How to Make An Elsa Braid: A Simple Hair Tutorial

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for SoCozy. I received Target gift cards to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation.

How to Make An Elsa Braid - A Simple DIY Tutorial

Now let me be completely honest up front, if you were looking for a super fancy french braid like tutorial, then look somewhere else. Because today I’m going to show you how to make an Elsa braid. But if you’re anyone other than my daughter you may simply see a pony tail with a braid in it. That’s because this is exactly what her Elsa braid is.

I’ve french braided her hair and tried to call it an Elsa braid, I’ve even done a fishnet braid in her hair and tried to call it an Elsa braid. But this girl. She doesn’t believe me. And this, right here, is what she deems as an Elsa braid.

So we go with it. And I save about 15 minutes in the morning arguing about brushing her hair. Because she’ll let me brush her hair if we put it in an Elsa braid. AND if we use her SoCozy detangler.

How to Make An Elsa Braid - the life of a princessHow to Make An Elsa Braid - SoCozy detangler

How to Make An Elsa Braid

What you need: 

  • brush
  • detangler
  • 2 small pony tail holders
  • a head of hair

What you’ll do: 

  1. Spray hair with SoCozy detangler.
  2. Brush all of the tangles and knots out of the hair.
  3. Put the hair into a pony tail by gathering up all of the hair to the middle of the child’s head with a brush. Spray additional detangler if needed for stray or frizzy hairs.
  4. Secure with a pony tail holder.
  5. Section pony tail into 3 sections.
  6. Take one section into the left thumb and forefinger, on into the right thumb and forefinger, and let the middle fall into where your fingers meet.
  7. Bring the left hand side over in between the middle section and the right section. Then bring the right hand side over in between the middle section and the left section.
  8. Repeat until all of the hair is used up and braided.
  9. Secure with the second pony tail holder.

Watch this video tutorial for an easy visual on how to make this hairstyle: 

Before we started using the SoCozy detangler and putting my daughter’s hair in an Elsa braid, I would have to wrangle her every.single.morning to get her to stay still so I could brush her hair.

She’d scream, cry, and complain that I was pulling. I was hurting her. She was going to call Daddy. And then it all stopped and mornings became magical again (cue the Cinderella blue birds). 

Because now we can sit by her wishing well (aka the koi pond) like Snow White, while she wears her Cinderella dress, and smells her Briar Roses – no, seriously… they’re “Sleeping Beauty Roses” to her – and I make her an Elsa braid before we head off to preschool. 5 minutes. Easy peasy!

How to Make An Elsa Braid - quick and simple hair design

Looking for something a little less basic? Check out this SoCozy tutorial on how to make a Braided Tiara for your princess:


These SoCozy products truly are magical. We’ve had great luck with our SoCozy Cinch 3 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner + Body Wash in addition to the detangler we use daily. Not only does our daughter use it during bathtime but our son uses it in the shower as well.

And with how lazy this boy is in the shower, we need a 3 in 1 product that tackles everything at once so we can douse him, scrub him, rinse him, and dry him without him realizing it! Before we bought this product, he’d just go in, rinse with water, and tell us he was clean.

We’ve had to go back to Target and get more because he is actually using it. And in the end he smells Mango-go fresh and everyone around him is thankful. 

What’s your go-to hairstyle for your little one?

Candy Corn Inspired Tablescape + a Starburst Wrapper Napkin Ring Tutorial

This shop featuring a Candy Corn Inspired Tablescape plus a Starburst Wrapper Napkin Ring Tutorial has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetOrTreat 

Candy Corn Inspired Tablescape + a Starburst Wrapper Napkin Ring Tutorial

Fall is FINALLY in the air (it was actually 65 this morning when I dropped the kids off!) and that means I’m ready to bust out the Fall and Halloween decor to get the house ready for the kick off of the holiday season.

It doesn’t matter that it’s still 80 degrees in the afternoon. It’s time to push Summer aside and welcome Fall with open arms.

