DIY Clip-In Hair Extensions for Natural Hair

Happy Holidays! Instead of decorating my apartment, I decided to add some holiday cheer to my hair by making my own DIY Clip-In Hair Extensions!!!

This was something that seemed like it would be nearly impossible (despite everyone saying how easy it was), yet I knew I wanted to add some length to my straight, natural hair without busting my wallet ALL the way open.

Trust and believe me when I say that making my own clip-in hair extensions was easy, though a bit time consuming, but totally worth the effort.

What You'll Need
1 Pack of Human Hair
1 Bundle of Thread
1 Needle to Sew
A few packs of small clips (bought mine at Sally's)

To begin, I followed the advice of my amazing stylist Cori @ Justin's Salon Studio and opted for 1 pack of Outre Human Hair ($34.99/pack) in color #4, 10 inches. My goal for making clip-in hair extensions was to add a bit of length and fullness, not try and create a Rapunzel weave. 10 inches was great for me, but whatever floats your boat. Due to my hair having heavy highlights, I was at first nervous about finding something that would blend well. Let's be honest - - there's nothing worse than a weave that doesn't blend lol. The bottom portion of my hair is about a  #4, while my roots are a #2, so once I decided to get the #4 I knew the blending wouldn't be an issue. I also bought this little combo pack of thread that came with 3 different styles of needles. In hindsight, I'd actually recommend opting for a higher quality thread to make sewing easier.

1) I took my weave out of the pack and measured where I wanted to have the tracks. I ended up making 5 tracks ( I had hair left over) since I was only going for a tad bit of length and fullness. I could have just doubled the length of the track and folded it over to make a thicker track, but I ended up cutting individual tracks and sewing them together. It took a bit longer, but I didn't mind. Whichever you choose is fine.

2) Once all of your tracks are measured and cut, you can sew the tracks together at the ends.

3) Next, you'll want to decide how many clips each track needs. I average about 3 clips a track, one on each end and another in the middle. My longest track required 4 clips. Sewing the clips onto the track was pretty straight froward, but again I'd recommend getting a higher quality thread to make sewing easier. This process actually  made me appreciate folks that do sew-in hair weaves because cheap thread can make you want to off yourself.

4) Once the clips are sewn onto the track - - VOILA! You're done! Can you believe it... you have your very own clip-in hair extensions for a fraction of the price.

Hair in Naturally Curly state

Hair Blown out and Flat Ironed - No Extensions (L) & Hair with DIY Clip-In Hair Extensions Added (R)

What I've enjoyed most about my clip-in hair extensions is getting the extra length and fullness with my straight hair, but being able to take the clips out at the end of the night and switch back to my curls whenever I like. It's SO much more convenient than having a full sew-in weave, it looks more natural than using a closure, and it's non-committal... an overall winning situation. As someone with pretty fine hair, I'm happy with the fullness and body I can get with my curls, but it's always a huge downer to rock straight hair and have it feel lifeless. This has been the cure.

I hope this inspires you to try making your very own DIY Clip-In Hair Extensions. Like always, feel free to ask whatever questions you may have.

How to Remove Candle Wax from Jewelry

My "Ishea" necklace is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry. It's not expensive, but extremely sentimental... so when I accidentally dropped it into hot candle wax I was quite annoyed. Thank God for Google because within a few minutes I came across a 'how to' on removing candle wax from jewelry.

In case this ever happens to you, I wanted to do a transfer of knowledge. Let's be honest - - this was pretty much a freak type of accident on my part, but stranger things have happened...

You Will Need:
- Warm/Hot water
- Toothbrush
- Soft Cloth
- Mild soap or Jewelry cleaner

To Remove the Wax:
1. Fill a bowl or sink with warm to hot water.
2. Place the jewelry int the water and allow it to soak until the heat from the water softens the wax.
3. Once soft, use a cloth to wipe the wax away.
4. For smaller holes and designs, use a soft bristled toothbrush to brush the wax bits out.
5. When all of the wax is removed, dry the piece with a soft cloth.
6. Clean with jewelry cleaner to remove any residue and restore the shine

How to get rid of Roaches (video)

I've never had to experience living with roaches, but I know they plague many people. I mean, they're the one thing that has managed to survive for centuries! Gross...

