Gymnast Bun; Lauren's from Make It or Break It

I've noticed that some of my fellow bloggers have lsited some of Lauren's hairstyles from the show Make It or Break It. She is a mean girl from what I've read, but she has great hair! I don't actually watch the show, but it pops up on Hulu's home page all the time. ;) Well my model for today is an incredibly nice girl. Really, my niece is the sweetest and most well-behaved child I've ever met! ;) And here is her 'do...

We started by pulling all the hair into a ponytail, minus the front from one ear to the other.

I made a deep side part and put the smaller side into a braid and then aaded it to the ponytail.

On the other side I did a one sided french braid. These are easier than they sound. ;) You just start with your 3 pieces and braid them over each other. But when you add hair, you only add to the front section and you braid the others as though it were a regular braid. Hope that makes sense... It gives a nice poof to the front and an "edge" to the back. This will be more defined on girls with thicker hair.

It really looked pretty and stayed up out of her face all day.

Isn't she just squeezable?! ;)

Surfer Girl Simple 'Do

It was Wet'n'Wild Days at our Zoo again, so Alex needed an out-of-her-eyes-do. However, she asked to leave her hair down, and even with bangs, it still gets in the way when she plays in water. So, I gave her a classic surf girl style.

These first two pics are after she had played in the water... twice. So her hair had been soaked and dried again two times and was still out of her eyes and, I thought, looked cute. ;)

Okay, to start, we had some wavy hair left over from her style the day before- a french twist on each side. You don't have to have waves/curls, but I think it's cute for this style.

Brush the hair straight back and let it fall into a natural part. Next, make a braid on one side, leaving out bangs or a small strand near the face, if desired. I think this makes it look more natural.

Have your little one hold up the top half of her hair and secure the bottom of the braid to a small section underneath, right against the scalp. This is commonly done for "hair-headbands". You can then let the rest of the hair fall back down.

Do the same for the other side. Alex still has some very short pieces from her brother's styling attempt, so I started hers as a french braid just at the top and then switched to a straight braid. (I know, I talk about the hair fiasco with Alex's bangs all the time... probably because it drives me nuts EVERY time I fix her hair! ;)

So you let all the hair fall where it might, which will at least be out of her eyes thanks to those braids. ;) It would be pretty to add a few spirals throughout, and I might have had we not been heading to get soaked by a fire engine! ;)

Norway Inspired Hairstyle #2!

The final hairstyle inspired by our trip to Norway! This one is also great for growing out bangs, or just keeping your hair out of your face on those hot summer days. :)

(Yes, this is me!)

To get this look, part your bangs on the side (I parted mine above my left eye) and start French Braiding across your forehead. Stop adding new hair when your braid is even with your right (in my case) eye and continue the braid farther back. Then pin with bobby pins! Make sure to cross the pins over each other in an X shape to keep them locked together. They'll stay in better that way!

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed these two hairstyles (click HERE for the other one!) I got addicted to while I was in Norway. I know I have! Here's one more gorgeous picture to remind you of the inspiration :)

Braids 'N Beads

Before we get started, I want to remind everyone about my 100th Post Giveaway, found here. Today is the last day to enter and it's the easiest one yet! Thanks to everyone for your support for 100+ posts!

Alex has been asking me to do another "all-braidy" style. ;)

Part the hair into sections. This style works best with a very deep side part.

Put the front/bangs into one french braid going all the way across. A row, or several rows for older girls, looks the best on the side with the most hair.

I some how missed the following picture... Part the rest of the "bigger" side into rows behind the bangs. Alex only needed two french braids, but older girls will need more. ;) On the other side, create french braids starting at the front and going straight back. They will fall naturally.

Next, part one row in the back of the hair into small sections and braid them.

Now, it's time for the beads... This is one of the easiest ways to add beads, in my opinion. ;) Start with one bead and an elastic. I recommend clear, but used contrasting colors to show it better.

Okay, so put the elastic through the bead and then put one loop through the other loop and pull it tight. Next, put whatever beads you want onto the braid. There are several ways to do this. I suggest simply wetting the hair and using the hair as a "needle".

Your last bead will be the one with the elastic attached. slip the bead onto the hair and then wrap the loop that sticks out around the hair. It is secure for normal wear, but can also be taken out easily.

I loved the finished look! Alex decided to wear this lovely dress. (Yes, on a rainy day when we had no plans!)

Originally, I had straightened her hair. However, I like it better curled. ;)

Alex was one happy girl! ;)

A Messy Mess w/ a New Bow

We were playing outside and Alex wanted her hair fixed. She brought me two elastics and a bow...

Yeah, this one is really messy, but it actually turned out okay. ;) I started by making two french braids along the front and down - some call it a braided headband, but I left a small section out.

I pulled it all together in a low ponytail.

Then, guess what... a messy bun! I know, I took you off guard didn't I?! I never do those! --Lol! That was sarcasm, by the way. ;)

We added a bow, which I managed to not get that great a picture of... But Alex added the smile and that's all I really care about! ;)

Fabulous, Step by Step

Just in case anyone missed it, there is a GIVEAWAY in the post about Alex's recital. http://tinydiva.blogspot.com/2010/07/be-my-little-baby-bumblebee.html

A pair of hairbows available to one lucky winner, so comment away! ;)

And now for the 'do that I did for Alexandra's Faboulous photos... The up close, step by step pics I took of this hairstyle...

I started, as usual, by separating two sections in front and holding them back. I put the bottom into a low side ponytail. (Oh, and please ignore the sand... we have it under their playground/fort and it's always in her hair!)

Next, I parted the front into smaller sections and started some french braids. I put three on one side and just one on the other.

I pulled everything together into a messy bun type thing. I had to use one bobby pin for that last braid that wouldn't quite stay. Then some hairspray because her hair was frizzed out!

Add a bow and some sass and there you have it! ;)

Fireworks Hair

Extra post today... I realized I better get this out right away if you all were going to see it before the 4th. ;)

Alexandra asked me for fireworks hair and this is what I came up with...

I originally wanted a flag look, but Alex fell asleep and then asked for the fireworks. Anyway, I started, as always, by parting the hair into sections and pulling back the ones I wasn't using.

I did one french twist braid and switched to traditional french braids, not sure why. ;)

On the other side of the hair in front, I made puff braids with lots of sections. Pretty simple really. I didn't have white elastics, but considered using some white ribbon to do stripes.

 I haven't had this problem before, but a few of the elastics broke. You can see the places they should be... Anyway, there is a third row here. I thought it would look neat to make rows all the way across the back and then pull it all together into a low side ponytail/bun. We ended up tossing everything up into a messy bun and then I stuck a few pipe cleaners randomly into it. They stayed on their own just fine!

In the end, it looked really adorable and fun. And we got quite a few compliments at the Wet'n'Wild days at our Zoo. ;)