Fun with Pigtails...

Next time you're in a rush, but want something a little different, try switching up the standard 2-pigtail look. This was a get-everyone-ready-in-20-minutes-day, but we were going to church so the girls couldn't go with scraggly hair...So, Maia got 3 lower pigtails, and Ruby got 4. Easy day, but I got a lot of compliments on how fun the extra pigs were. :)

(these looked nicer, but Maia decided to rub her head on the couch before we left...silly girl.) :)

Fancy Maia...

Maia loves Fancy Nancy lately. She's been a bit impatient about fixing hair lately, which leaves me to ponytails most of the time, but today I asked if I could make her Fancy like Nancy. Of course she let me. :)

I started out with an anchor ponytail, then sectioned her hair and pulled it into that ponytail.

Maia's hair is super thin and fine- definitely different than Emma and Ruby's. For her I have to use gel or everything would fall out. One of my little tricks with gel is that I just squirt a blob into the sink and smudge my fingers in it when I need it. Much easier than trying to squeeze a tiny bit onto my fingers and hold the hair at the same time.

 I just did twists in the front, but knew that twists would fall out pretty easily in the back, so I did simple braids back there.

 When I'm curling the hair in a little bun like this, I always try to curl it in the direction that I want it to go. (So curl this section forward since it's supposed to stay forward, the sides I do sideways, etc.)

The only curl I secured was the back one with a tiny clip under the curl, only because I didn't want the braids to be covered.

If you enlarge this one you can see the front and back pretty well. I've said it before, but playing in the sink is one of my other tricks to getting little girls to sit still for a bit. Maia's all about washing hands, so it's a good distraction.

Toddler-Hawk and Hair Bleaching...

I saw the super cute bun-hawk over at Adopt-a-Do probably about 2 years ago, but never have done it on my kids. This one started out as just a regular ponytail, but there were sections that weren't staying in place, so I decided to change it up a bit. Just three sections all lined up in a row make a cute little pony-hawk. (haha, pony hawk...like Tony Hawk...Okay, I'm a little sleep deprived this morning.) :)

This is what Maia does now when I want to take pictures of her hair. I have to sneak up on her now. :)

I had someone email asking about the "process" of dying my blue hair. So, here it is- (If you don't care at all, then don't read this part.) :) Now, I did this all myself, with the help of you-tube and a little internet research. Not the best idea, if you ask me, but it worked out. :)

1. Bleach out any of your natural color. (If you're already a light blond, you can skip this step) This was a hard one for me, knowing that I'd always have this blond spot on my head when the color fades. I used the Manic Panic "Flash Lightening" kit from Sally's. ($9) I made a mistake the first round and didn't leave the bleach on long enough, and my hair was still a bit golden when I took it off. Needless to say, the blue was not blue, but more of an ugly I-swam-in-the-water-too-long-green-blond. I repeated the bleaching the next day (not recommended, but I did it.) and left it on until my hair was practically white, and then the color turned out much nicer.

2. Blue- I used Manic Panic "After Midnight Blue." ($9) After researching quite a bit, this was the product that seemed to do the best. They have a ton of different colors, which will be fun when I tire of the blue. Maybe pink for V-day, Yellow for easter, etc? :) (just kidding, I wouldn't do that...)

I did use foils on each of the steps, which was a bit of a challenge. I had my sister come help with the second round only because I couldn't see the places on the back of my head that I had bleached first. I wouldn't really recommend doing it yourself if you can help it.

One thing that I couldn't find anywhere online was actually WHERE to place the streaks. So I just kind of played with my hair to get a feel of the places that I would want them to be. I ended up with two in the front, just a little back from the corner of my hairline, and two in the back, a few inches back and down from each ear.

Overall though, it wasn't too terrible of a process. It cost me about $20 instead of the $100+ they wanted at the salon. (Maybe $25 if you include the ruined towel that now has a big blue spot on it.) :)

Baby GaGa

Just as a little preface to this hairdo, I really dislike Lady Gaga. Yes, her songs are catchy and upbeat, a little fun to turn up loud in the car, but overall, I just don't love her. 

Anyway, her hairbow hair has always been a fun one. I'm sure most of it was a wig most likely, but it was a fun idea for sure.

Here's my take on the do- pigtails into bows!

The first side, so you can see what I was going for. You'll need some mini bobby pins, some good goo, and hairspray.  So start out with basic pigtails...

 This is goo that I like. It's really a good one for structured stuff like this. It is gooey though- so don't let your kid grab it. It makes a mess. I also used some Short Sexy Hair Spray Wax. Pricey, but the smell alone takes the pain out of the purchase. :)

Separate the pigtail into three- the center piece (hanging down) a little smaller than the other two.

