Beanie Woven with Ribbon Braids

This 'do is something that "came" to me forever ago, but because I've felt so lousy lately I just havn't had the energy to do it.  I finally tried it once on Bee and "tweaked" it a little bit when I did it on Bug.  So the pictures you'll see come from both attempts, because some turned out better in one shoot than another - so I apologize that the head shots may switch between the two of them!

Start by parting the hair smack down the middle from the forehead back to the nape of the neck.  Don't worry if it's exactly straight or not, as it'll eventually be covered up by a beanie.

Next, change the color of your hair from dark to light ... Just kidding - sorry!  Here comes the switching of heads in the pictures.  Once you've parted the hair in the middle, part out a small square of hair to the left of the part and hold with a clip temporarily.

With the remaining hair, make a basic 3 strand braid.  Secure the end with a rubber band.

Back to the square of hair you parted out -- secure it with a rubber band, making a little pony tail.  Try and get it as close to the part as you can.  (This is the part I tweaked the 2nd time I did this - I'll explain more later.)

Now take a strand of ribbon that is at least as long as the pony tail you are working with & tuck it through the rubber band on the underside of the pony tail.  You don't need to pull it through very far.

You are going to braid this ponytail all the way down using the ribbon as one of the strands of the 3 strand braid.  I put the ribbon in the middle and used it as my middle strand for the 3 strands.  Braid until you run out of hair & secure the end with a little rubber band.

Once you're done with a side it should look something like this:

Repeat on the other side, so when you're all done you have 2 regular Pocahontas braids down in back (without ribbon)...

And 2 skinny braids up front (with ribbon.)  Remember - you want to get these braids as close to the middle part as possible.  It'll maybe look funny right now - but that'll all be hidden with the beanie.

**Note - you'll need a crocheted beanie cap that has large holes in it for this to work! ** We got our cute one from All Things Ribbon.  Put the beanie carefully on the head most of the way.  Put your hand up inside and ease one of the braided ribbons through the hole that is nearest to the base of the braid.  (When I did this first with Bee her braids were too far apart and there was a big gap in the front where the braids were.  So I had them really close when I did it on Bug & I also crossed them over each other in the beanie to ensure there was no gap.)  Pull both braids out the front-most holes like the picture on the left.

Then just start on one side with a braid and weave it in and out of the beanie through the holes until you get to the back.  Repeat on the other side so the ribbon braids wrap all the way around the head to the back of  the head.

Once you run out of holes in the back if you still have more hair, I just stuck the right braid through the left hole and hid the ends up inside, and did the same on the left side.

So here's how I finished them off differently:

I pulled Bee's braids up and flipped them through the beanie like I did in THIS old post.

She wanted to wear these cute little Christmas bows that we got forever ago from Cutie Pie Hair Creations so we added them for a festive touch!

 

She looked so cute & she got so many compliments when we were out the day she had this done.  I just didn't like the big space between the two braids in the front.  That's why I did things differently on Bug the second go-round!

 

And on Bug I just left her braids straight down & had the ribbon braids making a pretty crown all the way around her head through the beanie.  It looked awesome, if I do say so myself!

 

 

She really liked this one & since it only involves braiding, it really doesn't take that long either.  I don't know that I'll be taking time to do it in the morning before school since she's not the only head of hair I have to do, but it was especially fun & festive for the holidays!  Let me know what you think!

Oh - and on another hair related topic --- Sally's is having their after-Christmas Clearance Sale going on right now (through 12/31).  If you don't have one near you, you can browse what they have online HERE.  If you order $50 or more you get free shipping too!  For those of you that are bargain hunters & always looking for a great deal, I'd never really thought of looking at Sally's for after Christmas deals!  If you've got a tween or teen in your life this might be right up your ally, so go take a look! :-)

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope you have a wonderful & safe holiday!

Happy Holidays!

