Merry & Bright

Princess Piggies wants to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope that your season is "Merry  & Bright" just like this hairstyle!  You may recognize this style from our title as you enter our blog.  We've gone ahead and spruced it up just a bit for the holiday!

I found these awesome little LED lights at Walmart and they came with a little battery pack.  This hairstyle is best when you're going out caroling or to see some lights because you'll want to have a scarf to wrap around your princess's neck to not only hide the cord but also to hold your little battery pack in place.  (My daughter just had it in the hood of her shirt here and then wore a jacket over the top with a scarf wrapped around her neck.)

The instructions for the original hairstyle, "Crossed Hawser Braids," can be found here.  I'll give you some brief updates for illuminating it as well.  :)

Once you've completed your Crossed Hawser Braids you will want to grab your strand of lights and begin poking the up through the under side of the braids.  try to keep your wires either under or behind the braids.  Don't worry too much about the wires that are hanging out below because those will get covered.  Remember to leave the end connected to the battery pack accessible and coming out of the middle.

Now you will want to grab a stretch band or wide ribbon to hide your wires with.  We've used a stretch band here and just wrapped it around the two side of the Hawser Braids and over all the wires in the back. 

 I was worried that the hairstyle was becoming heavy but my princess said that it wasn't heavy or bothersome at all.  Tuck your battery pack into either a hood or scarf, turn your switch on, and you are ready to go for a night out!

My princess wore her hair like this when we went out to see some lights and people were just as impressed with her as they were with the scenery! 

We will be back with some fun new posts at the beginning of the year and will be taking a small vacation until then. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Friday's Film: Hair Tinsel

I've been dying to get this post up for a while now because it's just so much fun.  We've saved it for Christmas time because it's easy to find tinsel around this time of year. 

This is the tinsel that we've used in the video and it is specifically for hair.  I couldn't find it at any of the beauty stores but I was able to get it online through Ebay.  It's nice because it is super thin and blends right in with the hair.  It can also be washed and styled right along with your regular hair and can withstand dryers and irons.  Regular Christmas tinsel can be used for just a fast temporary style but do not use any heat on it and I recommend that you not leave it in the hair for more than a day.  It is a bit thicker as well which makes it a bit harder to attach but it can be done and it look so cute!

It's really important to get your tinsel tied in as close to the scalp as possible to get the most natural look.  (It gets easier each time you apply it)

I made sure to place the tinsel along her natural part and also keep it even on both sides.

The tinsel we have here will last up to two weeks in the hair so you will probably see it in a couple future posts.  :)  It took about 20 minutes total for all the strands but that wasn't much time considering.

We purchased the "sparkle" tinsel because I loved the way the light refracted off of it but you can get the regular metallic as well and it comes in all sorts of colors. 

This hairstyle would be great for a soccer/dance/cheerleading team or when going out to a game because you can choose the perfect colors to show your support!

The pictures don't do it justice because you just need to see it in person but - trust me - it is beautiful!

Holiday Hairstyles: Present

This one may look a bit complicated but it's really pretty easy.  I've provided step by step instructions to hopefully help you if you get stuck.

Here are the supplies we used for this hairstyle.  We have two different colors of ribbon and a plastic yarn needle.  (This picture shows green ribbon but I decided to use white ribbon in the actual hairstyle.  Sorry for any confusion.)  I also made some really simple hair clips by gluing some gift bows to the top of alligator clips.

Start by dividing the hair into 4 equal sections by creating a part horizontally across the back of the head and a part vertically straight down the middle of the head.  Secure each section into a ponytail right in the middle of it's section.  Start with your top-left ponytail and divide it into two equal sections.  Do the same with the top-right ponytail.  Take one section from each ponytail and bring them together over your center part and secure them with an elastic.  That will be the top part of your present and you will now have a new ponytail right in the top-middle.

Move down to the bottom-left ponytail and divide that into two equal sections.  Pull one of those sections and the remaining section from your top-left ponytail together over the center part and secure them with an elastic, creating another new ponytail.  This is the left side of your present.

Move down to your bottom-right ponytail and divide that into two equal sections.  Take one of those sections and combine it with the remaining section from your top-right ponytail.  Before you place an elastic on it, pull over the new ponytail created on the left side of your present.  Include that with those two sections and secure it all with an elastic.  That is the right side of your present and a new ponytail. 

Grab your last two sections from the two original bottom ponytails and bring them together over the center part.  Also bring down that new ponytail created on the top part of your present and include that and secure it with an elastic.  Now your entire present is formed including the criss-cross parts in the middle and you should have a ponytail coming off the bottom part of your present and one coming off the right side of your present.  Twist these two final ponytails into a side-Corkscrew down on the right side and secure it at the bottom with an elastic. 

Now you are ready to start weaving your ribbon.  Thread the yarn needle with the color that you want to use as your present outline first.  Start wherever you like and just wrap it around the whole outside square that is the border of your present.  When you get back to where you started, tie the two ends of ribbon together and cut off any excess.  Tuck in your know and then use a bobby pin to secure it inside the hair so it stays hidden.  Grab your second color of ribbon and thread your yarn needle.  Outline the criss-crossing "ribbon" part in the middle of your present.  Tuck your ribbon ends into the hair and use a bobby pin to secure them in so they don't pop out later.  Your last step is to add your wrapping bows.  I placed one right in the middle over the crossing ribbons and one at the end of the Corkscrew.   

Holiday Hairstyles: Snowflake

This Holiday Hairstyle is a snowflake and the pictures don't do it much justice.  It actually turned out really cute but I do have to admit that I think it would look better on hair that is not quite so long.

Here are the supplies needed:  White yarn or ribbon, a snowflake hair clip or clips, and some little rhinestones that either twist into the hair or have velcro on the back to slide into the hair.

