Once Upon a Curl

Prodcut Review..... The Bead Barrette

2013-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Oh My I can not believe its been so long since my last post, I will truly try to do better. But My first post back will be a product review

The Bead Barrette. I've been seeing and reading the buzz about it, and was more than a Little Excited because they weren't yet sold in my area, But you can now find them at Walmart and my favorite go to Snapaholics when I don't carry a certain item, i'm sure they do.

The Bead Barrette came to life, when owner and designer Jennifer Zachery, needed a solution to the common problem of Toddlers and Beads, when her daughter Kyndal's daycare banned beads ( in their center and thank heavens they did or we wouldn't have this awesome product) in their center.
'
I will first say that I had dropped them and for a second my Heart Dropped. but i realized that i didnt have thousands of loose beads,all over my floor. SO then and there it was love....

these bead barrattes were so easy to apply. I was a little hesitant to try them on Tye because of the word "barrette" but i can say they are truly unisex if you get the right colors

Which was easy enough, and we added some basketball beads because Tye asked, and i did not have to use rubber bands on his ends, bonus!

I can truly saw I am more than happy with these snap on beads. It was quick easy and saved me lots of frustration, from having to bead and tread beads... I can just imagine all of the creative uses of for these, and the versatility of hair types and styles. they can be used on ponytails, braids, twist, locs and so much more.

Stay Tuned for a giveaway coming up :o)

Be sure to like us on facebook.

Wedding Hair Styles for Children

2013-08-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

This past month Tye had the honor or being in a Dear Family Friend's Wedding.

I was unsure or how to do his hair, being it was a really formal event bow ties and tux type of event, and here's what i came up with. styles i considered having his natural hair in a big afro, a twist out of sorts and french braids. But a a variation of our Infamous finger curls won.

This time i used smaller portions of hair to achieve this look and can i say i loved it.

It was curly perfection

The Wedding Part

The beautiful Cake

Some of the decorations from the reception

Tye was the Life of the party in his tux, lol

Some of our Church Family, we've all went separate ways, but always find a way back together

Tye and One of the Flower Girls

A photo from earlier in the day, it was really hot and the 5 piece boys Tuxedo was not Helping

This style was created with water, and a little bit of cantu leave in conditioner

Update on Errks Hair

2013-07-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

So it has been way to long since i've done a post, and some of my awesome readers who've stumbled upon the blog have took the time to email about current post, so i will take the time to write a post.

one of the emails were inquiring about my little cousin's Errk's hair, you can see previous post here

we were in the process of taking down his mini braids that we've had in since the beginging of June. his braids were in for a total of 8 weeks. If i kept tye's braids barely lasted 4 weeks and was already a tangled mess, gabe's on the other hand, did beautifuly

a comparison shot

the take down process, as i took the braids down i twisted each section, so it wouldn't get tangled or in the way, and it made washing his hair so much easier

washing eerk's hair in the twist, no tangles no knots

the fro, the least we can say is, Errked loved how big his hair is

He's able to have a full fledged ponytail, after a little under a year, and its already 5/6 inches

Stay tuned as i try to play catch up on Eerk and his hair journey

Waterfall braided Mohawk... Kimani Styles

2013-06-02T21:33:00.001-07:00

So today i am please, to have my little cousin Kimani Kier, do a post for me, I mean this little girl (teenager) and so much skill its crazy, and im kinda jealous, anywho, enjoy her how to post

We started with freshly washed and deep conditioned hair. We used Bee Mine Products, but you can use whatever products that work for you.

I started off by sectioning her hair into 3 sections. You can choose the side you want, we chose the left side and we went to the middle of her left eye brow and parted the hair straight back then parted down the right side of her head to the back of her ear, then sectioned it off.

Next, with the remainder of the hair I divided it in half starting at the nape and section each side. Thus 3 sections:

I started in the front. Tj’s side’s are really thin so the goal was to cover them ( instead of braiding her fragile edges, the braids hanging allowed the edges to stay out and rest, without looking messy and old)

. I sectioned the section off in half. I braided each side to the middle of the part which was parted in half and then I added the beads. (I usually add beads at the end of the style, but for demonstration purposes I added as I went.

Then I started on the back right section. I did the braids towards the middle part. I chose to make my parts diagonal and also do a pattern of a straight corn row then a set criss-cross corn rows, then straight again and continued.

