Crochet Braids with Marley Braid hair…

This was done about 2yrs ago…

Ok eryones! the time has come for me to break it on down for ya.

I’ve gotten lots of comments and inquiries from the method/ technique in whic i use to create my crochet braids. I’m going to attempt to explain as best as possible on this blog.

ok…here goes!

1. Visit your local hair store and purchase 5-7 packs of Marley Braid Hair (it will look like a bag of dreads but trust me its what you want).

2. Wash and condition your own hair (or however you choose to prepare your hair for styling)

3. While hair is either wet or dry (completely up to you) begin to braid about 10-12 cornrows straight to the back.

4. After cornrowing your hair, get your marley braid hair and proceed to do one of two texture methods:

a. purchase pipe cleaners from your  nearest hobby lobby, michael’s, etc. with these pipe cleaners you will take the hair as is and fold them in half. Once folded in half make a loop with the bent part and begin to twist the free standing pieces all the way to the end. It should look like a sewing needle once finished twisting. Get your marley braid hair and (in half as well) match the looped ends of the hair and pipe cleaner together. hold tightly and begin to wrap the hair around the pipe cleaner. Every now and again you may have to scrunch it up to make more room towards the end of the cleaner.  Once you’ve made it to the end, with the extended piece of pipe cleaner thats left, fold it over so that it may hold the hair in place. Should look like a small spindle with yarn once completed. Now, complete this on every strand of hair in each package. It may take a while so keep pressing on my sisters! After all hair has been wrapped around pipe cleaners set it aside. Now you need to make your way into the kitchen and boil about 4-5 cups of water (or however many cups will allow the hair to be completely submerged).  Bring the water to a boil and insert the bundles of hair as you see fit accourding to space in the boiling pot you have. Make sure to have a towel and a pair of tongues nearby. Once submerged for a good 5-7minutes use the tongues to extract the hair from the pot onto the towl. let sit and dry for a spell. once cooled off, unwrap the hair from the pipe cleaner and VOILA! you’ve got curls!

or B. Take the Marley hair and as it is in the package leave the rubberband on it.  Section into a couple sections to be braided as in a plait. do about 3 plaits on either side of the rubber band to make 6 plaits total. Continue with the rest of the hair you’ve purchased.  Once completed, same routine as the pipe cleaner. boil water, dip, and dry, and insert.

Once you have done either of these proceed as you would with regular crochet braids.  I began to dip the hair before application because I had a pretty icky burn experience to occur.  The hair will dry and will begin to look more and more natural after about 1 week or so.  be sure to continue to moisturize your scalp as you would with any other extensions.  I wouldn’t recommend them for a serious shampoo/condintioning but if you invest in a good dry shampoo im sure it will last you a good while based on your own maintenance.

Don’t get me wrong, you can use ANY kind of hair for crochet braids, however my hair is natural and it just doesn’t sit well with me having my edges looking like Shaka Zulu’s lineage and the hair being all shiny and Alicia Silverstone-like.  To each his/her own of course.  Just wanted to throw my technique/ method out there!

Here’s a recent image of some crochet braids from a few months ago:

 

Hope this helps!!

Thanks for reading!

Besitos!

Eb's Observations...

Reblogged from Los Pensamientos de EbJohn:

• 

America, America, America...Mens, womens, and chirrens...gather round gather round...

As of last year, I have taken a step back from the physicalities of the dating world and BOY am I glad that I did! In my sobriety I have had the opportunity to experience and witness some of America's wackest of inidividuals!

Wack, as defined by the urban dictionary is something (and I'll say someONE's) that just plain suck, or isn't cool at all!

Read more… 808 more words

Continue reading

Eb’s Observations…

In many cultures, it is believed that black butterflies are the symbol of transition, renewal or rebirth. It is also believed that black butterflies could be a symbol of rebirth of something or people. They are also symbolized for longevity and shift in the power. In short, black butterflies are supposed to be the sign of positive change in the present situation.

America, America, America…Mens, womens, and chirrens…gather round gather round…

As of last year, I have taken a step back from the physicalities of the dating world and BOY am I glad that I did! In my sobriety I have had the opportunity to experience and witness some of America’s wackest of inidividuals!