Last year I made these candy corn candles so this year I wanted to create a full tablescape inspired by them. [Read more…]

DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial featured on Formula Mom

DIY burlap Christmas wreath tutorial

DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial

A few weeks ago I shared on instagram a little glimpse on how naptime is spent for me. I’m usually either baking up something tasty, creating crafts, working on projects around the house or catching up on work. My office is a disaster just about every day of the year but that’s ok. Because I can do what I love and am in my element!

When my best blogging friend, Mariah of Formula Mom, got to the end of her pregnancy I knew I wanted to do something special for her. So instead of actually making and sending her something, I made her a DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial for her blog instead. [Read more…]

Homemade Playdough {DIY Tutorial}

When we were planning our activities out for Valentine’s Day I wanted to do something special with the kids, just me and them. Now, we do special things together almost every day but I wanted to find a special time to focus solely on them without thinking about what we needed to do next (or what I needed to work on). And since I’ve been pinning crafts to do with them for a while now I thought it’d be a great time to try out a pin.

So after we hosted a super fun Valentine’s Day party with our playgroup I put the kids to bed and got out the ingredients for playdough. I found the “recipe” on one of my favorite blogs, How Does She?, and loved how easy the project sounded so I got to work. It took me all of 5 minutes to take the ingredients out, snap some photos and pre-measure everything. And once the kids woke up we were ready to get our DIY on!

Homemade Playdough

What you’ll need: 

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • food coloring
  • medium pot
  • wax paper

What you do:

1. Grab a medium pot and pre-measure all of the ingredients except the food coloring (if you’re including a little helper into the mix).

2. Let your little helper dump all of the ingredients into the pot except the food coloring (look at that concentration!).

3. Stir, stir, stir until combined.

4. Now it’s time for the adult to take over (unless your child is old enough to use the stove). Place pot on stove and set heat to medium and add food coloring (as many or as little drops as you’d like to get the color your going for).

5. Stir the mixture until it starts to form a ball.

6. Once the mixture forms into a non-sticky ball, dump it out onto wax paper and let cool.

7. Once the playdough has cooled a bit start kneading the dough a few times until there is a smooth and soft consistency. You can let your helper take over this part for you if the dough has cooled down enough.

8. Re-form into a ball and give it to the kids to enjoy! How easy was that?

The playdough lasts quite a while when stored in an air tight container. I love that Missy over at How Does She? repurposed baby food containers to store her playdough so I grabbed some containers I had in the tupperware cupboard that weren’t being used and use them. Little hummus or pizza sauce containers seemed to be the best size and held the full batch of playdough perfectly.

Also… if you want your playdough to smell wonderful too I’ve heard that using kool aid as food coloring not only makes pretty colors but leaves great scents too. Cinnamon will do the trick as well but you still have to add the food coloring. And if you’re really wanting to spice things up you can add glitter to the dough to add some sparkle while you’re kneading.

Molly had a lot of fun playing with the dough once it was ready. She tried to eat it at first…

Then decided it was a phone and she called Daddy…

Then she just played with it in her fingers and squeezed it a bit before trying to share with me…

What a great afternoon treat! And the perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day with my little valentines.

Do you have an awesome DIY project that would work great for kids? I’d love to hear them! We’re always looking for awesome things to do together and to incorporate with our Tot School.

Footsie Heart Valentine {DIY Tutorial}

This valentine is super easy to make and is the perfect gift for parents, grandparents and special people in your child’s life. I made it two years ago with my son’s feet as a gift for my husband.

Then when I was actually making it I figured… his feet are already in the paint, why not make some more?! And I made a few others for his grandma, great aunt and uncle. I personalized them and he presented his gifts on Valentine’s Day.

Here’s what we did…

DIY Father's Day Gift Ideas - footprint I Love Daddy

Footsie Heart Valentine

What you’ll need: 

  • paper plate
  • painter’s tape (to be removed)
  • red washable poster paint (we used Crayola)
  • white construction paper
  • red fine point sharpie (or other pen)
  • damp wash cloth
  • dry wash cloth

What you do: 

1. Place a nice amount of paint onto the paper plate, set aside somewhere the kids cant reach it.

2. Tape the paper to the ground to reduce the chance of it slipping around.

3. Take your child’s bare foot and place it in the paint, right foot first.

4. Make the first half of the heart by placing the child’s foot at an angle facing the toes to the top right corner of the paper and the heel in the center of the paper closer to the bottom

5. Then dip the other foot, the left, into the paint and do the same to the opposite side of the paper placing the left heel inside the right heel and pointing the toes to the left upper corner of the paper.

