since miss fourteen is a dancer, and more specifically she has been a ballerina for the past year – i’ve really appreciated the fact that she doesn’t require my help since her hair needs to be in a bun six days a week for ballet school.

as i’ve mentioned on seejaneblog before – kiana grew-up training in a few genres of dance in utah, but this year chose to focus on technique. her year at boston ballet school is coming to an end in the next few days, and with that closure – i wanted to document her 2011-12 buns and bows style. each afternoon i watch her run out the door and quickly glimpse at how she’s wrapped up her hair – usually topped with a bow.

we have collected these bows from Soel boutique in Provo, Utah. my friend Ann’s shop – Lou and Lee {her creations are incredible, you will be seriously obsessed!}, Anthropologie. Wendy and Peter – we love their striped bow headbands. and various other little shops/markets.

the best part about buns and bows: you don’t have to be in ballet class to pull this off. it’s a perfect look for casual, or fancy! it’s especially great for lazy-days. i consider it my back-up hairstyle for many days of the week, especially running out the door to bikram yoga. do you have a favorite quick hairstyle?

{photos by me.}

we love trying new things around new england.
our latest adventure {last weekend} was candlepin bowling!

we were awful. it’s a lot harder than regular bowling.
and very different.  however, we had a lot of fun.
…we enjoyed trying to see how many “ball” jokes we could make.
husband some of us, may never grow up.

have you ever tried candlepin bowling?
even heard of it?

{it was developed in massachusetts!}

{photos by me.}

]]> http://www.seejaneblog.co/2012/02/02/candlepin-bowling/feed/ 4 http://www.seejaneblog.co/2012/01/24/great-beau-valentines/ http://www.seejaneblog.co/2012/01/24/great-beau-valentines/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:30:22 +0000 Jane http://www.seejaneblog.co/?p=8702

i mentioned yesterday that sela wanted to give the girls and boys separate valentine’s this year…

for the boys, i wanted to come up with something that was very charming {not something to throw-out in the trash as soon as they were home!}, and original, but still masculine.  and, no treats – candy, etc. – are allowed.

with all these requirements, i finally thought about bow-ties & beaus!

i pulled out the extra fabric from these drawstring bags.  i did not want to get out my sewing machine and spend too much time per bow-tie. instead, i used hot-glue and created a very simple pattern that took only a few minutes start to finish per bow-tie. we only needed to make 9 bow-ties for her class. this was all done in less than an hour!

{even if you don’t make these bow-ties as a valentine, you may want to try to make one for the special little man in your life! because it’s SO easy & i am very impressed with how sturdy they turned out!}

imagine the boys receiving these & instantly clipping the bow-ties on for the class party! insta-charm! how cute would that be?!?

step-by-step instructions for the bow-ties:

1) you will need 1/2 yard fabric, scissors, pen, clips, and hot glue gun

for 9 bow-ties, my fabric was 54″ wide, so i used less than a 1/2 yard.

2) cut your pieces 10″w x 3″h

3) using the pen measure 5″ to the middle, and 1.5″ inches down to put a dot right in the middle, this will help guide your with your folds later on.

4) fold the ends of your fabric in, similar to wrapping a gift & hot glue* down.
*each time i say “hot glue,” use enough glue to hold the fabric in place, but don’t use too much or when it’s time to fold the bow-tie later, you won’t be able to fold it into a nice shape.

5) fold each side in, as seen in the picture & hot glue. not shown: fold the pointy ends in to the middle, the pointy tips of the folds do not need to be touching, just within 1/2″ of each other. use the dot as a guide & hot glue into place. this completes the main part of the bow-tie! ta-da!

6) for the next step, you are going to set the bow-tie-aside, and cut a new piece of fabric 1″w x 10″h, consider the placement of how you cut this piece on your fabric because it will be the center of the bow. i made sure the stripes lined up with the rest of the bow-tie.

7) fold each side in almost to the middle & hot glue.

8) place the center strip around the center of the bow, flip the bow over & hot glue one end to the center (just above the dot).

9) wrap the strip around the bow & pull tightly until you like the appearance of how it “gathers” from the front. trim the strip where it fits nicely & hot glue the second side of to the middle of the back. keep the left-over strip for other bows. i was able to use one center strip for at least 2-3 bow-ties.

10) use a dot of hot glue on your clip

11) place the clip on the back-center of the bow-tie. finished! easy, right?

once again, i designed a very simple label, we used brown kraft paper card stock measured in 6″ x 6″ squares to match the valentine’s she made for the girls.  sela helped me cut the labels + she signed her name & glued them on. at her age, just signing her name 18 times is a big task! + she loves the glue!  we cut a small slit in the brown kraft paper to clip the bow-tie on.

the labels are available as a free download, here!
if you make some, please share & let me know!

cheers to great beaus!
xoxo.

*****

instructions:

1. cut paper strips that are 8″ long, one-and-a-half inches wide. you can trim them shorter at the end, if you want a tighter center ring. fold the right side of the napkin in towards the center, leaving one inch of space.

2. continue by folding the left side in, leaving about one inch of space from the center. then fold the top and bottom inwards about three inches.

3. fold the top and bottom sides in, one more time.

4. flip the napkin over, and wrap the strip of paper around the center.

5. flip to the back, and use a small piece of tape to hold the paper ring in place.

……ta-da!

other purposes —

have you joined pinterest? i know i’ve mentioned it here before — but, people… i LOVE it. i could sit and pin for hours. i would happily trade sleep for pinning! {you are welcome to follow me, here.}

so, what do you think of the napkin bow? do you plan on trying it? i think it would be darling for so many parties – girls lunches, tea parties, wedding brunches, picnics, the list goes on and on! i love the bow-trend.

happy hosting!

{all photos by me. this is not a sponsored post.}