Sailor Moon

Alex had bangs once before, despite my wishes. (Drama Boy cut her hair! It is still growing out in a few places...) So, I was a little reluctant to cut them again. Turns out, I LOVE them! ;) We went with sweepy, longer bangs because of her natural wavy curl and soft/fine hair. Here's the new look...

Now, for the style: Anyone familiar with the animated series "Sailor Moon"? It is an older show, but one of the first asian cartoons to become really popular in the US. Well, this hairstyle is from the show, but the basic idea is really popular amongst children models for asian clothing stores online and Alex has requested it numerous times. 

7Right, so here it is. We started by pulling up just the front, leaving out her new bangs.

Actually, I thought it was really pretty at this step, but promised the piggies... Next, I sectioned out the remaining hair, basically into quadrants.

I put pull-through knots in the bottom two. You can do these with a topsy turvy, but I just stick my rat-tail comb through the middle and then poke the elastic through. Pull the hair tight and it comes out the same. ;)

I pulled up the pull-through ends diagonally and added them to the top section, making pigtails.

I added 1/2 of the very top ponytail in to each pigtail.

The last step is the bun. Just take a very small piece out of the ponytail and do not include it in your bun.

Use the rest of the hair, twisting it and then wrapping it around the small piece. Pin it down or add an elastic to hold in place. If using an elastic, be sure to pull the extra piece all the way through each time. That's it, you're done! ;)

(Oh, and here's another secret for working with toddlers... download a couple of games on your phone just for those really cranky moments! She has only played with my phone a handful of times, so she felt pretty special. And it entertained her well enough that she didn't want me to be finished! ;)

Back from Hiatus... with a new pixie cut!

Okay, so, this is the last real 'do we did before her new cut. Actually, I was sad after I cut her hair the first time. I think because it was just shorter, but I hadn't given her a style or anything. Anyway, this is just a french twist braid... something I've done a zillion times;)

And here is the top view, pretty style!
Okay, here it is! The first look at Alex's new pixie look. Now she has some sass to go with her... well, sass! ;)

This is the best one I could find to show how I fixed it. Since her hair was wet after we had finished cutting it, I blowed dried it gently for a few minutes. Next I took a 1" curling iron and flipped out the ends slightly. This took about a minute.

Next I just did a random zigzagish part and added a clip to keep her bangs back. No product or anything, so this got a little smooshed in the car, but it bounced back. This last picture is about and hour after we arrived at our destination...

Yep, pretty stinkin' cute!

;)

2 French Twist Braids + a Pony

This is a great style! You can make this very dressy or just fun. I chose this because we were having an all day graduation party/mini family reunion. The kids hopped in the pool around noon and stayed in until dark, except for two short breaks to eat:)

Part the hair however you want.
Not sure you can tell, but I pull back the bangs and some hair behind them leaving a little piece in the middle sticking out in front.

I put an elastic around the bangs+ section. Then I use that little piece I left out to tie a knot around, hiding the elastic. This seems to work best for me, but some use a piece from the pony...

This part is hard to explain, but it really is simple! My camera doesn't do video, sorry:) Split the hair in front into two sections, cross them over each other once. Add the next section of hair(as shown in the picture) to the bottom piece, then cross them again the same direction. I just grab some hair, I want something sort of relaxed, but you could use a comb for the sections. You continue adding the next section of hair to the bottom piece and cross them. These sections should be from the top of the part all the way to the bottom of what you want braided...

When I get to the back/crown of her head, I stop and add an elastic.

You can just leave it like this and cover with a bow or flower. This time, I added the two pieces together in a pony and did a pull-through. I had straightened her hair the day before, so it was sticking out everywhere:)

I added flowers, and voila! Okay, so it was early in the morning and she fell asleep:) Kinda glad I still have her little booster seat:)

It looked really pretty half down, but for the pool I wanted it all up!

I just took the flowers out and put all of her hair that was down into a messy ponytail. It was adorable and stayed for the rest of the day!

Her hair got soaked, then dried, then back in the water... still stayed up...

Even when she could hardly stay up:)

Sneak Peek... because I am WAY too busy!

Okay, so I don't have time to post right now, but it has been several days:) So, here is a little sneak peek of do's and things I will post over the next couple days...

First, I gave Alex a hair cute:( I was so sad to see all those lovely curls go... This picture is several months old, but is the best at showing just how much hair she had before. We took off 4 inches! You'll hear more about this, trust me! :)
You will also get to see this super-easy, but absolutely beautiful updo! (This is one that will work for little girl, big girl... you might even find yourself doing this to your hair. I sure did!)

You'll see this one too, the first do I did after her cut. Just a fun bouf, but one that will stay, and stay! I have 3 more do's to share, but I haven't even downloaded the pictures yet. I think you'll like what's coming:)

You still have til Wednesday to enter my giveaway. If you haven't yet... go check it out!

http://tinydiva.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-about-time-im-having-giveaway.html

Thank you to everyone who has entered so far! I have really enjoyed all the nice comments and emails:)

Snips

The most important part of any hairstyle is healthy hair!
Alex got her first trim over the summer from a friend of the family. It was helpful to be in a comfortable environment. She also watched her Godmommy get a haircut first. It was a blast and her hair was so much easier to work with.
And a bonus... I loved the cute little pony she put on top of Alex's head:) This one is a great no-fuss do that looks super cute!
A few weeks after Alex's cut, she decided give herself bangs! Mommy wasn't very happy! She still looked adorable of course, but it was certainly more challenging to fix her hair. The lesson learned here, don't set scissors down in front of a two-year-old (oops!:)
I have to admit, I am getting really excited about the Christmas season, so we really dressed up yesterday!:)
My sis-in-law straightened her daughter's hair last week, and it was so cute! So, I tried it on Alex. I gave her a big-girl updo by gathering the top half of her hair, twisting it gently and tucking it under. This only took 3 bobbypins to secure, then I added a flower for fun! She looked so pretty and "grown-up"