Welcome back to another Craft Something New With Me! In this series, I try out a new DIY project that I’ve never done before and give you my honest thoughts on how it turned out. This time, I dipped into the world of DIY decoden hair clips—and let’s just say, it wasn’t love at first squeeze.

If you’re not familiar, “decoden” is a Japanese-inspired craft where you decorate accessories with a whipped cream-like paste and super cute charms to give them a sweet, dessert-like look. It sounded fun in theory… but in practice? Not so much.

What I Used:

• Decoden cream (pre-filled piping tube)
• Plastic hair clips
• Flat-back resin charms
• Letter beads
• Tweezers
• All supplies can be found here

What Went Wrong:

Right out of the gate, the decoden cream was tricky to manage. It’s supposed to come out in these perfect little swirls, but mine looked like lumpy toothpaste. No matter how carefully I piped it, it just didn’t come out cute.

Then came the charms. I picked out some adorable flat-back pieces—tiny food, sweets, and hearts—but most of them were either too big or too awkwardly shaped to sit nicely on the clips. They kept shifting around or sticking out at odd angles.

Even after letting them dry overnight, the finished clips looked… well, a little janky. Definitely not something I’d feel cute wearing. And if I’m being totally honest—I probably won’t even keep them.

Thank You, Next:

I’m all for trying new crafts and embracing the process (even the messy ones), but this one just didn’t do it for me. DIY decoden hair clips might be better suited for phone cases or mirrors where you have more surface area to work with. For tiny accessories like clips? It’s a pass.

If you’ve ever made decoden accessories and actually loved them—send tips my way! I’m always open to second chances!

Other Posts in This Series