Its hard to believe its been over 2 years since ive posted but life has been so crazy and so full of changes my focus has been on home. The biggest change has been the arrival of the newest member to the J-squad: Jairre Izekiel Malechi! He made his debut into the world on June 11th, 2012. He's now 12 months old and every bit as feisty as his older siblings! So, im hoping to get back into blogging and sharing more styles with everyone... of course, with working full time and starting back to school in the fall, and of course being a now single mommy of 4 kiddos we shall see how it goes!

I'm Back Everyone =)

Ok, so its been over a year since ive done anything with this blog and i need to get back into it...

So, im going to post some designs ive done, and with my future posts i will do some how-tos. But for now, just an update on some of the hair-do's we have done!!

The blog is fixed!

Sorry to anyone who tried to use it while it was "out of commission!!"

Cleopatra beads

Well, thats what we call them anyways lol

This has become one of our favorite bead styles lately, and the princess just LOVES it!

Its basically three levels of braids, and on the top level on the crown of her head, we doubled the amount of beads we would normally put in, to give it that "Cleopatra" look i call it.









enjoy!

Simple "part" designs

So, i had a reader who asked about gettin a little fancy with the way you part your childs hair for braids. Its a nice way to make even the simplest style look like you had to really put some effort into it. LOL

There are so many designs you can do. You can make the braid curve, you can do zigzags... have fun and experiment with it!

Here is what we did today.
I did three braids slanting down and to the right on one side, then on the other side, did a few slanting the opposite direction, then switched back once i got to the back of her head. I left the very back out and curly. It only took about 45 minutes, and it was cute!



Ive posted a few other pics before that follow this idea:




Just have fun!

Beads... long overdue!

Sorry to those who have been watching for a how-to on beads. Things have been CRAZY lately, but here it is!

Beads are a colorful and fun addition to hairstyles. My daughter absolutely LOVES beads. They can be worn by both boys and girls, too.

Beads are put on the ends of braids. I suggest keeping the braids relatively small, although you will have to do trial and error because all kids' hair thickness is different.

In order to put beads in your childs hair, you need a few things: elastics for securing at the ends, beads (of course) and a beader. I get my elastics (the thin ones) at any dollar store. They usually run about $1 for anywhere from 500-1000 elastics. Not bad, eh? Beads can be purchased many many places. I personally get mine from the craft section at Wal-Mart or any hobby store. I got a bead kit of 2300 rainbow colors for about $12 and there are individual packages of around 300 beads in various colors for about $3. My beader i got from an ethnic hair shoppe for .99 - beading is pretty cheap! Here are our supplies:


First, braid your section that you want beaded. Here i have already braided and beaded the back of Jissella's hair so you can see what it will look like, and ill show on the last one my steps:
The last braid, to the far left, is the one im doing. Sorry its so dark in the pic, it was 6am!


Load whatever color pattern you want in your childs hair onto your beader (example above in first pic). The bead at the bottom of the beader will be the bead at the bottom of the braid. String the braid through the loop at the top of the beader:


Push the beads up and onto the braid:


Pull the braid all the way through beads and hold onto the braid at the bottom once the beader is through:


Now the beads should be on the braid, and the beader should be empty:


Securing the beads is hard to explain, but i'll try. Basically, fold the braid over the bead at the bottom, then secure with an elastic. I wrap the end of the braid around the braid itself and slide the beads over it to cover it up. Hope that wasnt too confusing. lol

And once thats done, this is what it should look like:


Here is what it looked like once i had finished her whole head. We picked the colors to match her dress:

Cornrows

Ok, so one of the biggest and most common hairstyles with mixed or AA kids is cornrows. Learning how to cornrow is a GREAT investment in your time. It opens the door to SOOOOOOOOOOO many hair designs and styles, and i will admit that they are the single most lasting hairstyle. Anyone who is the parent of a child with curly hair will tell you that one of the biggest problems they run into with hairstyles is the frizz. Cornrows, when done properly, can cut down on soo much frizz and last quite a while. Some hair holds them longer, some shorter. But even goin a day or two without having to mess a lot with your childs hair is worth it right?? lol

Im not sure there is a right way to teach someone how to cornrow. Especially through words. The best way to learn is through PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Still, i will put up a few pictures to give you the basic idea of the technique. Then through time and practice, you will develop your own style and method. It may take awhile before you are capable of doing cornrows that are public worthy and thats OK!! Take your time and and keep at it and soon you will be a pro. Im not the best at it by any means lol Until recently, i would not have let my child leave the house in my mess of cornrows lol

Basically, a cornrow is an inverted french braid.

The best instructions on the web that i have found are at WikiHow.
http://www.wikihow.com/Braid-Cornrows
They have pretty good diagrams of the basic technique... they have a video as well, but i didnt find it to be much help. However, it is there and if it helps others, thats all that matters!! lol


These are the steps and diagrams from WikiHow:

1. Plan your style. Having in mind what your end goal looks like will help you to form a path for getting there. You can do this in your head, draw a picture, or make some marks on a Styrofoam wig holder. The easiest amount to begin with will probably be four to six sections from the front to the back of the head.

2. Spritz some water, or water mixed with detangler, on the hair. Comb or brush it through to remove all major tangles. The hair should be slightly damp, but not too wet. The reason for this is that you don't want to have to pull the hair a lot to create the tension needed to hold the style together. Hair contracts when it's wet and expands as it dries. Despite what some people say about a tight braid, this is the best way to achieve it - not by pulling the hair hard away from the scalp.

3. Part a section of hair that you would like the cornrow to follow along. put the sides of the hair that you aren't braiding in two pigtails so they don't get in your way. Move other hair out of the way so that you have a clear path to follow. Then take a small section of hair where you want the cornrow to begin. Don't take too much, especially near the hairline, or you will have to pull too hard to continue.


4. Separate that small section into three strands and make a normal braid of about 2 "stitches" to get it started.



5. Holding the two outer strands aside, reach down under this initial braid to add a little hair to the middle strand. Fully merge this new hair to the middle strand so that it becomes a part of it, and you again have 3 strands. Make a braid stitch out of these strands.



6. Continue braiding, each time adding a little more hair to the middle strand, and repeat this until you've run out of hair to add. If you've reach the end and there is still hair left over, then continue with a regular 3 strand braid...



7. Secure the cornrow with a snap bead, hair clip, end bar, barrette, bolo tie tip, or whatever you like, just so long as you will be able to easily remove it later. Uncovered rubber bands (elastics) are not recommended unless they are the kind made specifically for hair. The ones made for office use will break off the hair.



Cornrows do take a lot of time. On my own daughter, if we do small cornrows it can take an hour, larger cornrows only 20 minutes. Of course, adding beads or barrettes adds to the time. But its worth it. Here are a few pics of my oldest daughter with cornrows in:

before-


after-