Birthday Hair!

Q will be 2 at the end of July! Where has the time gone anyway? But before that, we've had a request for Birthday Hair from Mo (Hi!!) because her little curly girl is turning 2 years old on July 17th!! 

Happy Birthday!!

Here were the request requirements (yes, I kept asking for more!):

"I do have another question for you... lol... For her birthday I want a half up and half down hairstyle. I want to show off her hair length and curls but don't just want to leave it all down. Any ideas? 

... she plays like a boy but likes to (as she says)'be pretty'. So a girly do that wouldn't fall apart would be great!"

How did we do?? ...

I chose to use elastics to hold it together instead of clips or bobby pins because I felt that they would be more secure and last longer. I chose ribbon because 

1) it's easy to find in lots of colors, and 

2) I thought it would stay in well regardless of the level of playing happening at the party, and 

3) I think it's so pretty and girly!

(gotta love that face!)

So here's how we did it:
Start by parting the hair from ear to ear. I angled it back a bit because Q's baby hair still likes to fall forward (the back hairs) and cover up all the cuteness I worked so hard to put in the front hair! LOL

After the initial part, section out a piece of hair just off to the side of one eye. Braid that section.

Then do the same to the other side.

Next make 3 ponytails in the middle, between the two braids.

Then I flipped the ponytails inside out! This part is optional - gauge how much "sitting time" you think you have left if you're doing this on a very little energetic one! It definitely takes longer. I sort of parted the ponytail and then flipped the "tail" up through the opening I just created. In THIS post I did the same sort of thing, but flipped it down. For this birthday style I flipped it UP.

Make at least one ponytail by each ear.
(the braids are in no special place right now - just out of the way)

Next, add ribbon!
Place the braids where you want them in a "halo" or "Crown" fashion.
Overlap them if you need/want to. (we did)
Then using a plastic craft needle thread your ribbon around the braids, weaving through the hair underneath to hold it all in place.

I hadn't taken the little elastics holding the ends of the braids out yet, but next time I probably would before I started with the ribbon. They can also be cut out later with fingernail scissors - very carefully! :)

I didn't get more pictures of the step-by-step as I added ribbons in this time. Q was getting ants in her pants, so I was in a hurry to finish before she wanted down. :) I actually wasn't planning on SO many ribbons, but after I started, I couldn't stop!!

Next time I will make the ribbons a bit longer (like the one long one you see here) so they hang down more. As the day went on, some of them took to standing straight up! LOL

Top view! :)

To add the ribbons to the ponytails I used the needle and starting on the side towards her forehead I threaded the ribbon next to her ponytail holder, then up over the ponytail, and threaded it back thru the hair toward her forehead on the opposite side. (I hope that makes sense!) Then I just tucked the ends thru the loop and pulled it snug!

Half up, Half down, girly but secure - and definitely lets the curl shine through! :D
...and... as an added benefit, this style is secure enough to keep in the next day, too! Check back later (THIS post!) to see what we did with it!

Let me know if you have any special requests and I'll do my best to fill them! email me at curlyhairdoideas@yahoo.com