I'd planned on having a hairdo posted for you yesterday, and then having this post later in the week, but Bug decided to get sick and has been running a very high fever since Monday & has been miserable.  She's obviously been home from school all week so my plans have been thwarted.  I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this passes before the end of the week & she's not sick for Christmas, and that it doesn't pass to the other girls just in time for all the festivities!  So while I'm dealing with a less than happy little Bug, hopefully you'll enjoy this post instead!

One of my favorite things during the holidays is the cards and letters we get from family & friends.  And, well, since I consider all of you to be friends here at Babes in Hairland, and I don't have your addresses, I hope it's ok that I post our silly little Christmas card here for you to see instead! :-)

We wish you a fabulous holiday season -- hopefully filled with joy,  good health, family and friends, yummy food and not too much stress!  Thanks again for all the support you give us throughout the year.

Holiday Hair

This style can be used for any special occasion -  holiday related, wedding, formal dance - or even if you're just in the mood to get all dressed up and dance because no one is watching! :-)

Part the hair from ear to ear across the top of the head.  Secure with a clip temporarily.

Make an off center part on the right side of the head that goes from the forehead back towards the part that goes across the top of the head from ear to ear. 

Take the remaining hair that is hanging down in back & comb it into a ponytail.  Secure it with a rubber band.  Try get it fairly centered on the back of the head - or just a bit lower than that.  You don't want it too high.

Put a twist braid/corkscrew twist in the ponytail & secure the end with a rubber band.  Go HERE if you need help to do those.

 Make a bun & secure it with bobby pins.

With the hair on the left side of the head, part off half of the hair - at a bit of an angle.  Be sure the hair is fairly damp because you want it to be fairly smooth & sleek looking when you're done with this step.

Comb it so it's nice & smooth & then pull it around the left side of the head & down underneath the bun.  Secure it underneath the bun with a bobby pin or two - but you aren't done yet ....

Continue bringing the section of hair around to the right side of the bun & secure it on the right side of the bun with a bobby pin.

Get the ends damp or mist them with hairspray to avoid fly aways and roll it into a nice loop or circle of hair.  Secure it to the head with a bobby pin just above the bun off to the right side of it.  Sorry if you're tired of these - they've just been my favorite things to do lately!

Back on the left side of the head, take the remaining hair and make another twist/rope braid and secure the end with a rubber band.

Take it over the top of the bun towards the right side of the head.

On the right side of the bun, secure the rope/twist braid with a bobby pin.  Continue wrapping the twist around the outside of the bun until you run out of it.

Her twist wrapped underneath and back onto the left side.  I just hid the "tail" in the left side of the bun & secured it with another bobby pin.

 On the right side of the head, take the whole section of hair in front of the right ear and make yet another rope/twist braid.  But this time, don't twist it all the way down to the very end.  Twist only about 1/2 way to 2/3 of the way down or so.  Secure it with a rubber band.

 Pull it back on the left side of the bun.  Secure it there with a bobby pin.

Now take it over the top of the bun to the left and secure it on top of the bun with another bobby pin.  I stuck my bobby pin right by the rubber band that ended the twist.

 Now you should have a nice long "tail" hanging down on the left side of the bun.

Take that tail & divide it into 2 sections.  Get them nice and damp so they are easier to "roll" into the loops.  Secure the first one just above the twist braid that is coming from the left side.  Secure the 2nd circle/loop on the bun itself just below the first one.  Or really - put them wherever you think looks best!

As far accessorizing this - you be the judge.  Do whatever you want.  It would be fine without anything - but with her darker hair I wanted something that would add a bit of bright color & so I opted for the little hair pin flowers I made months back for Goose's baptism hairdo. 

 

 

 

 

I did this updo on Bug a couple weeks ago and she felt so fancy and was all excited to pose in front of the Christmas tree that had been put up the night before!  So I guess in this case, it definitely is a holiday hairdo!

I hope you're enjoying your December and things aren't too stressful for you!  I've actually got most of my shopping done this year - surprisingly enough.  Shopping online has been my best friend this year!