HAIR

On Monday night on Dancing with the Stars, Whitney had the prettiest hair in her carousel dance with Chris, the bachelor. It looked like a crown made out of braided hair. They frequently have her in cute braids across her head.

I really wanted my hair to look like this too, but my hair isn’t really long enough and I’m not sure if I could go all the way around even if it was long enough. I thought I could create a similar look based on this and other hair tutorials I’ve seen in the past.

I started with a crazy mess of bed head. I’m sure not everyone is this tangly in the morning, but I just work with the birds nest.

I parted my hair so I could have a chunk to braid at the front. The part is not straight because it will get messed up in the end anyways. I pulled the rest back into a pony tail holder to hold it out of the way.

Then I french braided my hair as close to the front as I could. I only pulled hair from the back and not the front. This way it could come farther foward. Instead of pulling the hair over the braid I pull it under so the braid sits on top of the head. At the end of the braid I just used bobby pins to hold my hair instead of a rubber band because I was planning on pulling it apart and the rubber band might rip hair out.

I started pulling on both sides of the braid one little chunk at a time. You just keep going back and forth over the braid until you get it as big as you want.

If my hair was really long and thick I would probably make it really big…I love big hair! But this is about as big as I can get it without making the braid fall out. I also twist is a little bit as I’m going so it will almost stand up instead of laying flat to my head.

I then just pull all the leftover hair to the side. I fluff and twist it into a little bun thingy on the side (aka another birds nest to untangle later).

Here it is front the front.

Here it is from the back.

Everything is easier in the morning time with coffee! Another tip: If you plan on wearing makeup, do that part first because your hair will be in the way.

Have a great day!!!!!

Another Year

Today I turn 28. Where has the time gone? It feels like it was just last week that I was writing my last birthday post. You know I have to say something about another year wiser and growing and learning and all that kind of stuff blah, blah blah… Which I guess all of that stuff is true but I really am in a very similar place to last year. I haven’t moved or changed jobs or done anything crazy. I mean, a lot of stuff happens in a year, but looking back it doesn’t feel like that much is different.

A big part of my life is my dog. We celebrated our one year anniversary not too long ago. I am still so thankful that I brought her home. She is a big crazy mess of energy, and she really would like to catch a bunny one day, but I love her anyways. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.

 

Another big part of my life is my family. They’ve always been super important and always will be. It was actually really fun celebrating my birthday last Friday night with my dad, step-mom, mom, step-dad, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. My niece has stolen my heart. I love that little girl more than I could have ever imagined. She is so beautiful and special and perfect!

I’ve also realized this year that I’ve made some pretty cool friends along the way. I’m not always great at keeping up with people when we don’t live close by, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t made lasting impressions. I’ve had friends getting married and having babies and it’s been beautiful to see their lives grow and change. I have other friends that will always make sure I have a beer if I need one. And I even have one pretty awesome friend who took me flying in his airplane a few times. All these people are so wonderful and different and special to me.

So here I am ready to take on the next year. Maybe the next 12 months will be more exciting than the past 12 months. I’m not denying that there were ups and downs, because they definitely existed. I don’t mind it not being too crazy of a year. Sometimes it’s nice to not feel too chaotic. Overall I am very blessed and have a great life (even if I do complain sometimes). I know I have a wonderful support system and I am very lucky for the opportunities I have been given. I know God is watching over me and will lead me through another great year, whatever it may bring!

I hope everyone has a great day….And Happy Earth Day too!

Coffee Dyed the Veil

Hello wedding season! It’s here. I used to think that “wedding season” wasn’t really a real thing, but now I’m at the age where I’m pretty affected by this mythical season. People in my age bracket (and older) are getting married like crazy these days. Over the past few years I have experienced this “not real” season actually being a very real thing. I know multiple people getting married in the next few months and have some personal involvement in a 2 weddings. For one wedding, I made the veil, and I’m actually in the other wedding (and doing some other stuff too, but you will find that out later).

This blog is about the veil. The bride has a very, very beautiful champagne colored silk flower adorned with rhinestones to wear in her hair, but she wanted a little birdcage veil to go with it. She will take the veil off after the ceremony and just wear the flower. The only problem is that I couldn’t find champagne colored birdcage veil material. Well, I might have could have found it online, but I needed it quickly and I was apprehensive about matching the color. I’m always hesitant to order supplies. I like to feel them first.

At home I had a few different colors of birdcage veil material on rolls. I had white and ivory, but both were too light for the flower and the dress. My goal was to dye them, and I did….with COFFEE!

I found various places online that had how-tos on dying fabric with coffee. I read a few instructions and then of course did my own thing. I brewed coffee in my Keurig. After I made 2 big cups of coffee I put them in a pot on the stove and brought the coffee to a boil.

I submerged both pieces of fabric into the pot and then I weighed them down with a coffee cup to keep them under the liquid. I let them sit in the boiling water for about 10 minutes and then I turned the stove off and let them sit for about 5-10 more minutes.

After I took the fabric out of the pot I washed it in the sink with dishwashing detergent and cold water. It was very exciting to see that the color had taken to the veil fabric.

I then laid out my pieces to dry. I placed a cup on all the corners as I stretched the fabric out. It got a little wrinkly in the pot. Both fabrics dyed well, but the one that was originally ivory ended up being the best color match. The white fabric absorbed more of the coffee color and ended up being too dark.

I then took the rectangle of fabric and sewed a weaving pattern through the holes around three of the sides. I pulled the thread and I scrunched the fabric together to create a bunching on one side and a roundedness on the other. I made sure the scrunched side of the fabric was the same width as the width of the hair comb.

I then sewed the scrunched side of the veil to the comb. This particular comb is a fairly pliable metal. I like to bend them a little bit so they lay flat against the head. This comb also has holes along the top that make it easy to sew the veil to.

Here is the finished veil. You actually stick the comb forward in your hair, which almost seems backwards. Then the veil is like a little bubble over the front part of your head. Sometimes when you wear them it is necessary to place a few strategic bobby pins to hold the net exactly like you want.

This veil is to be warm a little to the side with the flower hooked near the clip. It is so lovely and classic looking. I’m glad the birdcage veil has made a comeback!