How to Fishtail Braid

 Hello, lovely readers!  We had several of you requested a fishtail braid tutorial, so since it was my turn to post (Chrissa and I do take turns- most of the time, at least) I decided to try!

 You will need ...

• ... a hairbrush, ...
• ... hair bands, ...
• ... and optionally a misting bottle.  When your hair is slightly wet, it will hold a braid better.

Are you ready?  Let us start ...

 1. Brush out any tangles in the hair, lightly misting it with your squirt bottle.

 2. Split the hair down the middle.  If you are doing two fishtail braids, as I am, loosely put one side in a hairband.  Split the hair you are working on again.

 3. Starting on the left, take a small piece of hair and place it into the middle.

 4. Now pulling a strand from the right, make a cross with the two pieces.  (Note:  I only used the clip so you could see the hair clearly.)

5. Put a second hair from the left over the first one.

6. Pull a strand from the right over the first one.  Be careful to make sure that after each cross, you are only holding two sections of hair!

 7. Continue this all the way down the head, until you run out of hair.  Then, take a piece of hair from the section top and continue, ...

 8. ... until you reach the bottom, tying it off with a pony-tail holder.

 9. You're done if only doing one braid, but if you are doing two, then

10. Repeat steps 3-8 on the opposite side.

It is my hope that you found this understandable and helpful.

Do you like hair-styling?

A Saturday Morning Breakfast

 Hi all!  This morning, ...

 ... I woke up, and yawned.  Then, I realized it was a Saturday!  Yay!

 I ran into the kitchen and found Elizabeth pulling a batch of muffins out of the oven.

 "Good morning, Chrissa." she greeted me.

"It is a good morning!  Hey- where's Mom and Dad?" I asked.

"They went out to breakfast together, so it's just the two of us this morning.  Could you set the table?"

 "Sure!" I grabbed plates, forks, and napkins.  "Elizabeth- what cups should I use?"

"What about the National Park mugs we got last summer?"  my sister suggested.

 "Okay, I'll put them on the table."

 "Here is our breakfast!" Elizabeth announced, carrying it to the table.

 We prayed, then started eating!

"Could you pass the orange juice?" I asked with my mouth full of muffin.

 "Here you are."

 Strawberries, yogurt parfaits, orange juice, ...

... and blueberry muffins make a delish first meal of the day!

When we finished, my sister kindly offered to wash the dishes, leaving me open to do my chores, which Elizabeth and I just finished. I don't know what the rest of the day will bring (maybe a call from my cousin Libby!), but so far it's been awesome!

What's your favorite breakfast?

P.S.  Libby, if you are reading this, call me!

Swimming vs. Shoveling

 Hello, lovely readers!  While most people to the north are shoveling their heavy snow, ...

  ... to-day Chrissa and I walked to the pool for a swim.

 I rested my head on a plush towel.

"Do you want to swim?  Like, now?" Chrissa interrupted my thoughts.

"Perhaps in a minute; you go ahead."

 "I wonder what the water feels like?" my sister asked, cautiously dipping her toe in.

 "You have to come in, Elizabeth!  It's amaze!" she insisted.

 "Very well; it does look lovely." I agreed, pulling off my soft cover-up and slowly slipping in.  The blue water sparkled in the setting sunlight as my sister and I splashed and swam.

 Dripping, we climbed out of the pool.  Sitting on the side, we let a gentle breeze dry us off.

 The weather this afternoon was wonderful.

 "Can't we stay a little longer?" Chrissa pleaded, gazing longingly at the water.

 "You know that we promised Mother we would be home by four o'clock, so we need to pack up."

My sister sighed.

"Okay."

Wrapping a towel around her shoulders, Chrissa and I gathered up our things and headed home.

Is it shoveling or swimming weather where you live? 

National Strawberry Day!

 Hi all!  I was checking out Doll Diaries, and I saw that today is National Strawberry Day!  As if I need an excuse to eat strawberries.  :^)   I celebrated with a bowl of the juicy red fruit and whipped cream (it's so my fave snack).

What's your favorite snack?

and

Are you celebrating National Strawberry Day?

P.S.  On a side note, I just wanted to clarify that our last name is NOT Saltys!  It's Edwards.  Elizabeth and I don't mind being called "the Saltys" but we just wanted to make sure you all knew.

Outfit Design, Part Two

 (If you haven't seen part one, click here: http://thesaltysadollblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/outfit-design-part-one.html)

Hello, lovely readers!  Late yesterday afternoon, I started sewing my coat and Chrissa's outfit.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures of the making of Chrissa's tunic, but here are some in-processes pictures of sewing the cape ...

 ... pinning the pattern I made ...

 ... sewing the back and front together ...

 ... cutting excess string off the hood ...

 ... sewing the hood on the cape ...

 ... and last but not least, pinning (which took quite a long time) and sewing the black lining on.

 Here, Chrissa's drawing compared to the result.  Do you think I matched it well?

 She already had a blue belt, I just made the tunic and leggings.

 Again, the product compared to the drawing.

So, that's the finish of our outfit design.

Do you sew?