Then, I went on the left side. I did the same on this side, with a little difference.

Because on this side some of the top side of her head was not braided with the first third, I had to curve the corn rows up. Because her sides are thin I did a looped criss-cross cornrow.

After that cornrow I continued with my original pattern.

If you are not aware on how to do a criss-cross, here’s an explanation on the best way I know how. First time a section twice the size of the single cornrows you’ve done. Divide it in half longitudinal. And depending on how many times you want the cornrows to cross over make longitudinal parts. Every other section goes with one cornrow. Part off the other sections and begin the braiding.

Here are finished photos:

We hope you enjoyed our post, and if you try any variation of this style we would love for your to share on our fan page Once Upon a Curl

Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-12T11:38:00.001-07:00

Oh My.... Disney World

2013-05-08T01:09:00.005-07:00

Oh My goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness ( I just watched Annie).

I can not believe its been over a month since I have written a post. What wrong with me. I don't even know where to start, Hair, Parties, so much...

I guess i can start with whats most pressing, We're going to Disney Word,

even though we have season passes to Disneyland, I'm still so excited, and its going to be a surprise for Tye so i can't wait. The Only Down Side, is we're going in the middle of July which every tip on pintersest and blog I've Read, says that's the biggest no no.... So I'm hoping everyone is reading that not thinking about going :o)

Below are some of things I've done to get us ready for our trip

I decorated a mini first aid kit, to hold all of our band-aids, and and Excedrin for me

a second one

to make our Disney World Trip more affordable, I started collected gift cards from target ( did you know that if you use your red card you get 5% off ) its not much but it adds up

The most expensive thing at Disney has to be the souvenirs. and i for 1 can't fathom spending more money than i have to. We've been to Disneyland plenty of times and some days i have spend nothing at all, but its Disney Word, and it has to be magical... to the rescue the dollar tree and 99cents only stores, my heroes

check out some of the Disney related goodies i was able to find

Phineas and Ferb Themed Napkins,

both found at the Dollar Tree

these little figurines, we also have Princess Tiana who is Tye's one and only favorite princess

and i have a lot of goodies left over from tyes Phineas and Ferb Rock Star party , so we'll be using all of those too....

Stayed for more Disney Related post, and other goodies, hopefully i can get 1 post done a week, we'll see how school work and hair gets

New camera

2013-03-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

We recently got a new camera and i'm excited... i've been eyeing and price matching lots of different camera's and finally decided on a Canon T4i, and so far sooo good, here's a couple test shots i did this past weekend... Well my first shoots with the camera

I love this picture.. ( I think it would be even better if i didn't take it)

He was was saying "I'm strong"and you see the sling on his arm... he broke it while at school playing on the monkey bars

He was such the perfect little model, although i feel very sorry for him, because i think he will be in front of my lens even more as I practice with my intro DSLR

I even got my little cousin Gabriel in, in the action.

Wondering where we got the outfits?

On Tye

pink and blue shirt from old navy, boys section $5
carpenter jeans, children's place $6
and neon green chucks, from ross dress for less, $10

On Gabe

Perry the Platypus shirt, from Walmart $8
Plaid Skinny Jeans by levi, we got these from Burlington Coast factory, last year for about 12 bucks
shoes were brought at ross dress for less

Minnie Mouse inspired Birthday Party SNEAK PEEK

2013-03-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated my little cousins joint Minnie Mouse Pink and Red Birthday Party

Mel Turned 5 and Li turned and it was party any two little girls would love to have, even with a pony

It was soo much fun helping my cousin to plan her daughter birthday party.

if you're looking for more interest, you can check out our pinterest boards here on my pinterest board and here on my cousin's board here's just a sneak peek so stayed tuned for more

Need some goodies for your Minnie Mouse Party, let us know

Glow in the dark Mickey Ears

Tye rocking 2 week old finger curled fro, what was i thinking, lol

Birthday Girls Hair Style quick and easy on natural curly hair

We had a Candy Buffet, and you can see the Adults loved it more than the kids

I think My picture taking Skills are getting a Little Better no?

Like really they could not have used the little candy buffet bags and take out boxes?

