Jumping Through Hoops Re-Visited

I was looking at my princess the other night when she was wearing her "Jumping Through Hoops" hairstyle and I wondered what it would look like without braids. 

So here we have a variation on the original and I actually like this one a bit better. 

 Begin by parting the hair in half anyway you like - We've just made up a fun little part. 

 Now pull each half up into a piggie. 

Separate out 1/3 of one of the piggies and set it aside.  Now take the remaining hair from that piggie and create a Pull-Through Braid. 

Now weave the strand that you set aside in and out of the elastics using a Topsy Tail.  Secure it at the bottom with another elastic when you're finished. 

 Repeat the same process on the other piggie. 

Now grab your favorite hair accessories to glam it up and you're all set!

Knot Your Average Pony

My daughter actually came up with this one and she did most of this style on her own.  I only helped with the bottom knots and she did the rest. 

 Basically you'll want to just hold out about a 1/2 inch width of hair all the way around the edge of the hair and pull the rest up to a ponytail in the middle. 

 Now separate the hair still down into as many sections as you would like.  Each section is going to be tied into one little knot about halfway between the hair line and the ponytail.

  Once a section has it's knot in it, just add it into the ponytail with another elastic. 

Do this all the way around the head so that you have little knots going into the ponytail all over.  It's actually a cute little idea. 

Now you know that you're really into hair when you're given a school project and your ideas immediately turn to hair accessories.  That's how my daughter was when she was given an assignment to create something using popcorn. 

We had an plastic headband that she covered with glue and then she pressed it into a plate full of popcorn kernels. 

For the flower she cut out a large flower and a small flower from paper and then covered those with glue.  She pressed them into the plate of kernels as well until the were fully covered.  Then she painted the flower parts all red. 

She glued the smaller flower on top of the larger one and then popped out a couple of kernels so she could glue a gem stone in the middle. 

She glued the flower to the band ad then finished it off by coating the whole thing with a glitter glue. 

She was so proud of her little creation and she can't wait to get it back so she can wear it.  :)

Gathered Here & There

I like to do this hairstyle when I've got a bit of left-over curl in the hair from braids the day before. 

 You can also curl the hair with an iron when you're finished. 

Begin by gathering a small section of hair right at the front middle part of the hair.  Divide it into 3 sections and create a braid.  Plate it about 5 times and then add in a small section of hair to both of the outside strand of the braid. 

You're going to get the hair by grabbing another small section on each side of the original section - along the bang line. 

 Once the hair has been added into the braid, plate it again about 5 times and then repeat the gathering step.  Make sure you grab hair from along the bang line each time. 

 Continue plating and adding until you've gathered down to each ear. 

Stop gathering and just plate the rest of the braid.  Add a flower to hide the elastic at the bottom and you're all finished! 

The 9-Strand Braid

You're probably thrown off by the nae but this hairstyle is as easy as they come.  My princess has been dying to do this for a while now and here it is. 

 Gather all the hair up into a tight ponytail. 

Now grab 1/3 of that ponytail and make a regular 3-Strand Braid. 

 Now divide the remaining ponytail in half and create 2 more braids. 

Once you've got all three braids, braid them together. 

 Pretty simple right! 

 It's funny because it's so easy and everyone kept stopping her to try and figure it out.  :)

Kiddie Korners

Begin by parting the hair exactly down the middle. 

Set on half of hair out of the way with a clip and grab two small section from the bottom of the head on the opposite half.  Each of these sections will be made into a Corkscrew.  Once the Corkscrews are about 6 inches long, grab an alligator clip and pin it on the bottom of the two to keep them from unravelling while you continue.  Take the rest of that half of hair (the side that you just pulled your two sections from) and pull it into a tight piggie tail. 

Unclip the other half and pull out two small sections from the top of the head.  Create to more Corkscrews and when they're about 6 inches long you will pull them over to the piggie tail on the opposite half and add them in with another elastic.  Now Pull the remaining hair up into another tight piggie. 

 Grab those two bottom Corkscrews that you set aside early and pull them across to the other half and add them int the piggie with another elastic. 

We finished off our piggies with a 5-Strand Braid which is one of our favorites. 

 Hopefully that makes sense and the pictures should help.  Let me know if you have questions!

Church Curls

Here's a really simple hairstyle that's great for those times when you want something a little more elegant. 

