Sweet Helen Grace - Fascinator Archives

Beauty, Food & DIY

French Braided Side-Chignon

September 24, 2014

Photos By Sarah Veyna

I’m super excited to present you with my first ever hair tutorial! I must admit that I’m no expert when it comes to hair and beauty, but I really do enjoy learning and trying out different hairstyles. I’ve actually only recently started experimenting with putting up my hair, because I’ve found that it’s the easiest remedy for a bad hair day when you’re in a rush. This french braided side-chignon is one of my go-to hairstyles, because it only takes about 5 minutes to do and it looks really elegant. Keep on reading, if you want to learn how to achieve this look.

Start off by creating a side part on your hair.

Next, you’re going to section off a piece of hair on the side of your head opposite of your part. You want to make sure that you section off a piece on the side opposite of your part, so that your hairstyle doesn’t look too pulled back on your face.

Using this section of hair, start braiding your hair in a diagonal french braid across your head. This is just like a regular french braid, except that you’ll be weaving in strands from the top and bottom of your head, instead of from the sides. Once you’ve braided in all of your hair, use a hair tie to secure it into a low ponytail.

Take the hair hanging from your low ponytail, and wrap it around your hair tie to create a chignon, and secure it with a couple of bobby pins. Finally, pull out a couple of strands in the front, in order to frame your face.

You can also add fresh flowers or a fascinator to your hair if you want, in order to liven or dress up your hairstyle.

Putting together this blog post was so much fun, and I hope that you all found it very helpful. I had actually never thought of putting together any beauty posts until a friend asked me if I had any hair tutorials on my blog. If you see any hairstyles or makeup on my blog that you want me to do a tutorial for, please let me know! I’d love to put together more of these types of posts.

xoxo,

Helen Grace

Food & DIY

D.I.Y. Floral Fascinator

April 9, 2014

Photos by Sarah Veyna

Outfit Details:

Free People Lace Dress
M.A.C. Lipstick in Rebel
D.I.Y. FascinatorAs promised, today I’m bringing you a D.I.Y. post and teaching you how to make a floral fascinator. Whenever I think of Springtime fashion, some of the things that come to mind are floral prints and accessories. This fascinator is a great way to add a bit of life to your outfit. Plus, it is very easy to make, and makes for a great accessory for an easter or wedding outfit–or any outfit, really. If you’re interested in adding one to your wardrobe, here’s instructions on how to make your own:

Supplies:

1 Hair Clip, 12 Glass Beads, 1 Stiffened Felt Sheet, 3 Fake Flowers in 2 different colors (1 big, and 2 small), 2 Feathers, A Needle, Thread, and Scissors

Step 1:

First, you are going to start off by cutting a square piece of stiffened felt in a rectangle that is 3″x 5.” You can experiment with a bigger size, but keep in mind the size of your hair clip if you do, because you don’t want the fascinator to be too heavy and fall off.

Step 2:

Place the clip against your piece of felt, and make sure that the grip of the clip is facing the outside end of the rectangle. Sew on the hair clip to your piece of felt. I recommend criss-crossing your stitches so that your clip is better supported and doesn’t slip off later. If you want, you may also use glue to add some extra support.

Step 3:

Once you have sewn on your clip, turn the piece of felt around and sew your feathers on the opposite side. You will sew a feather on each corner of your rectangle. You want to make sure that you sew your feathers on the end opposite of the hair clip, otherwise your fascinator will be inverted.

Step 4:

Separate your fake flowers from the stems, and get rid of any pieces of plastic in the flowers. You will only be using the fabric petals for this project.

Step 5:

Next, you are going to sew on a flower over each feather. To do this, first pull a needle through the felt and all of the fabric petals.

Step 6 and 7:

Before you pull the needle back through the felt, pull your needle through two glass beads. After you’ve sewn on those two beads over the fabric petals, pull the needle through the felt and fabric petals again, and repeat. This will be the center of your flower.

Step 8:

Repeat Steps 4 and 7 on the opposite side.

Step 9:

Finally, after you have finished sewing on your two small flowers, you’re going to take your bigger flower and sew it right underneath them, creating a “triangle.” Make sure to repeat steps 4-7 as you do this, and you’re done making your floral fascinator!

I hope that this floral fascinator tutorial was easy enough. However, please let me know if you have any questions. I’m still learning how to develop these posts, and would appreciate any feedback on how to make this tutorial better and more clear. I will make sure to update this tutorial based on any questions that you may have.

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and have an amazing rest of the week! I hope that I have inspired you to get crafting this weekend.

Much Love,