DIY Ariel Bow + Animation Class with Mark Henn

I remember singing the songs from The Little Mermaid often. Part of Your World was always on full blast. Now my girls are huge Ariel fans! We were lucky to have a mini animation class with Disney Animator Mark Henn and be able to chat with him. Plus, here’s how you can make your own Ariel bow for your The Little Mermaid fans to celebrate the Anniversary Edition of The Little Mermaid on Blu-ray.

Thank you, Disney, for inviting me to the Ralph Breaks the Internet Event and providing airfare and accommodations. All opinions of Ariel’s seashells are my own.

About Mark Henn

During the Ralph Breaks the Internet Event, we were able to visit with the amazing Mark Henn, the guy behind the princess magic. Mark Henn has animated many a Disney Princess, but his first princess was Ariel! He then animated Belle and Jasmine, and received inspiration for Jasmine from his sister. He also created Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana.

We watched him draw Ariel, and then Disney was kind enough to mail us a copy of the Ariel he drew for our group! We had split off into several groups, so it was a more intimate gathering to just chat and watch him work his magic. Meanwhile we got to ask our questions.

Mark said one of his biggest challenges as an artist was making sure each princess he created was unique. I totally get that, because as a writer, I am self-conscious of trying to make things different while staying true to myself.

He also said one of the trickiest aspects of animating Ariel was her hair. I mean look at it, I have serious hair envy. But keeping it in check animation style is not easy. Mark is the nicest guy and a creative genius. Catch our interview with Mark Henn on The Geekly Show Youtube Channel.

 

DIY Ariel Bow

Talking about hair…I have 5 girls, which equals a lot of hair, which equals a lot of bows in our house. We like big bows and we cannot lie, especially JoJo Siwa Bows. The more bling the better. When I try to do crafts, I need simple, so I buy pre-made bows. I find JoJo Siwa bows at Michaels and use a coupon or I’ve found them at Five Below. You can also find big cheer bows at Hobby Lobby for $2.

We started off with a green and purple base, since those are Ariel’s colors. I bought a smaller purple bow and just clipped it right on the bigger JoJo Bow. Let your kids choose whatever they want! This is a fun activity to do with them.

We also added a Mermaid Tail jewel and green seashells that we hot-glued on the bow.

We also added some pearls and the finishing touch is really the mini-fork, also known as a dinglehopper. We found these at Michaels (also with a coupon), and I imagine they have them at party stores. We just slid the fork right under the knot of the bow. You can hot glue it on if you want it to stay perfectly in place.

Voila! An under the sea masterpiece. You can make several bows with these items. Look at this bow. Isn’t it neat?…

The best thing is this craft is super easy and my girls had a blast helping out! They were so proud to wear their DIY Ariel hair bows to school!

The Little Mermaid 30th Anniversary Edition is on digital now and will be on Blu-ray and DVD on February 26th!