Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying the spring as much as I am.

For inspiration for more Easter hairstyles, take a look at the side-bar links to hairstyles for Easter, up-dos, and special occasions, or look in our gallery.

No tutorial today--our family is so busy!

Rainbow Ponytail

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  My idea for this was to put some gold at the end of the rainbow, but I created this before school and didn't have time for perfection.  I had wanted to use some gold Christmas wrapping ribbon at the end of the ponytail, but didn't have time.

To begin, put the hair in a ponytail.  Measure a piece of ribbon off the spool the length of the ponytail, add a little bit more to account for wrapping, and then double it.  Cut the ribbon.  Cut all the other ribbon colors the same length.  Insert the ribbons stacked in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) into one of the loops of the hairband, and center the ribbon.

Pull the ribbons around to the back of the ponytail.

At this point at first I tried to do a fishtail with adding a ribbon to each strand.

I had trouble with this when I came down to the second go-round of colors.  I didn't have time to really figure it out, so I started again just fishtailing the ribbons, no hair.  It ended up like wrapping a maypole.

Once you have crossed each ribbon over once, start again one at a time by bringing the ribbon around the back of the ponytail and then over top of the last ribbon that was crossed over.

Repeat with each ribbon.  With Belle's length of hair, I was able to do three "rainbows."  The ribbons will be bumpy and loose and cover each other up, but you fix that by pulling them tighter at the ends and scooting them over.

I added a big green flower that probably came from a dollar store.  Like I said before, here would be the part to add the gold at the bottom.

If this fishtailing is too hard for you, I also imagined braiding with a regular braid adding two ribbon colors to each strand: red and orange for one, yellow and green for another, and blue and purple for the third.  I haven't tried this yet, but perhaps I will.

If you have success with this hairstyle or have any tweaks or improvements, I invite you share your photos on our facebook page!

Don't forget to check the link at the sidebar for more St. Patrick's Day hairstyles.

Elegant French Braid Updo

One of my young friends at church wore an adorable hairstyle similar to this some time ago.  It really struck my eye.  Gorgeous!  She had two regular french braids with a part down the middle, and the tails wrapped up like in this one.  It inspired me to try this on Belle with a little improvement in the braiding technique to lose the part.  This is done with french braids down both sides of the head, but rather than adding horizontal rectangles of hair to each plait, you add tall triangles with the top point at the same place each time.  The top front does have a part, at the side or middle, so you braid like normal at the beginning, but once you reach the crown of the head, you start adding triangles rather than rectangles.  The braids come close together at the back of the head.  Braid out the tails as far as you can and then add a clear elastic to each.

Next you need to wrap the braids together, almost tying them in a knot.  This diagram helps show the path that each braid takes.  If a braid doesn't turn sharp enough on the side, you can can try folding it and turning it backside out like I did on the right here.

If Belle's hair were just a little bit longer, the elastic would've been easier to hide.  At least it is clear.

Tuck the ends in to hide them, and add bobby pins.  Belle wanted these You-Pins (from Lilla Rose) to decorate.  You could use little flowers or ribbons or leave it without extras.

Crazy Hair Day: Rag Rug

I gave this hairdo to Belle a couple evenings ago just for the fun of it.  She didn't actually wear it out anywhere--we were just being goofy.  It's just in time for Dr. Suess' birthday, though, since a lot of schools have a crazy hair day, so I'm posting it anyway.  Belle's school is doing a literary character dress-up day instead of crazy hair day.

This hairstyle is a half dutch cornrow spiraling all around the head.  Start at the crown with a small section, begin braiding around.  Since I was just playing, I used my fingers to draw up new sections of hair, but you could make it look a little neater if you use a comb.  There is nothing you can do about the ends of the hair sticking out.  Once the hair you began braiding with runs out of length, you'll have a new piece of hair running out with every plait til the end.  Braid down the end when you run out of hair on the scalp to add in.  Wrap it around, tuck in the ends, and bobby pin it in place.  Or just leave it hanging for more craziness.

I call this the rag rug because it reminds me of those braided oval or circular rugs.

Check out our other crazy hairstyles by clicking on the link in the right sidebar.

Milkmaid Braids

I've already posted a different version of the milkmaid braids here, but I wanted to do this one that's a little different for shorter hair.

