Friday's Film: Milk Maid Braids

This darling pin has been floating around Pinterest and we just love the idea!

You can find the direct link to that pin here.

We've done a video on this hairstyle and we had a bit of a variation at the end because my princess has VERY long hair.

You can see that it's really easy and super fast for such a cute style!

We chose not to have our ribbon show as much as in the original instructions but that's totally up to you when you do the style.

This shows how we just bobby pinned our side up.

My princess was very excited about this hairstyle because we saw it on Pinterest and I think it turned out pretty cute!

Friday's Film: Long to Short Without a Cut

Today at school it was "Dress As Your Favorite Dr. Seuss Character" day. 

My princess chose to go as Daisy-Head Mayzie and she was so excited. 
In the past we've done Cindy Lou Who and you can find directions for that here.
The only problem we had with Dayzie-Head Mayzie is that her hair is short and my princess has very long hair so this is the solution we came up with:

We've done this before with our Junie B. Jones hairstyle.

We even added some fake bangs on that particular day.

Here is her new "short" hair.

This is what it looks like from the side.

We were able to hide her ribbon with the headband but it would be cute with just the ribbon as well.

Here is my little Dayzie-Head Mayzie all ready for school!

5-Strand Braid With Ribbon

Today was "Dress as Your Favorite Character" day at school and my princess chose to dress as Spongebob Squarepants.

As you can imagine, I was at a loss for what to do to her hair.  I finally decided to just add some fun yellow ribbons to her hair for color and this is what we came up with.

It is a 5-Strand Braid with two of those strands being the yellow ribbon.  I just pulled the hair into two piggies and then wrapped an extra long ribbon through each elastic so that it was bent in half around the elastic giving me two strand in each piggie to work with. 

I divided the piggies into 3 equal strand each and then used the ribbon as the other two strands for the 5-Strand Braid.  If you do not remember how to do a 5- Strand Braid the video can be found here. 

You will start with your strands as follows: hair - ribbon - hair - ribbon.  Then just proceed to braid from that point.  When you get to the bottom of the braid you can secure it with an elastic and cut off any remaining ribbon.  Looks kind of cool huh! 

Holiday Hairstyles: Present

This one may look a bit complicated but it's really pretty easy.  I've provided step by step instructions to hopefully help you if you get stuck.

Here are the supplies we used for this hairstyle.  We have two different colors of ribbon and a plastic yarn needle.  (This picture shows green ribbon but I decided to use white ribbon in the actual hairstyle.  Sorry for any confusion.)  I also made some really simple hair clips by gluing some gift bows to the top of alligator clips.

Start by dividing the hair into 4 equal sections by creating a part horizontally across the back of the head and a part vertically straight down the middle of the head.  Secure each section into a ponytail right in the middle of it's section.  Start with your top-left ponytail and divide it into two equal sections.  Do the same with the top-right ponytail.  Take one section from each ponytail and bring them together over your center part and secure them with an elastic.  That will be the top part of your present and you will now have a new ponytail right in the top-middle.

Move down to the bottom-left ponytail and divide that into two equal sections.  Pull one of those sections and the remaining section from your top-left ponytail together over the center part and secure them with an elastic, creating another new ponytail.  This is the left side of your present.

Move down to your bottom-right ponytail and divide that into two equal sections.  Take one of those sections and combine it with the remaining section from your top-right ponytail.  Before you place an elastic on it, pull over the new ponytail created on the left side of your present.  Include that with those two sections and secure it all with an elastic.  That is the right side of your present and a new ponytail. 

Grab your last two sections from the two original bottom ponytails and bring them together over the center part.  Also bring down that new ponytail created on the top part of your present and include that and secure it with an elastic.  Now your entire present is formed including the criss-cross parts in the middle and you should have a ponytail coming off the bottom part of your present and one coming off the right side of your present.  Twist these two final ponytails into a side-Corkscrew down on the right side and secure it at the bottom with an elastic. 

Now you are ready to start weaving your ribbon.  Thread the yarn needle with the color that you want to use as your present outline first.  Start wherever you like and just wrap it around the whole outside square that is the border of your present.  When you get back to where you started, tie the two ends of ribbon together and cut off any excess.  Tuck in your know and then use a bobby pin to secure it inside the hair so it stays hidden.  Grab your second color of ribbon and thread your yarn needle.  Outline the criss-crossing "ribbon" part in the middle of your present.  Tuck your ribbon ends into the hair and use a bobby pin to secure them in so they don't pop out later.  Your last step is to add your wrapping bows.  I placed one right in the middle over the crossing ribbons and one at the end of the Corkscrew.   

Holiday Hairstyles: Snowflake

This Holiday Hairstyle is a snowflake and the pictures don't do it much justice.  It actually turned out really cute but I do have to admit that I think it would look better on hair that is not quite so long.

Here are the supplies needed:  White yarn or ribbon, a snowflake hair clip or clips, and some little rhinestones that either twist into the hair or have velcro on the back to slide into the hair.

Begin by parting the hair into sections.  Part the hair in half horisontally first.  This should now give you two equal sectinos - one on top and one on bottom.  Tie off the top section and begin working on the bottom. 

Have your princess lie on her tummy on a bed so that her face is just over the side.  This will make it easier to do an upside down French Braid.  Divide that lower half into two equal sections and create and upside down French Braid out of both sections.  Add in hair all the way up to that middle part and then get 3 strands of white yarn ready.  Add in a strand of yarn to each of your sections of hair that you are braiding and finish the French Braids off with Regular 3-Strand Braids.    Secure the bottom with an elastic and cut off any excess yarn.  Do this to both sides. 