Start by separating a section of hair about 1/2 inch thick along the bang line.  Now grab your favorite headband and slip it into the hair just behind that divided section. 

Divide the section of hair into two pieces making sure that one is larger than the other. 

 Start with the smaller side and create a French Twist (a Corkscrew that gathers hair as it grows) with the first part of the hair and then move into a Corkscrew.  Have your princess hold it while you move to the other side. 

 Because this section is larger, you will divide it in half and create two Corkscrews.  The top Corkscrew will begin with a French Twist as well but the bottom will just be a Corkscrew alone. 

Pull all three Corkscrews to the back of the head and join them together with an elastic.  We finished off the look by adding curls with a ringlet curling iron.  We sprayed it really well for hold and her hair was beautiful all day long.

Jail Bird Braid

I love the look of this one and my daughter said it looked like the braid was in jail - hence the name.  :) 

 First you'll want to part off one inch all the way along the bang line.  Now divide that inch strip into 7 equal squares.  (Be sure that one of your squares is in the very center.)  Tie each square back into a small elastic and when all of them are done, sweep them forward and out of your way.  Now divide out 1 1/2 inch strip of hair right along side your first inch of hair so that they are parallel.  Set the new section aside with the 7 little ponies and pull everything else back into a ponytail and secure it with an elastic. 

 Now go back to that 1 1/2 inch section and begin at one ear and create a French Braid all the way to the other ear.  Finish plating that braid all the way to the end of the hair. 

Now pull that braid back into the ponytail and secure with a second elastic. 

Go ahead and bring those front 7 small ponies over the French Braid and pull them back into the ponytail as well.  This gives you the "jail bars" look.  :) 

We finished off her ponytail by doing an Uneven Braid but each time I plated the thick strand, I would pull at it a little bit to make it stick out farther.  This gave it just a bit more of a defined look. 

And there you have your Jail Bird Braid.

Super Simple Braid Wraps

These are perfect for those days when you realize that you only have 5 minutes until school starts!  :)  

We had some really great waves left over from the French Pull-Throughs yesterday so we decided to make good use of them. 

 Start by parting the hair in half and then creating two side piggies.  Take a small section of hair from below the elastics on each piggie.  Create a regular 3-Strand Braid and plate it as far down as you can. 

Take the braid and wrap it around the elastic until it is completely hidden.  Now poke your Topsy tail through the bottom of the piggie and through the elastic.  Feed the remaining braid through the loop on the Topsy Tail and then pull it through the elastic.  This will hold securely for the whole day and there's nothing else that has to be done to it. 

This is a great little idea to pack away for those "hurry up and get ready" days that seem to come way too often!  :)

French Pull-Throughs

This hairstyle is courtesy of my cute friend Nancy who is very creative! 

Start by parting the hair right down the middle. 

 Now gather up a small section in the front on one of the halves and tie it off with an elastic.  Do the same on the other side - making sure to keep the sections parallel. 

Now use your Topsy Tail and create a Pull-Through. 

 Gather two small sections just under the previous sections and make sure to include the hair from the first Pull-Through.  Secure with an elastic and create another Pull-Through. 

 Continue adding hair and creating Pull-Throughs until you get to the bottom of the scalp. 

 After your final Pull-Through you will want to braid the remainder of the hair.  and secure it at the bottom with an elastic.  Grab your Topsy Tail again and create an Inverted Pull Through up by the bottom of the scalp.  Make sure to only pull the ends of the braid through and not the entire braid.  This will create a Heidi Braid on each side. 

Tie your favorite ribbons around each Heidi Braid and curl down the ends for a fun look. 

Jumping Through Hoops

This braid is actually a combination of two different braids - a regular 3-Strand Braid and the Pull-Through Braid. 

 Begin by pulling all the hair over into a side ponytail. 

We didn't do anything fancy with the front of her hair but you could always add a small pull-through or braid when doing it yourself. 

Divide the ponytail into two equal pieces.  Braid one piece with the 3-strand Braid and the other with the Pull-Through Braid.  (Instructions for the Pull-Through Braid can be found over on the sidebar in the June posts.) 

 Now you're going to weave the 3-strand Braid in and out through the openings in the Pull-Through Braid. 

Your finished product will be something that no one has ever seen before. 

We had a lady at the store inspecting her braid trying to figure it out.  It's always fun to try something different.