As you can see in the picture, you don't cross the braids over the back like the other post, but braid above the ears and pull them straight up.  I fastened off the end of the braid with a clear elastic, and then added another clear elastic down from the first to keep the ends of the tail from fraying out as much.

You have to draw the braids up together and then use bobby pins to hide each tail under the other braid.  It helps if your braids are loose and wide so you can spread them out flatter and make more room for the tails to hide.

You can see the elastic just a bit here.  It would help if her hair were maybe an inch longer.

Braided Heart Ponytail

To help celebrate Valentine's Day, here's another heart shaped hairdo.  Instructions are show for the ponytail version, but this is also really cute as pigtails.  (This picture is from a long time ago!)

Begin with a front piggy.  Put the rest of the hair in a low pony, being sure to leave the tail of the top one out.

Braid two sections of the lower ponytail at the sides.  Make them as even thickness as you can.  Secure the ends with a temporary clip.

Pull the braids up and then back down to add them with the hair of the top piggy.

Add an elastic here, careful to keep the braids at equal lengths on either side.  Split the hair from the tail in half, and tuck them behind the braids.

The braids will make a C shape on either side. To get the sharper angle at the bottom of the heart, you can fold them up and add another elastic on top of the pinch.

The ends of the braids will be much shorter than the tail of the pony.  If they pop out the sides like in the above picture and that bothers you, you can add this additional step.  Pull the short ends together behind the ponytail.  Wrap a small clear elastic around them a few times, and then once around to whole ponytail.

I'll admit this makes the bottom look kind of weird, but that can be hidden with a flower or bow.  (Satiny flower clip from Gimme Clips!)

Click the Valentine's Day link on the right sidebar to see more Valentine's Day hairstyle ideas.

A Lilla Rose Party

I received this email from Linda Menke and thought I would share it with all of you:

You are invited to a Customer Appreciation Party hosted by your Independent Lilla Rose Consultant (#817650), Linda Menke!

I was thrilled, surprised, and shocked to learn that I was #1 in Sales at Lilla Rose for 2012 and I have all of you to thank for it.  The Lord had blessed me with so many new friendships and opportunities through Lilla Rose and I’m so grateful to be part of this amazing company.  This party is my way of giving back to you, my devoted customers and bloggers for all your help last year.  Here are the details.

The Party will run from Jan 31^st through Feb 8^th and you can order items through this party link: www.lillarose.biz/parties/1487

Everyone that purchases an item through the party link is eligible for at least one entry into the giveaway.  Prizes for the giveaway are:

$100 in FREE Lilla Rose Product

$75  in FREE Lilla Rose Product

$50 in Free Lilla Rose Product

And one lucky person will be chosen as the Mystery Hostess and will earn all the Hostess Rewards for the party!  This is a great opportunity to get some FREE Lilla Rose Loot.  During the length of the party, there will be a Facebook Event going on at https://www.facebook.com/events/143359259156351/ for you to submit questions or ideas.  I’ll be checking into that event once or twice a day to answer questions and to add videos and other information.

On Feb 1^st, Lilla Rose will release the new February Flexi of the Month!  The February Flexi of the Month is usually a romantic style but you never know what the designers at LIlla Rose have up their sleeves.  So watch for that and, if it’s one you want, order it quickly as they typically sell out very quickly!

Every item you purchase is one entry into the giveaway.  If you order 3 or more items, you can get one item (up to $16 in value) FREE, even if you are not a new customer!  Plus orders of 3 or more items, will get 3 additional entries into the giveaway.  So if you order 3 items from the party, you will get one FREE item plus6 entries into the giveaway!  If you order 3 or more items, e-mail me at cliptomania@ymail.com with your order details, the FREE item you want, and your mailing address to get your FREE item and your extra entries.

Share this party on your Facebook page and get another entry.  E-mail me at cliptomania@ymail.com with the link to your post to get your entry.

Bloggers – Blog about this party in a dedicated post and earn 10 entries into the giveaway.  Mention it in another post and earn 5 entries (every time you mention it).  So get the word out and earn entries.  E-mail me at cliptomania@ymail.com with the link to your posts to get your entries.

The party will close on Feb 8^th at 10pm (NO EXCEPTIONS).  This is necessary so that you can get your orders by Valentine’s Day.  To ensure Valentine’s Day delivery, request Priority Shipping on your order.

So start shopping and have fun!  THANKS!