Beads and Bows and Barrettes, oh my!

So, I've come to the conclusion that our house is getting overtaken by hair accessories.  Between all of the rubber bands for Ellie's hair (that seem to break when Ellie's hair dries), bows for Faith's hair, and now with the addition of beads into Ellie's hair, this mama was finding herself swimming in a sea of hair things!  Faith absolutely hates to have her hair messed with, but Ellie LOVES it.  She could sit for hours, but half of the time I had 4 or 6 containers of 'hair junk' surrounding me and I was feeling a little overwhelmed . . . 

That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands and get a little organized.  

I also started to practice putting beads in Ellie's hair.  I noticed that if I did 2 strand twists or braids in her hair, by morning (or when it dried), they were standing on end like Pippi Longstocking.  (ok, for those of you who don't know who that is, see here)  But, with the addition of beads on the ends of her twists or braids, it gives enough weight to keep them hanging down straight.  It's lovely and lasts for about a week [or until one of the girls decides to pull them out :)]    

Here's a picture of my practice sessions. She's such a good girl and is so patient when I'm playing with her hair!  For me to do 6-8 braids [only about 1/2 of her head] it takes me over an hour and that's with using a bead stringer.  I give her the task of picking the color and counting them as she strings them onto the bead stringer -- it's great practice for colors and counting and she loves the one-on-one time.  I'm hoping with additional practice that I'll improve my time in parting, braiding and beading!  

My next lesson -- learning how to cornrow!