Make one loop, and pin. Don't worry about the loose hair- it will be twisted up with the rest at the end. Repeat the loop with the other side, making sure to leave that center piece out.

Now take your center piece. With Maia's length, I had to wrap it around the pigtail once, and then bring it down the center and pin it.

The best "final product" photo I could get. She was mad that I was finished with her hair. Either that or she REALLY doesn't like Lady Gaga. :)

Side Pony and a Braid...

Maia was watching Dora yesterday before church, which is now my new secret weapon for hair fixing time. (She's recently OBSESSED with Dora...) Anyway, that gave me some time to do a little more fancy of a do on her.

1. French braid (or you could even just simple braid) the front section.

2. Start at the opposite side and rubberband small sections, adding the previous hair to each new band.

3. At the final rubberband, add the braided section.

4. Leave this as a ponytail, or make a cute little messy bun.

Toddler Ponytail

Maia's hair is getting a little longer, but still not quite long enough to put into one single ponytail. (Well, it can be done, but it doesn't look so pretty 5 minutes later.) :) This is what I do for Maia to make sure it stays in all day long.

1. Rubberband three sections in the front.

2. Section out the bottom portion of the hair, pulling up the rest into the ponytail. (include the three sections at this point)

3. Rubberband the bottom section, and then add it to the ponytail.

This one will stay in for most of the day, including naps and such. I usually just have to brush out and readjust the ponytail if I'm really worried about what it looks like. Nice and easy!

Triple Threat...

A cute quick idea- took all of 5 minutes!

Toddler Twist Piggies...

This was a fun one that we did for Maia this past weekend. I started with the braids at the bottom, then the twists, and combined each of them to the middle section. She was being extra wiggly that day, so I was rushing the twist on the right. Oh well- still looked cute! :)

Also, I'm almost positive that I have posted this one before, but this is a super fast do that looks really cute- a simple dutch braid that splits into two regular braids. Kind of tricky to get it to stay straight, but nice when you need your hair up for windy days. (We have crazy wind today in Vegas!)

Toddler Ponytail with Braids...

Maia has been somewhat neglected lately when it comes to her hair. She really loves having it fixed, but I never have time in the mornings getting the other two ready for school. Today I woke up extra early though, so we had plenty of time. If anyone is wondering how to get your toddler to stay still while you fix their hair, my tricks so far have been washing hands or playing with water in the sink, lip gloss, makeup, brushing teeth, or as a last resort, my cell phone.

Anyway, here's the do. Start with two braids, then pull up the back into a ponytail and include the braids. Maia's hair is still a little short in the back, so I did the bottom rubber band to help it all stay in. Super cute, although it makes her look a little more grown up than I'd like to admit. :)

*Maia is obsessed with this pineapple hair clip that we got from Gymboree on clearance. She loves it! It reminds me of Spongebob's house. :)

Toddler Piggies

This one I did a while ago with Maia, and I wasn't going to post it because the pictures weren't great, but I thought I would anyway because it is very cute, and very easy. You do use a topsy tail for it (or if you are one of the talented who can do pull-throughs without one, you don't need one.)

You can see that it is one pull through on the top section of the hair (you can do more than this, I just thought I'd keep it simple) and then the pigtails are flipped upside down (so pull from the bottom going up with the topsy tail) Once that is done, give each piggie a good curl and you're done. I loved how this looks a little cute and spunky- and it stayed in all day.

Speaking of piggies, Ruby finally has enough hair (on the sides anyway) to do cute little piggies! Of course she made it really difficult to get a good photo. :)

Check out that bald spot! :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Time for some Christmas dos! We had a Christmas party at our church last night, so what a perfect occasion for some cute dos! Em's was a pretty cute little wreath- lots of compliments. The photos kind of tell the story, so I won't bore you with the words. :) Maia's was really simple and easy, just three pull-throughs and lots of flat iron curls.

The question I was asked the most last night was where I got their hair clips. I'm proud to say that I made them. I got the pieces in the Christmas section of Michaels. I think they were meant to make glittery little floral arrangements, but all I saw was hair clips. :) I'd be happy to make a few more if any of you would rather buy them instead of making your own. Just leave a comment!

**Stacy, I really tried to record using the topsy tail, but Maia wouldn't stay still. I'll do something with Emma today.

Easy braid for picture day

It's picture day today! I like Em's hair to be down for pictures, so I
did a nice simple Dutch braid headband with the rest curled. Maia
wanted a braid too, so she got a simple braid pulled back with a clip.
Easy day!