Mini Doughnut Hair~ Twin Buns Tutorial~

So, maybe a year ago, my friend was sleeping over and we got really into the anime Please tell me Galko-chan, and as a joke midway though watching the series, I quickly figured out how to recreate Galko's hair and surprised my friend with a small in person demonstration of how easy her hairstyle is to wear.

Well, I ended up falling in love with how cute and extremely easy the mini doughnnut hair is to do, after that, and have been wearing it quite often this past year!

The way to wear mini donuts, is so quick and simple that I felt a small pictorial would be the most convenient way to explain how to recreate the look.

Items needed:
2 socks (I used some thin ankle socks)
Comb, to part hair cleanly

Optional:
Alligator clips, for hair separation
Curler

The first step is to make a sock doughnut~ easily done by cutting off the toe of the sock and rolling it into a doughnut.

The smaller the sock, the more petite the buns are. I personally like thin fabric ankle socks because the buns come out cute and compact. Larger, thicker socks will make buns that look large and plump, like a big fluffy yeast doughnut.

So, to start, separate the top 1/3 of hair, roughly an inch above the ear line.
To keep the hair easily organized, I like to use alligator clips but tying the bottom section of hair into an elastic is just as convenient too. 

Next, split the top section of hair down the middle and arrange the face framing pieces of hair as desired.

Taking one side of the parted area, pull hair though one sock roll.

Slowly and neatly working from the end of the hair down, tuck the hair over the sock roll and start rolling the doughnut down the hair. Making sure to keep the hair evenly spaced and keeping the rolling process neat will make the bun look cleaner AND will keep extra frustration at bay when it comes time to fixing up the doughnuts after.

After completing the roll, pull and fluff out any hairs where necessary to make the doughnut look nice and round.

Repeat the process on the second section of hair.

Then finally, style the rest of the hair as desired. I personally love how the doughnuts look perched on loose waves.

Some practice might be necessary (especially with long hair), but after getting the hang of it, the hair style is so quick to master!

I love wearing mini doughnut hair when I'm in a rush for classes but still want to look like I put in effort to look good, or days I just want to look cute and playful, but the most common scenario for me is when I have slightly dirty hair that needs to sorted out.

For fans of Galko-chan, or those who might get frustrated with trying to make even doughnuts, the style even  looks cute with one side doughnut-ed and the other section put into a ponytail.

So, from your local, off an on again gaijin-gyaru, I hope that this pictorial was helpful and that rocking mini doughnut hair might become something fun and new for my readers to try out, maybe come to love as I have!

Maybe if I ever have more time to watch cartoons, I can find more 2d hair inspiration to showcase here too? I'll have to wait till winter break for that though;;

<3CarisseIris

Ribbon T-Shirt Dress~ DIY

It’s been awhile since I did a proper fashion DIY! 

I was so excited to take on this project because it ended up being so easy, and no sewing required!

What started this obsession with ribbon t-shirt dresses were all the J-fashion apparel I’ve been seeing with similar styles over the past 2 years. Like most niche  things, I didn't see any designs that I necessarily wanted. Since the first iteration of this dress I saw was a Disney, The Little Mermaid, featured item, I had cemented that I needed my own Disney related ribbon dress too!

Like most of my outfit ideas, I have to sketch it out properly. Following my J-fashion inspirations, I wanted ribbons to lace down the sides. I also wanted to add some extra flair, and decided to see how a ribbon lacing over the shoulder would fair.

I’ve had a Powerline, from A Goofy Movie, shirt for a few months now that I never could figure out how to wear. So, I set that up to be my experimental shirt for this blog.

Items needed:

T-shirt (preferably on the longer side)

Ribbons (for my design, I had a lot of places to use ribbon and added length, so I used a bit over 21 ft)

28 extra large eyelets

Extra large eyelet tool~ I bought 10 eyelets + tool in a pack

Hammer

Scissors 

Marker or fabric chalk

Concrete work surface !

Optional:

8 extra large eyelets (for shoulder detail)

Wrench, to hold the eyelet tool

So, to make my t-shirt dress, I came up with a game plan! 

2 rows of 7 eyelets on each side~

First one starting 1.5 in. from the bottom, and each eyelet is spaced 2 inches apart. 

The two rows are spaced 3 in. In between. 

I marked out all my measurements, and placed a dot in marker where I wanted to place my eyelets.

For the shoulder detail, I picked a random placement on the shoulder, diagonally.

I spaced a line of 4 dots 1.5 in apart.

Then, 2 in. over, I repeated the same process.

After creating my dots, I made a small incision with my scissors on each dot.

The hole should be just big enough to squeeze the raised tube of the eyelet into! Any bigger and the eyelet can fall off.

This is an eyelet~
It has two parts, the tube disk and the toothy side.

The eyelet tool consists of two parts, the base and the mallet.
The eyelet should fit perfectly into the eyelet tool for a snug application.

To install the eyelet, make sure the fabric is inverted!

On a clear concrete surface, place the tool base.

Place down the tube disk, tube up.

Stretch the hole in the shirt over the tube. (The bottom of the tube disk is the pretty side, so you want to make sure its on the visible side of the shirt).

Place the toothy side over the tube, sandwiching the fabric.
Put the mallet over the eyelet, fitting it snugly into the tube.

The eyelet +fabric sandwich should look like this.

Installation seems to only work on a clear concrete surface, trust me on this.

Double check that the eyelet and tool base isn’t resting on any part of the other side of the shirt (the shirt will get destroyed if you hammer on it, it happened to me!)

Then, take your hammer, and hammer hard a few times on the mallet!

