Headband for Wonky Heads

Do you suffer from a wonky head?  Do you see all the fabulous headband fashion and wish you could take part?

Do you find your headbands creeping up?

I do, so I created this.

The headband for wonky heads.

You wear a ponytail at the base and it holds the headband in place.

Measure the ol' noggin.  Right where you would wear your headband.  Then add half an inch.

Cut a piece of ribbon that length.

Take a hair rubberband (I actually prefer the soft kind--I used it on the orange one and it holds better than the rigid one pictured).

Sew each end of your ribbon onto the rubberband using a quarter inch seam. (See below.)

   And you now have a headband that will stay on your head, held on by your ponytail.

 The tricky part is getting it on.

Start by putting the headband over your head and rest on your neck. (So in other words, put it on like a necklace.)

Gather your hair into a ponytail using the rubberband on the headband.

Then put the headband in place.

It takes some practice getting it right.

(And if you figure out a different way to put it on, share, share, share)

The orange one actually is fabric.  (Follow the same guidelines, just make a fabric headband with an extra half inch for sewing onto the rubberband.)

Here is an outtake.  Don't you LOVE little L sitting there staring at me like I'm an idiot? :)

Worry-Free Jewelry*: Friendship Bracelet Grown-Up

Do you remember the Friendship Bracelet I showed you a while ago?

Well, look at how it grew up!

We were heading to a rodeo and the theme was Tough Enough To Wear Pink.  Well, my mom is a breast cancer survivor, so she brought over pink fabric for all of us to wear. 

 D used the friendship bracelet method on three strips of fabric to make her hat decoration. (Her strips were about 1.5 inches thick and 2 yards long.)

 

I turned mine into a scarf/necklace.  We used thicker strips of fabric, probably 5 inches each.

Then today I was at an event and I saw a bundle of string that was for balloons.  I thought, huh, that would make a totally cute necklace if it was twisted.

I took kite string.
And put the kiddos to work.

I used two yards lengths.  I separated my two oldest kids about two yards apart and sent little L wrapping the string around their hands.  See how their hands are held up?  We went 15 times, so that total there was 30 strings.  Then D and I started twisting.  I wanted it to be really tight.  Then I followed the steps just like in the post.  And WAh LA new necklace that looks amazing but it is worry-free*!

Dress it up and be oh so chic.

Here is the reason why the pics were taken inside:

I was getting blown away.   (I was holding my shirt down so I didn't look like I had wings.)

*OK, what is worry-free jewelry?  Have you ever had a kid break your string of beads?  Have you ever had a kid gnaw on your costume jewelry and you wonder what are they ingesting?  Have you ever broken your necklace yourself because you were being a mom?  Or being active?  Worry-Free Jewelry is an answer to those woes.  Easy to make, and easy to fix.  (And usually cheap). 

Friendship Bracelets

Both my girls are Girl Scouts. I am a troop leader for Daisy Girl Scouts for little L.  D's troop became a sister troop and throughout the year we've gotten together for little things. (D's  Cadet troop is all 6th graders and L's troop is full of kindergartners.)  Last week the Cadets came to our troop meeting and taught the girls about being friends.  Then they teamed up and made friendship bracelets.  I had never seen this technique before so I thought I would share so you can do it with your littles.

Note the one worn.  It was made with 4 strands.

The one in her hand was made with 9.

Here are some of my girls.  They were cold, but I had them hold up their wrists so we could see.

You will need yarn and two people, which is part of the charm.  It takes two people working together to create something fun. (Oh so many lessons and parallels we could make while creating these.)

4 strands of yarn will create a thin-ish bracelet.  9 strands creates a fun choker.  The 9 strand example started with a yard each.

(A note on colors: If you keep your colors together at the beginning, you will create the candy-stripe look.)

Stretch the yarn between the two of you.

Begin to twist.

Keep twisting.

And twisting.

Until it is super tight.

A good way to check if it is tight enough is to give some slack.  If your rope starts to twist, you're doing good.

Now, one person find the center and hold it tight with one hand and with the other give their end to their partner.

Let go of the center and the person holding both ends gets to shake, shake, shake till it all twists up.

If it isn't evenly twisted, the partner not holding it can smooth out those bumps along the way.

The end will have a loop in it.  Bring the two ends to the loop.  Pull half of your ends through the loop and then tie the ends together with the loop in between. 
And you will get:

This!

Go out there and teach team work and create some fun friendship bracelets. 

I think these would be fun to try with embroidery floss as well.  I wonder how they will turn out . . .
**If you look carefully you will see the smaller versions on each of the girls.

Chicken Salad

I'm writing this mostly for myself so I don't forget my awesome creation. (Not too original, but I'll forget it. And sorry for no pretty pictures.  The girls ate it up.)

Today's challenge was that one of L's friends is Gluten intolerant.  I was struggling to figure out lunch for three kinde garteners (yes I know its spelled wrong, but I love the way it sounds).  What would they eat?

So as I cruised my pantry and freezer I found canned chicken.  I made chicken salad and told the girls we were having a tea party and eating tea party food. :) (Trickery at its finest)

Take one can of chicken, one celery stalk (chopped), one half apple (peeled, cored, and chopped), and some blueberry flavored Craisens.  Mix it all together and add mayo till its as moist as you like it.  I like it fairly dry.

