Messy Bun Tutorial

Hey everyone! Just popping over with a quick hair tutorial. With the busy holiday season in full swing I haven't had a chance to really take the time to do my hair. I don't know about you but I have terrible static in the winter. It's instant and lasts the whole time. I find myself pulling it up more and more often, only to have the pony get just as static-y, if not worse. One day I was running seriously late for work and didn't have the time to mess with it. And out of that came one of my favorite (if not my absolute favorite) go-to hairstyles. I've had a few people ask me how I did it, so I thought a tutorial would be the best way to go. I've tried just explaining it, but there's something about those photos that really put it all into perspective.

Messy Bun

 Tools needed:

dry shampoo

hairspray

teasing comb

2 pony tails

bobby pins (as many as you need. it varies each time for me) 

 

Step 1: Start with second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. day hair. The dirtier the better I think. Pretty sure mine was at fourth day hair here. It also works best on wavy or curly hair. I have not tried it on straight hair but I imagine it would be pretty difficult. Once you get going, you'll see why.

Step 2: Dry Shampoo. Life changer. Spray the crap outta your hair. It gets rid of the oil and makes it easier for you to set your hair. Gives the bobby pins that extra hold.

Step 3: Teasing. I'm not going to go into a side tutorial on teasing. Mainly because I really have no idea how to do it properly. If you want to see a great tutorial, check it out here.

I tease the top layer.

And then the under and sides. 

After that I run my fingers slightly through it to break it up a bit. Just enough to smooth it out and cover up the "rats nest".

Step 4: First pony tail. It doesn't really matter what color it is. This pony tail will be completely hidden. I like to tuck the hair around my face behind my ears. You don't have to do this. I think this look would look great with bangs of any kind. I'm growing mine out and currently hate them, so pinned back is ideal for me.

Step 4.a: Whenever I pull my hair back I lose a lot of the volume. So I pull out a lot of the strands to kind of fake a bump. I get asked a lot if I have a "Bump-It" in my hair or if I tease it a whole heck of a lot. Answer is no. I pull my pony tail out. My bump is hollow.

I tend to exaggerate my bump when I wear this style. I think it adds more character to the look. It also gets rid of some of the hair, making the look more effortless.

Step 5: The second pony tail. I like to use a pony closer to my natural color. It doesn't often show, but on the off chance that it does, at least it's not white and sticking out.

Form a loose, messy bun with your hands. Don't worry about getting all of pieces into the pony. Some pieces hanging down is just fine. Loop the pony twice (or as many times as you need to for it to feel secure)

It will be different each time you do it.

Step 6: Pull on the bun, on both sides to loosen it up a bit more. You will later pin all the hair in place, so don't stress too much about it at this point. I try to make both sides even, so keep that in mind.

Step 7: Pin hair into place until you have the look you want. Sometimes I can get away with using 4 or 5 bobby pins and other times it takes closer to 10 or 15. 

I pin randomly. Sometimes I keep the loose pieces on the side they came from and other times I'll crisscross it. Like I've said, there is really no wrong way to do it.

Step 8. Hairspray. All over. 

That's it! It normally takes me 5 to 7 minutes to complete this style, start to finish. I love how simple it is, and how it looks like you took a lot of time to fix your hair. I think it's the kind of style that can me great for all different lengths as well.

I wore my hair like this for Christmas.

I really hope you try it out. And let me know how it turns out for you! If I get enough of a response, I'll do a video tutorial.

polka dot shirt, sheer white top, choker necklace- Forever 21. pants- H&M. pearl earrings- Target.



Linked ::  The Pleated Poppy
Rolled Up Pretty

Holiday Wreath

I know it's a little late in the season, but I've made a holiday wreath for our front door. I used all materials I had on hand so the project ended up being free.

I started with a small branch wreath and then wrapped with with white yarn.

I wanted the natural wood to show too, so I didn't wrap it all the way.

After I wrapped it until I was satisfied I added part of some garland.

At first I was going to make several circles, but after the first one I thought it was enough. If I had a bigger wreath I probably would have added more. I cut out as much as I needed. I then used the same white yarn to attach it to the wreath.

I then took the moss covered "P" and attached it to the wreath, with the same yarn. I really like how it turned out. To make it not so "Christmas-y" I can just remove the garland.

Quick and easy project. I think it took me about 20 minutes. The hardest part was wrapping the yarn. It took so long!

Hope you like it :)


Linked ::   I Heart Nap Time      Flamingo Toes   A Year In Review @ Addicted 2 Decorating

Paper Roll Craft

I've seen a lot of toilet paper roll crafts floating around Pinterest lately. Generally speaking I'm not too crafty. I always try to be, but I'm normally too impatient for them to turn out well. This is similar?

Anyway. I had just used my last paper towel (terrible, I know, but we use them) and I was about to throw out the cardboard roll when I decided that I could do something with it. I sat down at my computer and searched for different craft ideas.

via

I started by cutting the roll into sections. They are not all equal in size.

I then painted the inside of each roll. This took a lot longer than I expected.

I laid them out on cardstock to dry.

After I had painted the inside I started on the outside. This went a lot faster. Pretty soon I had them all painted.

Anyone else get extremely messy while painting? I do.

The other hand was just as bad. And that is why the picture is blurry. I didn't want a blue stain on my camera :)

I then glued the rolls onto gold cardstock. I was going to make the big piece as shown above but I couldn't get them to lay right. I decided to do 4 smaller flower prints.

Added a little glitter glue. Let them dry overnight.

And here is the finished project. I haven't decided how I'm going to hang and/or frame them. I might even cut around the rolls. Not sure how to completely finish it. They will be going in Story's room. Which I have big plans for :) But all of that is in the distant future.

Overall I think it was a fun project. And since it didn't cost me anything, not too bad. :)


Linked :: The Shabby Nest Simple Home Life   A Year In Review @ Addicted 2 Decorating

Gallery Wall Short Tutorial

This is just a small tutorial on how I've gotten to where I am with the gallery wall

I started out by picking up several different sized and shaped black frames. I've gotten all of mine from Ikea, so far. I wanted them to all feel the same, without being the same. But I will get some different ones as fillers. More on that later.

I also plan on using the wooden "P" we got for our wedding. We also got a moss covered "P" for our anniversary that I might use for the wall. Or for the front door. (Not sure yet Rachel)

I wanted to see what it would all look like so I laid the frames that I had on the floor. I just put them in the places I thought they should go. No real pattern. I really like how it looks so far.

These frames will only take up about 1/3 of the wall. And all of the frames aren't filled yet.

When I figured out how they would go I started tracing the frames.

This is not newspaper, it's tissue paper. I would recommend not using this. But it's all I had. And I wanted to do it, now.

print via


After I ran out of tissue paper and newspaper I started taping them to the wall.

This is as far as I've gotten. I REALLY like the layout. Can't wait to get the actual frames up. You can see in certain areas that the spacing is a little off. I plan on filling it up with little random things we have.

I can't wait to finish this project. It's really going to bring the room together :)