Birthday Girl Minnie Mouse Tutu from Once Upon a Curl

Detail on the Shirt

I tried to do a Minnie Mouse, but i failed

But every one loved the birthday Girl Minnie mouse hair style

Large Barrel Beads, looking for some? We have em

My lil Cousin Man

This pony had some hair on it

Yea Just a Little Bit

I absolutely loved these large Glittered Minnie Mouse Ears? Bows

Please stay Tuned for more photos and detailed info

Product review and Giveaway... Little Green Pouch

2013-02-19T21:09:00.003-08:00

I must say pinterest is one of my favorite all time sites on the Internet... You can find some many wonderful ideas and products that you've never thought of, and it was on one random occasion when i came upon the Little Green Pouch, and i immediately set off to order a pack. I a glad i did!!!

I used to buy the pouches that you find at the grocery store or gogurts, applesauce and puddings and they were 1, over priced ( up to $2 for one pouch) and 2 they take up space.

and the washing of dishes when you try to have less waste and do it yourself

you can see our FunBites in the background

But after a day of Exploring

Its great to just be able to enjoy a healthy and portable snack

So much better for the environment since they are reusable :o)

Okay and how cute is this curly cutie, photo by Drew Kelly

Ready to get a pack of your own? Well you're in luck

You can purchase them from their website right here

Or in our Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Simple ponytails with a twist

2013-01-25T21:54:00.001-08:00

Have you gotten into a hairstyle rut yet? I know i have hit it several times, I mean how many times can you do ponytails with out getting a little bored

Well add an outrages strand of beads

( 21 big beads the be exact with a shell at the end)

Plan ponytails with plan Barrettes

and the beads spelled out her name

She Loved it, and

Products and items used

Baby don't be Bald grease ( well for, hair & scalp)

Water and Oil mix (to detangle)

and a little bit of Cantu ( for the ends)

rubberbands

daisy barrettes

and here's a sneak peek at my little cousin's faux hawk

Tye's Defined Afro

2012-12-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

So for the past few days tye has been rocking a defined

day 2 of the defined FRO

Day 3 of the defined fro

rocking at the guitar the fro only gets better with age

After the initial finger detangling and style i did nothing to his hair, and i love the results

Stay tuned for a detailed post on how i achieved this look using the finger curl technique

this style would work for every age and gender, just add a bow or other hair accessory for girls and you're good to go

Tye's 5th Birthday Party

2012-12-11T23:24:00.002-08:00

So this past weekend we celebrated Tye's 5th birthday.. I had all of these grandiose plans of what i wanted to do and how i was going to do it, and i must say almost everything went to plan, except for the rental place canceling last minute, and me not having my camera. Its a good thing my Uncle was there to catch some pictures so just enjoy, there will be more pictures than words, lol

the birthday boy

for food we had a

fruit platter, chips and dip, hot dogs, baked beans

Barbecue Chicken, Spaghetti, and a deluxe salad. with grapes strawberries, walnuts etc

drinks included, hot chocolate, ice tea, lemonade crush sodas, and water with mason jars as cups

for his party, we used our chafing dishes and table linens that we already had

candy buffet before pictures

we had marshmallows, giant lolipops, gummie bears, giant pixi stixs

pepermint stickd, swirley pops giant jaw breakers, chocolate covered preztels, cookies, and cupcakes

before his guest came he was running around tearing up games in his rockstar pajamas

some of the games where knock down cans, a goldfish toss,

tattoo booth, and hair coloring booth (was a big hit) arts and crafts and a c couple of other

fun little actities

golf and a baseball game

basketball

the playground

balloons where the hit of the party

balloons, ( and you can kinda see the drinks)

I found these name balloons at party city they didn't have his first name, but its cool

this was his first year having a real jumper and he loved it

centerpieces were plastic popcorn buckets, with his picture in it

and the birthday boy again stay tuned for a step by step for his Faux Hawk......

thanks for sharing with us

2012-11-26T22:38:00.001-08:00

Diy carnival signs for my son's Phineas and Ferb Rock Star Carnival

I"m using this the guitars for directional labels for our carnival signs

I plan on having a photo booth, stay tuned for more post

A kissing booth i got the idea for the giant kiss from another blog but can't find the post on my pinterest broads

some of the where covered in this polka dot wrapping paper i got from targets dollar spot and the rest was covered in different tissue papers

i got these big foam broads at the dollar tree for a dollar each

but for the smaller ones i had some USPS shipping boxes that i received from my online orders and just used those

this is oval sign is part of a Easter directional sign, i got on the less than perfect section of oriental trading,

tye had fun spray painting everything black and did a pretty good job

This is my weird color combination i choose to work with and i'm glad i was able to make it work

and i used my Cricut to cut most of the letters, and i got the scrapbook paper and card stock from either Micheal or Joann's when they where 6/$1 or 7/$1

