples into one awesome headband!

A word to the wise – take these ears off when you visit coasters or wet rides…they’re fairly sturdy, but the Royal Mickey Ears will likely bend if they get wet or whipped around too much.