Begin by parting the hair into sections.  Part the hair in half horisontally first.  This should now give you two equal sectinos - one on top and one on bottom.  Tie off the top section and begin working on the bottom. 

Have your princess lie on her tummy on a bed so that her face is just over the side.  This will make it easier to do an upside down French Braid.  Divide that lower half into two equal sections and create and upside down French Braid out of both sections.  Add in hair all the way up to that middle part and then get 3 strands of white yarn ready.  Add in a strand of yarn to each of your sections of hair that you are braiding and finish the French Braids off with Regular 3-Strand Braids.    Secure the bottom with an elastic and cut off any excess yarn.  Do this to both sides. 

 When the bottom half is done, you can have your princess get up so you can move to the top half.  We have created 4 sections on our top half but you can do just two again if you like.  Create  French Braid out of each section - adding in hair until you reach the part.  Add your 3 strand of white yard to each braid and finish it off with a Regular 3-Strand Braid.  Secure them all at the ends with elastics and cut off any excess yarn. 

You should now have a braid from each section that is hanging.  Go ahead and combine them all into one elastic so that they hold a bit tighter.

 Now take each individual braid and fold it under itself once.  Bobby pin your end underneath so that it stays securely in place.  Do this in a circular motion so that your braids each fan out away from the center of the head.  

You can be finished at this point or you can add a snowflake hair clip to the middle and some rhinestones to make it shimmer a bit.

Holiday Hairstyles: Gingerbread Man

So you may think that every hairstyle turns out well and that we never have any complete disasters... well, this post will prove otherwise!  I just had to share this one because I had an idea in my head for this darling gingerbread man and it ended up looking like a hot mess on my poor daughter's head!  :)

These are the supplies that we used - not that you will need to remember them because this hairstyle was a FAILURE.

I'm not even going to try to type instructions because it is apparent that what I was doing did not work.  ha ha!  Just enjoy the pictures and get a good laugh in for the day.

This is supposed to show the side of the head, an arm, and a leg but I would be amazed if you could pick that out!

You can see where I attempted to create a head on top but it looks nothing like a head! 

Another view of the disaster.

Maybe we'll attempt this again next year but I will have to have a seriously different approach to the whole thing because this one failed big time.  :)  Have a great day and remember *DO NOT ATTEMPT*  ha ha!

Holiday Hairstyles: Santa Hat

This is a hairstyle created from the original hairstyle called Half-Down French Braids.  We've just added some fun accessories to make it a Santa Hat.

These are the supplies that we used but you can find anything that works for you.  There is red ribbon, a plastic yarn needs. some extra large white wire-ribbon, and a white puff ball that we've glued to a hair pin. 

Create your Half-Down French Braid hairstyle first.  The directions can be found here.  Now grab your red ribbon and your yarn needle.  (You will want to make sure the ribbon is long enough to weave on both sides of your braids.)  Feed your ribbon through your top elastic so that the exact middle of the ribbon is folded at the band.  

Start with one side of your ribbon and weave it back and forth through both sets of braids - making sure to alternate your left and right sides.   When you get down to the bottom of the "French" part of your braid, secure that ribbon by tying it around the braid and then knotting it.  Cut off any excess ribbon.  (This part will be hidden later.) 

 Move over to your other side of ribbon and repeat the steps.  Be sure that this new side of ribbon is exactly mirroring your previous side. 

After both ends of ribbon have been tied off and the excess had been cut, you are ready to use your white wired-ribbon.  Wrap it behind both braids at the nape of the neck and then bring it around the front and tie it in a bow.  (Make sure the white ribbon is covering those ends from your red ribbon.)  Shape your bow until it looks the way you like.  (This is the reason for using wired-ribbon.)  Take a bobby pin on each braid and run it through the ribbon to secure it to the hair.  The final step is to insert your puffy white hair pin into the top elastic. 

 Now your princess is festive and ready for Christmas!  :)    

Holiday Hairstyles: Wreath

This is one of my favorite Holiday Hairstyles.  It can be formal or casual and it holds all day long.

These are the supplies you will need:  Green ribbon, a plastic yarn needle, flower hair pins, and a Christmas hair clip or two.

The basic hairstyle beneath this wreath is the Angel Halo and I have a instructional video for that here.  The only difference is that instead of ending it by the ear with a bun, I continued twisting the extra hair around the top of the head and pinned it underneath the original French twist on the side that I started.  That way I had a full circle to work with.

Thread your yarn needle with the green ribbon and insert it through your Angel Halo down at the bottom by the neck.  Begin wrapping the ribbon around your twists and follow your entire circle until you end up back at the bottom.  Tie your two ends of ribbon together to secure them and then cut off any excess. 

Now grab your Christmas hair clip and place it right over the ribbon ends.  We have used two here because we didn't have one that was quite big enough.  Now take your flower hair pins and insert them around the wreath wherever you think it looks good. 

 It makes a really festive updo for your princess this season!

Friday's Film: Holiday Hairstyle: Christmas Tree

This is a fun Christmas Tree hairstyle that is easy to complete.

These are the supplies you will need along with some bobby pins and elastics.  These are mini ornaments for small trees but you could also just place some small clips around your finished tree.  Also, make sure you have a "tree topper".  I've just used a wrapping bow glued to an alligator clip here.  You will also want to have your Topsy Tail handy.

You can see why I suggested that you have your Topsy Tail handy!  :)

Here is the finished product.

Make sure when you puff up your braid that you bobby pin it at the top.  The tree topper will hide the pins in the end.

You can see from the side how I tucked it up under.

Here's a view from the other side.

It also looks cute just hanging as a braid with fun little ornaments inserted.

My princess likes this hairstyle best so far but I think it's because of the ornament bling!  :)