6. Let the paper dry completely (you can make multiple at once by lining up the construction paper and stamping feet in a line).

7. Once the paint is dry start writing your phrase around the feet in a heart shaped pattern. I used, “I Love _____” and filled in the blank with the person we were making the valentine for.

You can frame your final product and wrap it to present as a cute keepsake or leave unframed and let your child hand it to their loved one. I’ve also seen this done with hand prints as well which would be equally as cute!

Have you made cute DIY valentine’s with your kids this year? I’d love to see what you have! Feel free to place your link in the comments below.

Heart Shaped Crayon Valentines {DIY Tutorial}

Crayon Heart Valentines

I first saw the crayon heart valentines on the Family Fun website. I thought they looked adorable but didn’t have a heart mold so I figured I’d just send the regular store-bought valentines instead since I had a few I purchased on clearance a few years back. Then we went to Target and I saw the heart molds in the dollar section of the store and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Plus they were all over Pinterest!

So I went to the store, stocked up on a mold and crayons and headed home to do some experimenting. Before I started I did a little research to see what others were saying about the craft. I try not to just jump into a tutorial without reading about it from a few others first. That can lead to disaster (or just make it harder on me since others have found key tips/tricks on making it easier). Once I got the low-down I headed to the kitchen to soak, unwrap, break and bake! And here’s what I did:

Heart Shaped Crayon Valentines {DIY Tutorial}

What you’ll need:

  • 1 box crayons, unwrapped (or left over broken crayons laying around)
  • 1-2 heart molds, choose your size
  • Construction Paper
  • Alphabet stamps OR printer
  • Adhesive dots

What you do: 

1. Place your crayons in a heat proof dish & preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Crayon Heart Valentines 1

2. Heat up some water and pour warm water on crayons (note: do not use boiling water… crayons might melt).

Crayon Heart Valentines 2

3. Let crayons soak for 30 seconds (see what happens when your water’s too hot?). 

Crayon Heart Valentines 4

4. Unwrap crayons (any that didn’t unwrap easily after soaking are set aside and not used).

Crayon Heart Valentines 3

5. Put crayons in a dish and let kids break them up into small, tiny pieces (or put them in a bag and hammer with a kitchen mallet or meat tenderizer until broken up).

Crayon Heart Valentines 5

6. Place heart molds on a rimmed baking sheet and fill with broken crayon pieces.

Crayon Heart Valentines 6

7. Place tray in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until crayons are fully melted. Then carefully take out of oven and set aside to harden.

Crayon Heart Valentines 8

8. Once cooled completely pop crayons out of molds and smooth edges by rubbing against a piece of paper.

Please note: The silicone mold may be stained and should only be used for crafts once you melt crayons in them. They are not food safe after used for crafts. 

9. Now’s the fun part! You can decide what you want to do with the crayons once you’ve baked them. I decided to use scrapbooking paper I already had in the house to create a postcard sized Valentine for my son. You can use this printable here for a square valentine with the writing already on the paper or this printable here for a circle valentine (you just have to add your child’s name).

Crayon Heart Valentines

Or you can do what I did and use an alphabet stamp set to customize the sayings you put on each valentine. I simply adhered the crayon to a square piece of scrapbook paper with a glue dot and than layered that onto a larger postcard size piece of scrapbook paper. Then I stamped the sayings I wanted as well as my son’s name to personalize it. You can also have your child decorate the postcard paper by drawing or coloring on it before you stamp out your sayings. You can find more sayings here (as well as more printable options!).

The possibilities and variations really are endless with this craft. And the kids have a great time helping you make them too. Much more personal then a store-bought valentine and twice as cute!

Does your child love to draw?  



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