Wack, as defined by the urban dictionary is something (and I’ll say someONE’s) that just plain suck, or isn’t cool at all! Yes! I agree…

The twist in these observations isn’t necessarily about the men I’ve encountered but moreso on the things that I have learned about  myself.  I’m grateful…

I have learned that:

1.) I am an ever-evolving changing human being.

I am just not done in this caterpillar/butterfly process.  I have so much to learn, so much to share, so much to see.  The funny part of it all is that even though these er uh wack individuals linger longer than I anticipate, I think I am testing my own nerves to see just how much BS I can actually handle. Let me tell ya’ll it ain’t much.  Not much at all.  But I will confess the laughter that resounds from my gut helps to cover up the fact that they are indeed a waste of time.

2. Forget women settling…Dudes out here settling EVERYDAY!

*sigh* This is a very REAL issue that happens on a regular.  Apparently crazy is the new normal and normal is the new crazy.  Well, maybe I shouldn’t loosely use the term “crazy” let’s go with “baggage”….yeah baggage.  So, I and my friends would consider ourselves “normal” women with dreams, aspirations, and morals.  Normal right? Well it has been brought to my attention that although I am the beez kneez, I am “work”.  Work as in they’ll know from jump that I aint going for the foolery. Nope I will not deal with your many addictions, your mis-handeling of your countless lady friends, your hate speech towards women. no. sir. ree. bob.  I need more. We need more! But who is getting the action you say? Glad you asked! Welp, I’ll tell ya, the ladies with no jobs, no dreams, 5 kids and 2 baby daddies, laced with DRAMA.  But since she has high aspirations to be the receptionists assistant one day we should all applaud his efforts.  I’m good.  I mean, ya’ll can but I’ll be chilling somewhere round the alter…lol! Or if you want to flip it, the young lady works all day breaking her back to make ends meet and he’s at home playing the PS3, smacking on sammiches, eating Little Debbie‘s latest delectables and jungle juice (remember those?!!) The gender roles are jacked up ya hear me! jacked.up! I ain’t the one though America…moving on…

3. I categorize males.

Nothing more to it than that.  I pay attention to the words spoken, how they’re spoken, and why they’re spoken and govern myself accordingly. Speaking of which…leads me to #4

4. I have to govern myself accordingly

After all the trust I try to place in my brethren, I have realized (even though I knew before, but I REALLY REALLY know now) they will only do what you allow them to.  This is not to be taken lightly AT ALL! I figured hey, he KNOWS he has a significant other so I’ll be straight, right? WRONG OH SO WRONG! Chile, lemme tell ya. Dudes out here could care less if they living with her or came with her. It is my job to respect myself first and then their relationship. Whether I know her or like her or not.  I’m not here to be all “well if he doesn’t why should I?” NAWL America, I ain’t bout that life. Not at all!

5. And after all of that is said and done, the ultimate lesson I have learned through my observations of others and self….*drum roll please* I.AM.NOT. mentally nor emotionally equipped with the energy necessary to participate in a serious relationship at this present time.

And I am ok with this.  Alot of relationships are happening on shifty circumstances and emotions and I’d just rather not be one of those people entering into something because of lonlieness or whatever the excuse may be.  I’m still learning about myself. Loving myself more. Focusing on where I would like to be in this here life of mine.  There’s too much to do WHILE I’m single to be sitting up worried about WHY I’m single.  Don’t get me wrong! It gets rough in the midnight hour, and often times its nice just have the company of a male in the same room.  But I’m ok with waiting for Him and him. ..

On that note:

Thanks America!

T.I.M.E

 

I think the time has come for me to finally write about it….

It hurts…

Time is filled with swift transition is probably the realest lyric I’ve ever heard.  How quickly time dictates to us what should and should not have taken place. Who we can and can not be. Who we need to and need not be with. 