Ties and Arm Warmers

2012-11-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

So I have been meaning to get some of these product photos of our affordable accessories for boys and girls so here's a few

a navy tie, we have them in lot's of colors and designs

And a New Favorite of Tye's Leg Warmers

and plaids in Blues Reds and Pinks

and more leg warmers on the arms

Stay Tuned for more goodies

Diy waterbottle Lables... Phineas and Ferb Rock Star Carnival

2012-11-11T18:51:00.002-08:00

So I had lots of thoughts of paying someone to create some waterbottle labels for me and two things stopped me, the price it would cost to get them done and then the ink it would eat up when i was printing them

So my Diy option was to use striped scrapbook paper and do it myself.

I free hand everything and it was really simple to do

take off wrappers

place patterned paper

add tape and you're done

and to have it tie in more with the Carnival part of the Phineas and Ferb Rock Star Carnival

I attached some "admit one" tickets to it using some elmers school glue sticks i got on sale at walmart when they where 10 cents each

to make the job even easier you can have it set up in an assembly line and put

your kids or spouse to work.

it took about 30 minutes with me watching the twilight to finish 35 of them

I hope you enjoy

Wordless Wednesday

2012-11-07T11:08:00.001-08:00

Tye and Ny my Rock Stars

Phineas and Ferb Rockstar Carnival... DIY Party Favors

2012-11-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

The time is drawing near for Tye 5th Birthday party, and since i did not manage my time as well as should have i'm scrambling to get everyting done

"Party Favors"

it includes tickets to play the carnival games and some other Rock Star and P&F essentials

like tattoos, an inflatable guitar and a backstage pass

at first i was going to buy the printables but decided to try my hand

at making them myself because i had such a mix mash of themes

these ones are for my younger cousins and it will also double as their

CHRIST-mas Gifts

Back Stage passes

And the boxes piled up

Growing out Boys Hair... Easy Low Maintenance

2012-10-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

So I wanted to give you guys a little update on my lil cousin's Errk hair, its still going strong, and he and i keep up our part of the bargain, but since i'm lazy i gave him my go to style well a variation of it, i gave him mini twist.....

This style is actually three weeks old, and i'm slowly going over and retwisting some, to give it a "fresh" look

His ultimate goal is a braided mohawk so we'll see and its about 3 inches long.

So far so good, it has been a good experience growing out his hair from scratch, and virtually pain free

stay tuned for more updates on Errks' Hair Saga

and always this style is good for both boys and girls, and no mater the length

and a sneak of tye's similar style that he's been rocking for 3 weeks too

Tye the Rock Star

2012-10-20T20:39:00.003-07:00

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of Having Photo's taken with the Fabulous La Mia Stella Photography who was having free mini photo session at the Pasadena Sheraton Hotel to help support Aids Walk Los Angeles and the best part about it, besides getting great photos half of every purchase was donated directly to the cause.

Even with his Zebra Print Tie on croaked i still loved it

and by Far My favorite one!!!!

In the Words of Tye, "Mommy, I look good!"

Be sure to stop La Mia Stella's Facebook Page and show some love, and let them know that Once Upon a Curl Sent you. And if you're in the So Cal Area, keep your eyes posted for Up coming events

For these photos tye was rocking a Braid Out/twist out type of Style
Zebra Print Tie from Once Upon a Curl
a Hat from his colection
and some "skinny" jeans from the children's place

straight parts in curly natural hair

2012-10-16T18:32:00.001-07:00

So this is an old post i did on cafemom, I just copied and pasted

So I hope this post helps you to part your child's naturally curlyy kinky hair, oh and also to do shaped ponytails too

so I had my little cousin,be a test dummy for me....

poor kid he had to sit ... as you guys can see his hair is not very long

this is just to show you the parts, a straight one kinda, note his hair is tightly curled...