One of my favorite personality vloggers, Shameless Maya, posted this quick DIY recipe for how to get rid of roaches once and for all. It seems like an easy to do, effective recipe for living a roach free life for at least a year.

Take a look at the video and let me know if this works for you!

DIY Cutout Shorts (via @mayasworld)

Summer is nearly gone, but you can still do something funky to make the most of your wardrobe. YouTuber Shameless Maya posted this fun DIY for her "shameless shorts" aka cutout shorts. All you need to copy this style are a pair of high-waisted shorts and some scissors.

DIY Tie Die Jeans (via @Stuff_She_Likes)

I'm not much of a DIY-er, but I came across these awesome DIY Tie Dye jeans on Stuff She Likes, one of my favorite blogs. If you're looking for a fun way to change up a pair of jeans you must visit the site to get the simple steps. 

I'm thinking about trying it out with a pair of cheapies from Forever21. Not sure if I want to commit to potentially ruining a nicer pair of jeans... but I'd love to add these in the summer wardrobe with a neon top!

Before (Source)

After (Source)

DIY Chain Camera Strap (via @apairandaspare)

Source

A few weeks ago I came across this amazeballs DIY Chain Camera Strap featured on A Pair and A Spare. This chain is dope and a great way to dress up your camera - - especially for summer trips and photo shoots. It seemed relatively easy to create and I may give this a try once I buy a nicer camera. For step by step directions check out the original post.

3 Ways to Tie a TurBand

Turbans are very popular right now, but what about ladies that don't want to cover their entire head? Meet the TurBand! The result of a Turban + Headband, the TurBand is a great alternative to get the look of a turban with the functionality of a headband.

In a recent video LEAFtv shows 3 DIY ways to rock a TurBand to save yourself from a bad hair day, update an outfit, or find a new use for your favorite scarf.

What do you think? Will you be trying out this style?


How To Tie A Turband 3 Ways from LEAFtv on Vimeo.

Weekend Crafting

It's not often that I try my hand at DIY projects, but I had a closet full of wooden hangers and needed to find a use for them. After seeing this post on one of my favorite blogs I decided to give fabric hangers a shot!

This is a fun project to do on a lazy weekend as it only requires a glue gun, some fabric quarters, wooden hangers and scissors. It's fairly straight forward... you cut the fabric into 5 sections and begin wrapping it (gluing as you need) onto the hanger. You can get creative and pick whatever fabric you'd like.

I was in a retro, flowery type of mood

Wooden hangers and fabric quarters

Glue your fabric and start wrapping

Finished product

DIY: Closet Makeovers

Looking for a way to transform your closet into a home office? MSN featured this awesome closet remodel by Real Simple design director Ellen Wundrok. She was able to tranform her 32.5" X 42" coat closet into a great office space.

Before: Basic Coat Closet

After: Cozy Office Space

Eager to try this out with your own space? Follow these easy tips!

• Keep the top shelves intact and add some cut plywood for a desktop.
• Try painting the surfaces a glossy white. (Impervex Gloss, $17 a gallon, benjaminmoore.com for stores.)
• Splurge on a fun design element by adding a funky wallpaper. Ellen used a great rosabella wallpaper ($140 a roll, osborneandlittle.com for stores) to brighten up the spot.
• Combat potential clutter by hiding wires. Computer wires were plugged into a power strip that was attached to the wall beneath the desktop.

Snap Happy

A picture is worth a thousand words and the perfect way to capture a moment in time - - forever able to relive the joy, love, & happiness with a single glance. I found this neat DIY art idea on the coco + kelley website and am definitely going to try this out myself.