Enjoy on crackers or bread or with a fork.  The three monkeys enjoyed 4 bananas between them with their chicken salad. 

The two big kids came home during our lunch and begged for the left-overs.  They were so sad that they each only got half a sandwich. 
I need to remember this for an easy yummy simple dinner.  Especially on a hot summer night (if those nights ever come--its still freezing here in UT).

*** My Craisens were dry.  So I soaked them in hot water for a bit and they were perfect.

Beach Spray for Hair



Crescent City, CA 2008*


Don't you love the way your hair feels after a day at the beach?


The other day I followed a link to a slide show with summer hair.  I'm currently growing my hair out after 5 years of short.  So I am in need of hair ideas.  This article kept talking about beach spray.  And the last sentence, after suggesting several that you could buy for a pretty penny, said my favorite words: Or you could make your own.

I love those words!!!  I live for those words!

I googled how to make it.  I found several recipes and decided to give 'er a try.  I just warmed up water (important for the salt to dissolve) and added sea salt until it tasted like the ocean.  Then I added a few drops of Lavender oil so it smells good.  Poured the mix into a spray bottle and I was set. (remember to shake well if you add oil)

In my house we have three different types of hair.  I have medium length, fine, with natural curl.  Little L has fine hair with no curl (but two whirls at the back, I kept it boy short for years cause of those crazy whirls).  Miss D has hair to die for.  Thick, long with just a bit of wave.

Here are the results on our different hair types:

(Maybe taking my own pics is worse than having D take them)

Look at the casual curl

This has a great messy look

We had to twist it.  If you have no curl, twist it.

Since taking these pics I've had lots of fun using my beach spray.  Its great to spritz at the roots to get some curl for a messy up-do or side pony. (Mine is still so short I can't do much.)

So, go out there and make your own day at the beach!

*My poor sweet kids have never been to a warm beach.  They only know the Northern Pacific.  Those beaches are cold, but still so fun.  Someday they will go to a beach you can actually swim at.  I wonder what their reaction will be.

Profeanna had a good question but blogger isn't letting me post comments. (Soooo irritating) So I am adding it here in hopes that she'll come back. :)

That is a good question. Unfortunately I was using a salt grinder andn I didn't pay attention to how much I put in. When it tastes less like good salt and more like bad salt (or until you gag) that might be a good indicator. I'll try a new mixture and measure before I add. Then I'll get back to you!



I'm linking this up to:
http://www.skiptomylou.org/
http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

http://gigglesglitzandglam.blogspot.com/

http://sewchatty.blogspot.com/
http://www.tipjunkie.com/homemade-projects-add-yours-10/

The Rain Stopped For a Bit and The Crazies Went Crazy

This is just my kids jumpin on the ol' Trampoline.  My oldest is almost 12 and I know these moments are short lived.  So I went outside and took 150+ pics. (The nerdy part being that I was trying on the maxi-dress to fix the straps and ran out to capture the moment.  So, yeah, I'm a  nerd.  But I caught my kids liking each other.  Must seize that moment.)

 L stubbed her toe. :(

 J and L love each other occasionally.

 Medusa #1

 Medusa #2

Crafty Juices Were Flowin'

Yesterday was a rare day at my house.  Everyone was home and we had no where to go.  Bliss.

Add to that the creative energy that flowed through our house.

The two boys, Mr and J, worked on J's pinewood derby car.  Good masculine creativity.

The girls and I worked with one of my favorite mediums, fabric.

First we taught Little L how to make yo-yo's.  This kept her focused and it was so fun to watch her sew.  She made up stories about her yo-yo's.  They were all fairies and the little one needed constant babysitting.

Then we pulled out Princess D's new sewing machine and she made her first item, a pillowcase.  She loves sleeping on a Euro-Square pillow, so that's what we made her.  She was so proud and I let her do it all herself (which was kinda hard).  I did use the rotary cutter and cut it out--I'm not brave enough to trust her with that yet.

I had hoped to sew D's bed skirt too, but I had a nasty attack of carpal tunnel and I couldn't find my hemming foot.  So I was the only one who didn't make anything.

After I tucked the kids in bed I pulled out my glue gun and flowers and made some simple hair clips.  Nothing fancy.  Little L tucked Mr. into bed and came down and helped me.

This morning I found this:

My girls had created their own combinations.  They put mine to shame, but the Mama in me is proud.  Look at the use of texture and color?  They mixed in ways that fashion and trend wouldn't dare, but these girls could rock that look. (And who I am to force my girls to stay on trend and not branch out?)

I guess I better create more opportunities for my kids to be creative, cause the juices are flowin.

Leaves

I live in a relatively new city.  (I think Officially we're somewhere in the teens--we've lived here 11 years.)  There aren't a lot of trees.

So, every fall, my kids LOVE the leaves.  They become a novelty.

We spent a little over an hour at the park last weekend and my kids rolled and rolled in the leaves.

I was rewarded at the end with some great shots:

My three monkeys. They make everything great.