a zig zag part or lighting bolt, call it what u want.. and as I part I put hair in ponytails loosely to keep my parts nice

these are box ponytails secured with a rubberband at base, depending on how u do the could it be diamonds

triangles, parts

box ponytails all over the staple of a good hairstyle.... with the length of your child's hair could last a week r 2 depending on texture, just twist. braid r pull back into on ponytail for longer hair,curl around your finger to create spiral curls 4 wavy, n leave as is 4 for short "nappy" hair

if his hair was longer these ponytails could be done in so many ways.. 2 pigtails let down, coiled around to make Nubian knots,, add bows n barrettes to make it your own, n different shapes of parts

side view my on sleep in the background
front view
I used a l boy, to show you guys the parts without all the hair in the way n plus his hair is short so maybe moms with babies with little hair can get the idea too.... I have to say thank you to my little cousin for sitting while I parted took pictures and took out ponytails... so let me know if this has helped anybody

Unique Girls Hair Assecories

2012-10-14T00:58:00.001-07:00

Its been awhile since I've shared a product photo, so I decided to a combo photo and some of my favorites.Our Giant Barrettes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them they are so versatile. Pair of Small Bows, and one of our Ties

Accessories used:::
Metal Free Ponytail Holders 1.50 for a pack of 12
a pair of small bow   1.50 for a pair
Giant Barrettes        1.50 for an 8 pack
Heart and Skull Tie   6.50

total $10.00 and its great for mixing and matching.. :O)
Straight, Naturally Curly and Wavy Hair, how perfect...

Did I mention how affordable our online prices are for our hair accessories?

Guick and Easy ponytail style for natural Hair

2012-10-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

So here's a a quick mini post and a simple hairstyle that i think is a classic, ponytails and barrettes, what's not to love, it has such a big variety you can do just about anything.

the front is ponytail is encased by two braids into a ponytail.

The ponytails at the crown are in a triangle type design

and the back is squared ponies

For this style I used

cantu leave in conditioner

and my oil mix, with water.

I loved how her 4c hair helped the twist, and her twist out Was LOVELY

Diy Carnival Games... Phineas and Ferb Rock Star Carnival

2012-10-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So Tye's 5th Birthday is coming up, and we're having a

Phineas and Ferb Rock Star Carnival

I don't know why i Picked Such a Mishmash-ed theme, I knew i was going to have to buy/make everything

and i probably should've started awhile ago, but my first DIY is the Bean Bag can Toss Game

here's on of my inspiration, although it looks like they used pringle type cans

I've used some seal aluminum cans i got from good time attractions for 1.75 each (but in hindsight I totally could've gotten some cans from a dollar store, but who wants busted cans with food spilling out?

and wrapped them in fun carnivally paper to try and match the theme

Stay tuned for more

Phineas and Ferb Rock Star's Carnival

themed post the closer we get to D day In December

Braided and Twist Style for Tweens and Teens

2012-10-03T10:26:00.003-07:00

So i went to visit some family and when ever i'm around, everyone tries to gfet in a quickie, while i'm there (getting their hair done) and my Chicken was no exception... Its can be really hard to Find a style for a tween or teen that's not too babyish or to mature of a style, and then to have it be quick and low maintenance is near impossible

We started off with hair that was washed and put into some chunk braids, she did this all by herself :o) (she's going to kill me for this picture, they have to learn someday to care for their naturally curly hair at some point right?

I started by parting the hair in half from ear to ear, and then splitting the back in half

and the top into random partings and sectioning it off with metal free elastic ponytail holders

and started to braid each chunk into smaller braids

although she loves the fro look her mom wanted something that would lost longer since i wasn't around

So She got Twist in the back

All done

for this style i used just for me detangler

Africans best hair grease

organic root stimulater loc and twist gel

various rubberbands for sectioning

and brush and comb

total styling time and hour and a half, including the twisting

and here's a flashback of my chicken

still rocking the fro and braids

Criss Cross, back to school Braids with beads

2012-09-29T11:48:00.002-07:00

So i decided to do a little something different, with my lil sister's hair for this style, she likes the whole faux out or water fall look, and here is a different take on it using crisscross braids, and her favorite glow in the dark beads

i decided to do a half slanted style and half straight back for quickness

to achieve the crisscross or X style, i parted two sections for braids, and after braiding for a length i would cross over, i whish i would've taken a step by step photo, maybe next time

products used

Cantu, nuNAAT, T tree, and my special mix of oils

Style time

45 Minutes

and you can click her to see the sister style of this style right here