Time kept us together.  We kept us apart…

Year 1: Hallway escort. Sung to me the lyrics of “Beauty” daily to remind me of mine.  Held hands, hung out, awkward moments, laughed until we cried.  It was your smile that got me. Your knowledge intrigued me…time went on…you always made me smile…

Year 5: Collegiate years.  HBCU undergrads.  We’re in the big leagues now.  Right? Time wasnt adding up.  When exactly did you have time for others. Text others. Call others. Have the attention of the others.  Couldnt have been true cause you didnt have enough time, or so i thought.  I thought space was healthy, not wanting to invade yours but I guess, silly me, should’ve just been there all the time like you wanted.  But, the timing wasn’t right, its been 5yrs now, its been a long enough time… right?

Year 7: It’s time to just stop. Stop with the I love you’s, stop with the i’ll change’s, just stop…We begin the cycle of yo-yo’ing in and out of each other’s lives.  Time made us comfortable with each other. Complacent with what we already knew.6 months on 6 months off. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. for 3 years.  Time is like that you know.  All of a sudden you figure you dont have the time to get to know anyone else. Time catches you up in a cycle. Love. Hate. Split. Love harder. Hate more. Split frequently. Even when we’re seeing other people we still made time for each other…after. Even while sneaking around we didn’t take the time to get to know the people we’d be come.  Still holding on to our Year one selves. Operating as if no time had passed us by.  Time is a funny little thing isn’t it. 

Love is even funnier…

Year 10: This is do or die…Now or never…It’s Time.  This is it.  Travels were made, the time exactly was 21hrs. 2days almost but we made it. Determined to be something that we’re not. Afraid to make time for others. Afraid to lose the time we had.  Time keeps you on a string, keeps pulling you back even though you dont want to. Thinking on all the good times and never lending an attentive ear to the bad times…It sounds good, but it does so much internal damage. I changed, you changed…what we were in search of were the good ol’ times we had. Before life got stressful, decisions had to be made, before dreams were being chased after.  We lost our individual selves trying to be people we weren’t.  We’d both grown up and neither one of us wanted to admit it. Time wouldn’t let us. Ok, so I’m stubborn, I get it… But even after realizing it we still didn’t work.

Even after all of this time, I still smile at the thought of you, I still get teary at the mention of you, I still want whats best for you… I am just so proud of you. You see this time, I’ve grown all the way up. Not just enough to meet the height requirement at the fair, but so much so to where I no longer consider myself a young anything.  These are times of the Woman.  I embrace them. I love them. I share them.  Im not her anymore…These times won’t allow me to be petty or belittle, become bitter or emotionally spent over what time should’ve done for us. 

Time has helped to make me who I am…No mistakes have been made. 

I thank you for your time…

 

iHeart ALL of this…Thank you

Understanding goes a long way…

Article: Call and Response…Lest we forget…

Lest we forget…

It seems that an article was written to Sister 2 Sister
 magazine by a Caucasian woman who requested a response from
 black men. 

 
 Dear Jamie:
 I’m sorry but I would like to challenge some of your
 Black male readers.
 
 I am a White female who is engaged to a Black
 male-good-looking, educated and loving. I just don’t
 understand a lot of Black female’s attitudes about our
 relationship.
 
 My man decided he wanted me because the pickings amongst
 Black women were slim to none. As he said they were either too
 fat, too loud, too mean, too argumentative, too needy, too
 materialistic or carrying too much excess baggage.
 
 Before I became engaged, whenever I went out I was
 constantly approached by Black men, willing to wine and dine
 me and give me the world. If Black women are so up in arms
 about us being with their men, why don’t they look at
 themselves and make some changes.
 
 I am tired of the dirty looks I get and snide remarks when
 we’re out in public. I would like to hear from some
 Black men about why we are so appealing and coveted by
 them.
 
 Bryant Gumbel just left his wife of 26 years for one of us
 Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, the model Tyson Beckford,
 Montell Williams, Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones, Harry
 Belafonte, Sydney Poitier, Kofi Anan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Don
 Cornelius , Berry Gordy, Billy Blanks, Larry Fishburne,
 Wesley Snipes…
 
 I could go on and on. But, right
  now, I’m a little angry and that is why I wrote this
 so hurriedly. Don’t be mad with us White women because
 so many of your men want us. Get your acts together and
 learn from us and
 we may lead you to treat your men better. If I’m wrong,
 Black men, let me know.
 
 Disgusted White Girl, Somewhere in VA
 
 RESPONSE
 
 Dear Jamie:
 
 I would like to respond to the letter written by A
 Disgusted White Girl.
 