A wrench, or any gripping type tool, is great to hold onto the mallet for those who are scared of hammers +fingers or extremely clumsy.
Once I figured out that I would hurt myself less and hammered harder holding the mallet with another tool, installing the eyelets went so quickly!

After all the eyelets are installed, threading them with ribbon is the easiest task!

Voila! A cute ribbon t-shirt dress! 

My finished coordinate looked exactly like I sketched out. I was quite happy with my handy work. I love that it’s a perfect mix of casual and cute! Also, that I can now turn any boring screen tee into a cute statement piece! 

Now, I can do the same thing to my mermaid lagoon shirt that I bought to perfectly compliment my style! The options are now limitless on how I can thread ribbons onto my clothing!

<3CarisseIris 

3 Larme Ribbon Hairstyles~ Tutorial

 I've been seeing so many drop dead gorgeous hairstyles on my instagram feed this season and I couldn't get them out of my head! The main accounts I've been obsessing over in regards to hair are Swankiss_official♥ and okumura.yusuke

Ever since I figured out how to do the heart hair arrangement I wanted to learn how to replicate my favourite Larme hairstyles. So, I recruited my friend, self titled, 'Braidcognito', who is absolutely amazing at duplicating hairstyles from photos, to help teach me how to do so! 

Most of the styles I like do incorporate braids (mostly French braids) so, learning the basics of that would be recommended for the following hair arrangements.

Basic breakdown of a French braid  is it's an overhand braid that incorporates hair from either side into the main braid structure. I don't think I'm equipped to properly and cohesively explain how to French braid... In all honesty I'm still quite a novice at braiding. So, I HIGHLY recommend watching french braid tutorials online if it is something new to be attempted!!!

The first look is one of the more easier, beginner friendly, styles and quicker in terms of completing, but definitely looks quite striking. 

Items needed: 

1 hair tie

Ribbons (I have clip on ribbons which make the styling quite quick and easy)

1.Part hair into a deep part.

2. Start braid at the part, on the side with the largest mass of hair.

3. Continue with a regular French braid going straight down.

4. Once hitting brow level, stop pulling in hair into the braid and continue as a normal braid.

5. Tie off braid.

6. Gently pull strands of the braid, evenly, to create more volume and a beautiful thick plait.

7. Clip, pin, or tie bows into the braid to add more personality!

This style is one I have been able to successfully recreate without much stress even with my beginner skills at French braiding and definitely recommend attempting for any skill level! It's also very flattering because it doesn't take away volume or height to the hair and makes the face look small.

The next style is an easier take on the above hairstyle, but that showcases how to make the heart arrangement~

Items needed:

5 hair ties

Ribbons (again, I use clip on bows for quick and easy placement)

Above, I created an easy break down on hair hearts~

The first step is to tie off the section of hair you are using. Once tied, separate the ends into two pieces.

Secondly, using another hair elastic, tie up the end hair so it is forced upward. It is the best time to fix and neaten up the pieces. Optionally, you can use a hair straightener to guide the hair and even give it more of an arch to aid the heart shape.  

The last step is to tie off the ends and finish the heart!

It does take a bit of practice, but with a bit of fine tuning it is definitely do-able.

1. Like the previous look, part hair into a deep side part~

2. Start braid at top of head and start a normal French braid on the side of the head with the most hair.
Finish and tie the braid after 3-4 inches.

3. With the tied off hair, create a hair heart (previously diagrammed)

4. Repeat and make a second heart with remaining hair.

5. Finish by clipping, pinning or tying ribbons on the middle nubs of the hearts.

Heart hair arrange is hands down the cutest hair style to come out this year! Since it can be adjusted for almost every hair length and can be added anywhere on the head, it's just so versatile~

The last look I wanted to feature or at least attempt to break down is one of Okumura's signature arrangements because it's just so whimsical and over the top! 

Items needed:

7 hair ties

LOTS of ribbon!

Specifically for me:

4 ribbons each measuring 10 inches

3 ribbons all measuring 6 inches

1. Part hair where preferred, I parted mine down the middle~

2. Start one braid on one side towards the middle of the head.

3. Use a Dutch braid (similar to French brain but bringing the hair under rather than over) with only pulling in hair from one side, specifically, the side towards the top of the head. 

4. Continue the braid diagonally and secure with a hair tie.

5. Repeat on other side of the head and secure both braids together with a tie when finished.

6. Start another Dutch braid towards the front of the head, again only pulling hair from one side, like the previous braid, pulling hair from the area above the braid.

7. Continue braid diagonally down and secure with a hair tie.

8. Repeat on other side; secure braid with a hair tie. Both braids are to remain separate.

9. Using same method as previously mentioned to make hair heart arrangement, create a heart with the connected braids.

10. Use the 10 inch ribbons to thread through the two braids on each side like shoelaces. Each side braid set used 2 of the long ribbons, each ribbon starting at opposite ends and meeting to tie into a ribbon in the middle.

11. To finish, tie, clip or pin ribbons at the end of each outer braid and at the bottom of the heart

PHEW! It's definitely a process to create, but the end product is so intricate and amazing! I could definitely justify using more ribbons to amp up the 'WOW' factor. Also, with all the skills used to make the each step could be used and applied separately or in different ways to make infinite amounts of unique hair arrangements~ 

This season I've definitely been inspired to step out of my comfort zone and attempt to style my hair more often! Which makes me so grateful to my friend, 'Braidcognito', for taking the time to figure out how to remake these hairstyles and guiding me in how to do it myself. Also, for agreeing to let me borrow her talents to share on my blog.

Hopefully we were able to decently break down the steps to be easy to follow and that they will be attempted and enjoyed!

<3CarisseIris