 When the bottom half is done, you can have your princess get up so you can move to the top half.  We have created 4 sections on our top half but you can do just two again if you like.  Create  French Braid out of each section - adding in hair until you reach the part.  Add your 3 strand of white yard to each braid and finish it off with a Regular 3-Strand Braid.  Secure them all at the ends with elastics and cut off any excess yarn. 

You should now have a braid from each section that is hanging.  Go ahead and combine them all into one elastic so that they hold a bit tighter.

 Now take each individual braid and fold it under itself once.  Bobby pin your end underneath so that it stays securely in place.  Do this in a circular motion so that your braids each fan out away from the center of the head.  

You can be finished at this point or you can add a snowflake hair clip to the middle and some rhinestones to make it shimmer a bit.

Holiday Hairstyles: Gingerbread Man

So you may think that every hairstyle turns out well and that we never have any complete disasters... well, this post will prove otherwise!  I just had to share this one because I had an idea in my head for this darling gingerbread man and it ended up looking like a hot mess on my poor daughter's head!  :)

These are the supplies that we used - not that you will need to remember them because this hairstyle was a FAILURE.

I'm not even going to try to type instructions because it is apparent that what I was doing did not work.  ha ha!  Just enjoy the pictures and get a good laugh in for the day.

This is supposed to show the side of the head, an arm, and a leg but I would be amazed if you could pick that out!

You can see where I attempted to create a head on top but it looks nothing like a head! 

Another view of the disaster.

Maybe we'll attempt this again next year but I will have to have a seriously different approach to the whole thing because this one failed big time.  :)  Have a great day and remember *DO NOT ATTEMPT*  ha ha!

Holiday Hairstyles: Santa Hat

This is a hairstyle created from the original hairstyle called Half-Down French Braids.  We've just added some fun accessories to make it a Santa Hat.

These are the supplies that we used but you can find anything that works for you.  There is red ribbon, a plastic yarn needs. some extra large white wire-ribbon, and a white puff ball that we've glued to a hair pin. 

Create your Half-Down French Braid hairstyle first.  The directions can be found here.  Now grab your red ribbon and your yarn needle.  (You will want to make sure the ribbon is long enough to weave on both sides of your braids.)  Feed your ribbon through your top elastic so that the exact middle of the ribbon is folded at the band.  

Start with one side of your ribbon and weave it back and forth through both sets of braids - making sure to alternate your left and right sides.   When you get down to the bottom of the "French" part of your braid, secure that ribbon by tying it around the braid and then knotting it.  Cut off any excess ribbon.  (This part will be hidden later.) 

 Move over to your other side of ribbon and repeat the steps.  Be sure that this new side of ribbon is exactly mirroring your previous side. 

After both ends of ribbon have been tied off and the excess had been cut, you are ready to use your white wired-ribbon.  Wrap it behind both braids at the nape of the neck and then bring it around the front and tie it in a bow.  (Make sure the white ribbon is covering those ends from your red ribbon.)  Shape your bow until it looks the way you like.  (This is the reason for using wired-ribbon.)  Take a bobby pin on each braid and run it through the ribbon to secure it to the hair.  The final step is to insert your puffy white hair pin into the top elastic. 

 Now your princess is festive and ready for Christmas!  :)    

Holiday Hairstyles: Wreath

This is one of my favorite Holiday Hairstyles.  It can be formal or casual and it holds all day long.

These are the supplies you will need:  Green ribbon, a plastic yarn needle, flower hair pins, and a Christmas hair clip or two.

The basic hairstyle beneath this wreath is the Angel Halo and I have a instructional video for that here.  The only difference is that instead of ending it by the ear with a bun, I continued twisting the extra hair around the top of the head and pinned it underneath the original French twist on the side that I started.  That way I had a full circle to work with.

Thread your yarn needle with the green ribbon and insert it through your Angel Halo down at the bottom by the neck.  Begin wrapping the ribbon around your twists and follow your entire circle until you end up back at the bottom.  Tie your two ends of ribbon together to secure them and then cut off any excess. 

Now grab your Christmas hair clip and place it right over the ribbon ends.  We have used two here because we didn't have one that was quite big enough.  Now take your flower hair pins and insert them around the wreath wherever you think it looks good. 

 It makes a really festive updo for your princess this season!

Holiday Hairstyles: Candy Cane

It's "Candy Cane Day" at my princess's school and we did this hairstyle in honor of that.

Begin by making a curved part starting over behind the left ear.  Have it curve up about two inches from the bang line and then come down to a straight part in the center.  (I wish that my curve would have been a bit more defined so make sure it is exactly how you want it before continuing on.)

 Comb all of the hair below and to the left of the part down to the nape of the neck where you will create a Regular 3-Strand Braid out of it.  

Now move back up to that hair by the left ear and start creating a Half-French Braid by only gathering hair into the outside strands of your braid so that it lies directly on top of the part you have created. 

 Continue adding in hair as you plate around the curve and once you get to your straight part you can start adding in hair to both sides of your braid to create a regular French Braid the rest of the way down.  Once you've added all of the hair in you can finish it off with a Regular 3-Strand Braid. 

Now grab some red and white ribbon and a plastic yarn needle.  Start with one of your colors and tuck the end in over by the left ear - I used a bobby pin to hold it in place. 

Now thread the ribbon through your yarn needle and start weaving it around your French Braid.  Finish it all the way to the end of the braid on the right side of the head and then go back up to the top and repeat the same steps with your other color of ribbon.  Secure your ends at the bottom of your braid with another elastic. 

Now you've got a cute little Candy Cane!