HAIR ACCESSORY DIY – FLORAL HEADBAND

2013 is the year of the hair accessory.

HOW TO: SIDE BRAIDED HAIRSTYLE TUTORIAL

I’m loving how the pink in my hair looks in braided hairstyles. This simple twist on a Dutch braid is a great hairstyle to keep your hair off your neck in summer. It also gets you another day’s mileage from your blow dry before you need to wash your hair again.

A Dutch braid is the reverse of a French braid, where instead of crossing your hair over each other, you bring them under. This leaves the braid on top so you can see the shape.

DIY Flower Crowrns

Who doesn’t love a flower crown? They are the perfect bohemian accessory for a music festival, or a whimsical addition to your wedding party attire.

Here’s a round up of seven of my favourite flower crown DIYs for you to try.

Mixed floral crown by bleubird vintage

Using silk flowers, this is an easy tutorial to create a simple flower crown by bleubird vintage. Click the image to go to the full tutorial.

How To Make Floral Crown for Wedding

Ok guys. You didn’t seriously think we were not going to give you a Floral Crown tutorial after all of those DIY makeup posts with gorgeous floral crowns, right? Of course we were, and today is the day! The reason we did floral crowns in the first place is that I’m totally obsessed with them (hot tip, follow the Stone Fox Bride Floral Crown Pinterest Board for more). It’s the current wedding trend I’m most hoping will take off like wildfire. So I asked long time reader Emily, of Green Snapdragon Floral Design in San Francisco’s wine country to come up and make crowns for us. She specializes in creating stunning florals for people without huge budgets (hot tip, y’all), and hence was the perfect person to ask. So! The details.

DIY Hinge Bracelet w/ Gold Chains

I originally created this fun gold chain and hinge bracelet for SHIFT on BuzzFeed last week wherein I dueled with Geneva from A Pair and a Spare {one of my favorite fellow DIYers}. We weren't told who we were matched up against but really, it's more fun and creative than competition. Our only rule was that it had to be a bracelet and made from metal... I went industrial and she opted for spikes! They're both fun and creative... here's how I created mine. 

DIY Ankle Fringe

DIY Barefoot Sandal + Shoe Enhancer

A simple and fun way to add a little drama to your bare feet... however, I love the barefoot sandaleven more when worn with a pair of classic pumps! Simply wrapped around my foot and ankle, I can wear any shoes {even ballet flats} and give them an entirely new look at relatively no cost. 

Silver & Gold Glitter Manicure

My husband LOVES when my nails are painted and if you're a long-time reader, you know why ;) so doing them to share here, with you, is just an added bonus. Sometimes I need dual motivation to succeed at certain tasks or it's just not worth my time. But I'll admit I've been loving all my fun manicures as of late. 

I wanted something bright and festive and fun for New Year's Eve and didn't want to stick to just gold or just silver so I combined the two by painting half of my nail with one and the other half, with the other. It's similar to my glitter stripe manicures but covers the entire nail. I'm sure you could also layer one over the other but I thought it'd be a bit too thick... and anyone who has used these glitter polishes knows what a headache they are to get off so I thought I'd do half and half. I love the turnout!

Pink Hearts Valentine's Day Manicure

I wanted something festive and fun and feminine for Valentine's Day and even though red is the official Valentine's Day color, it can also look very Christmassy to me. And since Christmas was just a few months ago, I thought I'd go with pinks. I originally planned on doing a pink French manicure but last minute I randomly created these easy little half-hearts which make me smile every time I look down - and kind of remind me of when I was about 13. But regardless, 35 going on 13 just for a few days never hurt anybody, right? 

Rope Braids and Low Bun Hair Tutorial

* I originally wore this style last Summer with two slightly larger braids *

Faux Diamond Tipped Nails

I've been dying to try out this new deep teal polish by Sephora by OPI for a few weeks now and am so excited to finally do so. I really love the color! It appears very dark, almost black even, but has a fantastic blue hue which happens to work really well with silver glitter. And while I think mychunky glitter stripe is a bit more subtle and chic, this glitter French Manicure makes me feel like I have diamond tips... and very Elizabeth Taylor-ish. 

Midnight Purple Nails w/ Chunky Gold Glitter Stripe Space Manicure

Now more than ever nails have become an added accessory to outfits... and I love it. This weekend is my cousin's bachelorette part and I plan on wearing a black dress with gold shoes so I thought I'd give myself a manicure that would compliment the outfit. 

Inkblot Nails DIY Rorschach Manicure

I'm in love with this Rorschach Inkblot manicure. It spawned simply from wanting black and white nails without using polka dots or stripes. That was it really. But after I thought of it, I was perplexed at how to achieve the look without just free-handing it. So I kind of incorporated both. Obviously it can be recreated with any two contrasting colors and look great, but I love the high contrast black and white right now. Careful making your designs too wide though... it could go "cow" really easily ;)

Pink and Silver Chanel Nails Tutorial

A few weeks ago I came across Chanel's silver and pink 2012 runway nails and thought it was a better {and much easier} way to achieve that neon rimmed nail art manicure that didn't go over so well -- and I couldn't wait to try it! Luckily I had a fresh pack of metallic silver nail patches from Sephora I bought years ago before nail patches were really sold anywhere else and thought it would be the perfect project to keep me busy in the car on the way to Palm Springs last week. I added the fun neon fuchsia/purple color when I had a little free time the following day. In the meantime though, Fab Fatale and The Budget Babe both did similar Chanel nail art manicures, which I thought was funny. We're all on the same mani wavelength!

Here's how I did mine...

Green Speckled St. Patrick's Day Manicure

St. Patrick's Day is Saturday, and if you're the type of person who doesn't wear green, this is perfect for you. It's a no-brainer. Your "something green" is painted on, and without being doused in lucky charms and rainbows and leprechauns and four leaf clovers, you can be just as festive as your insanely excited Irish friend {who probably looks a little like me as I hail from Ireland} and avoid getting pinched by that annoying guy who is so hoping you don't wear green so he can finally touch you.

Bejeweled Nails and Jewel Tones Manicure

I have been waiting and waiting for the weather to turn chilly and the leaves to fall to do a jewel-inspired manicure. And even though it still seems a bit early, I'll just offer it as inspiration for the coming holiday months. I think this will be a perfect late November {aka Thanksgiving} and Christmas manicure. Though I made sure not to put the red and the green too close so it didn't ultimately feel like a Christmas mani. I was inspired by the jewels in the photo below and added the fun gems to bring in the gold. 

HOW TO MAKE HAIR BOWS: DIY (JR.)

Hello! I'm excited to introduce you to a cute new weekly feature DIY jr. It's a quickie DIY that you can do in an hour or less! Hair bows are one of my favorite accessories and this tutorial has been requested a lot over the past year. I hope you enjoy...

HOW TO STYLE A CLASSIC FRENCH BRAID

I adore a pretty french braid! It's such a classic hairstyle that can work on many different hair lengths, including locks with layers. If you've never french braided before, or just need a refresher you're in luck. Sarah demonstrates a french braid on our pretty model Anna.

HOW TO STYLE A TWISTED BUN

Today we want to share a super cute and simple hair how-to! This twisted bun looks pretty and unique. I love it with lace twisted in or flowers and bows.

HOW TO STYLE A HAIR BOW

« AN AUTUMN OUTFIT | MAIN | MAKE YOUR OWN LACE SCARF! »

HOW TO STYLE A HAIR BOW

Love bows? We do too! Learn to make a pretty bow with your own hair so you can feel extra fancy. Enjoy.....