 Let me start by saying that I am a 28-year old black man. I
 graduated from one of the most prestigious universities in
 Atlanta , Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business
 Management. I have a good job at a major corporation and
 have recently purchased a house. So, I consider myself to be
 among the ranks of successful black men.
 
 I will not use my precious time to slander white people. I
 just want to set the record straight of why black men date
 white women. Back in the day, one of the biggest reasons why
 black men
  dated white women was because they were considered easy.
 
 The black girls in my neighborhood were raised in the
 church. They were very strict about when they lost their
 virginity and who they lost it to. Because of our impatience
 to wait, brothers would look for someone
 who would give it up easy without too much hassle. So, they
 turned to the white girls.
 
 Nowadays, in my opinion, a lot of brothers date white women
 because they are docile and easy to control. A lot of black
 men, because of insecurities, fears, and overall weaknesses,
 have become intimidated by
 the strength of our black women. We are afraid that our
 woman will be more successful than us, make more money than
 us, drive nicer cars and own bigger houses. Because of this
 fear, many black men look for a more docile woman. Someone
 we can control.
 
 I have talked to numerous black men and they continuously
 comment on how easy it is to control and walk over their
 white
  women. I just want to set the record straight. I want A
 Disgusted White Girl to know that not all successful black
 men date white women.
 
 Brothers like Ahmad Rashad, Denzel Washington, Michael
 Jordan, Morris Chestnut, Will Smith, Blair Underwood,
 Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds , Samuel L. Jackson, and
 Chris Rock all married strong black women And,to flip the
 script, there are numerous white men, in and out of the
 spotlight, who openly or secretly desire black women over
 white women. Ted Danson, Robert DeNiro, and David Bowie to
 name a few.
 
 I just don’t want a disgusted white girl to be
 misinformed Stop thinking that because you are white that
 you are some type of goddess. Remember, when black Egyptian
 Queens like Hatsepshut and Nitorcris were ruling Dynasties
 and armies of men in Egypt , you were over in the caves of
 Europe eating raw meat and beating each other over the head
 with clubs. Read your history!
 
 It was the black woman that
  taught you how to cook and season your food. It was the
 black woman that taught you how to raise your children. It
 was black women who were breast feeding and raising your
 babies during slavery.
 
 It is the black woman that had to endure watching their
 fathers, husbands, and children beaten, killed, and thrown
 in jail. Black women were born with two strikes against
 them: being black and being a woman.
 And, through all this, Still They Rise!
 
 It is because of the black women’s strength, elegance,
 power, love and beauty that I could never date anyone except
 my black Queen. It is not just the outer beauty that
 captivates and draws me to them. It is not
 the fact that they come in all shapes, sizes, colors and
 shades that I love them.
 
 Their inner beauty is what I find most appealing about
 black women. Their strong spirit, loving and nurturing
 souls, their integrity, their ability to overcome great
 obstacles, their willingness to stand
  for what they believe in, and their determination to
 succeed and reach their highest potential while enduring
 great pain and suffering is why I have fallen in love with
 black women.
 
 I honestly believe that your anger is geared more toward
 jealousy and envy more so than snotty looks. If this were
 not so, then why do you continuously go to tanning salons to
 darken your skin? If you are so
 proud to be white, then why don’t you just be happy
 with your pale skin?  Why do you continue to inject
 your lips, hips, and breasts with unnatural and dangerous
 substances so you can look fuller and more voluptuous?
 
 I think that your anger is really a result of you wanting
 to have what the black woman has.
 
 BOTTOM LINE: If I were looking for a docile woman, someone
 I can walk over and control, I would give you a call. But,
 unfortunately, I am looking for a Virtuous Woman. Someone
 that can be a good wife and mother to my
  children.
 
 Someone who can be my best friend and understands my
 struggles. I am looking for a soul mate. I am looking for a
 sister and; unfortunately,
 you do not and CANNOT fit the bill.
 
 No offense taken, none given.
 
Signed, Black Royalty

 

Never forget….

Chao Bellas,

Besitos Y Brazos

Getting Back to Nappy…Short and Sweet…Free and Me….