Criscross High French Braids...Submitted by Angie

Sometimes I wonder when I am going to run out of styles and then my site will become obsolete.





And then I have fantastic followers that submit wonderful styles and then my mind goes crazy thinking of styles. So much that I have a sketch pad that I keep with me to jot them down. Last night in the middle of the night I was thinking about this style and one hit me that I will be using tomorrow on the princess...and tonight I am making her some bows to go with it.

Angie...this one is darling and fun and fresh! I posted her instructions beneath the very last picture. Doesn't her daughter make a gorgeous princess? I think so!

*****INSTRUCTIONS BY ANGIE*****

"These are some pictures I took of my 8 year old after Halloween. She had taken off her "princess" dress and was just wearing her tank top underneath, but I had worked on that "do" long and hard enough, I wanted to document it. Your request reminded me of these pictures! I did two very high french braids, where I only added the hair from the one side (I use this when I braid across the crown too, no need for a perfect part!) and when the two met, I continued the braids then twisted them around, leaving some hair on the end that I just kept winding into a loose bun. (She had very long hair, I'm not sure it would work with short hair, I've never tried!) I had to use lots of bobby pins and hairspray (it stayed in all night with just a few "wisps" as you can see!) and I wasn't too worried about the visible elastics because she wore an odd sort of headband that covered them, otherwise I would have taken more time to hide them under the bun. "

REMEMBER to document those styles and e-mail them to me along with your instructions! I love new styles and sharing them makes them even more special.

Curls and Cowlicks

A couple of nights ago, my niece came over to play while her mom and dad took care of some preparations for her birthday party. I told asked my sister if I could play with her hair. I planned on doing a couple of styles. My niece wasn't having any of it. So, I told myself the same thing I tell my children. "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit".

Some essentials I keep on hand that worked BEAUTIFULLY with her curls and cowlicks.

First I wet her hair. I combed the Infusium 23 through her hair and then rubbed a nickel sized dollop of the cream gel through her hair.

Then I scrunched.

You can't see it very well in the picture, but she has three cowlicks on the back of her head. Her hair is SUPER thick up top and one time my sister and I jokingly (but lovingly) said she had Kramer hair. It was only because of those cowlicks. There are several things I have learned about cowlicks. You can try to tame them, or you can go with them. To tame them, you comb them in the opposite direction that they go. Eventually the hair gets heavy enough that they will lay flat. My spunky has a prominent cowlick on the right side of her head, but the hair on the front of her head grows towards the left. I part her hair on the left side of her head and the cowlick is hardly noticeable. The princess however has one on the right side of her crown. Her hair grows to the left, so we part her hair right through her cowlick.

I went with my nieces.

The fun thing about her cowlicks is that they gave her some fun body. As if the curls weren't enough.

She has fun hair.

I pulled a little bit of her hair from the front and put it in a little side ponytail and secured it with an elastic. Then I just put one of my daughter's pre-made bows right under the elastic. I love it when natural curls frame a child's face. There is something so vintage-y and wonderful about those curls. I am always sad when I see curls pulled up. What a waste of something so pretty. I understand the need, but the green monster in my gets sad just the same.

I let her curls air dry. As she was playing, I would go up behind her and scrunch them. She got to the point where she would swat me away.

And that girl is busy. I chased her all over my upstairs and finally cornered her in between the bathtub and the toilet to get her hair.

Even with the toilet in the picture, you can still see how swishy and swirly and lovely her curls are.

And I think it only prudent to tell you, as I look at her picture, I am breaking a commandment...for I am coveting.

Sigh.

Heidi of the Alps...With a Twist

I did this one early last week. We were originally going to do a normal "Heidi" hairstyle. It wasn't working out very well. So we improvised and I LOVE IT!

When I did this I used the large thick covered elastics that don't have the metal piece connecting the pieces.

Wet hair thoroughly

Apply heavy hold hair gel

Part the hair at a slant to the crown

Pull each half up into a ponytail

Wet the ponytail again

Braid about 3 inches to the bottom

Secure the braid with a clear elastic

Loop the braid up and pull the covered elastic out and pull the bottom of the braid through until the clear elastic is plush with the fabric elastic...it looked super cute pushed into the side and not on top

Piece the ends out and use a flat-iron to form the spikes

Tie a ribbon around the elastics

We Have A Winner!!!!

Yay! One of you will go home with these super-scrumptious bows today...



I sincerely apologize for the grossness of the following pictures. My screen shot is not working right now as my DH and I found out last night.


Thank you to all who commented! We have a winner through purely scientific methods provided by the internet.

Here are the numbers....

And the WINNING number...

Let's see who LUCKY number 190 is...

AMBER! Amber, to claim your prize, would you please e-mail me at blackeyedsue2@gmail.com?

I am so sorry there couldn't be more than one winner...but I have a solution to that. Stay tuned for my next giveaway!

A big old thanks...and a giveaway *****It's Over*****

I have noticed a slew of new visitors to my blog. I want to tell everyone who has mentioned my attempt at beautifying the world one hair style at a time to their friends and family a big ol' THANKS!

To show you how much I appreciate your loyalty and cyber-friendship, I am doing my first give-away.

Here is a preview. In addition to these bows, I will also have two other sets and some flowers as well. I will post pictures as I complete them. Don't look too close, I'm not a professional, I am just having fun making them.

The catch, you need to leave a comment on this blog post. I will randomly pull your comment number and this contest will end on Friday, May 2 at 3:30pm Mountain Standard Time.

Short Hair Part Puffy-Braid

Section the top of the hair into a square.

Make your first part going across the head.

Pull into a ponytail.

Secure with an elastic.

Part the next section going across the head.

Comb down smooth.

Pull the first ponytail into this and make a second ponytail.

Secure with an elastic.

Pull the last part of the square smooth and add the hair that is already in the ponytails to this section.

Secure with an elastic.

***I have included two pictures of this. One with a bow and one without. It is harder to see the elastics with the bow. A ribbon would allow you to see more detail.

Looped Upside-Down French Braid

Today she wanted her hair to look like Kierstie from "American Girls". So I tried. However, that hairstyle doesn't work with upside down French Braids. Only the normal style. Whoops! So here is our creation from my mistake.

Wet the hair, part down the middle.

Pull one side of the hair into a temporary ponytail.

Upside down French braid the opposite side.

Secure the bottom with an elastic.

Take the bottom and fold it up towards you to where the hair meets the neck.

Secure the "loop" with another elastic.

Tie your ribbon on the elastic.

Piece out the ends.

Repeat on the other side.