Make This DIY Pom-Pom Vest for All Your Ugly Sweater Parties

These sweater dresses are cute, colorful, and hilarious — one of our favorite combinations!

Snowman Sweater Dress

Materials + Tools:

• Sweater dress
• Black and orange felt
• Patterned fabric or scarf
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Cut out an orange triangle, five large black circles and eight small black circles from felt.
2. Use a hot glue gun to attach the felt pieces to the sweater to create a snowman face.
3. Tie the patterned fabric around your waist to create the snowman’s scarf.

This ugly sweater dress is so easy to make. All you need to do is cut out one triangle and five circles from felt. The two eye circles and three button circles can be the same size. Then, make the eight circles for the mouth much smaller.

Lay out your shapes to create the snowman’s face and body. Use a hot glue gun to attach to the sweater once they are in the correct location.

Tie the fabric around your waist, or above your pregnant belly :) , to create the snowman’s scarf and to section off his head and body.

Our creative director Anj has the perfect pregnant belly for this snowman sweater.

So cute!

Fireplace Sweater Dress

Materials + Tools:

• Sweater dress
• Felt in all colors
• Ribbon
• Tinsel garland
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Cut out flames from the yellow and orange colors of felt and glue onto a large black square. This will be your fireplace.

Glue the fireplace to the bottom edge of the sweater. Cut out red bricks and glue around the fire.

Create felt details like Christmas florals, stockings and a “Happy Holidays” garland. Use hot glue and different colors of felt to create these pieces.

Glue ribbon around the neckline to create the “Happy Holidays” garland.

Add the stockings to the bottom edge of the arm sleeves and then tinsel garland on top.

And the stockings were hung from the mantle with care.

Two thumb's up.

Christmas Tree Sweater

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.

Materials + Tools:

• Sweater dress
• 3 yards of green felt
• Pom-pom trim
• Yellow felt
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Battery-powered lights
• Small Christmas ornaments

Instructions:

1. Find the measurement of your neck, chest, waist and upper leg — jot them down for reference later on.
2. Cut out squares that measure 20 inches, 25 inches, 30 inches and 35 inches.
3. Fold in half and trim the bottom edge into a curve. Pair your smallest measurement with the smallest measurement of the square and cut out a U shape of the corresponding size.
4. Hot glue pom-pom trim around the bottom edge of your circles.
5. Stack the circles on top of each other and then slide the dress in place. Hot glue the circles to the dress.
6. Adorn the circles with Christmas ornaments.
7. Cut a star out of yellow felt to pin into your hair.

Measure out four different sizes of squares — we measured out one 20-inch square, two 25-inch squares, one 30-inch square and one 35-inch square. Fold in half and then trim the bottom edge into a curved shape. Cut out a U shape that corresponds with the measurement of your neck.

Each layer will want a different U shape to correspond with the area of your body it will sit on. Measure your neck, chest, waist and upper legs and use these measurements.

Hot glue pom-pom trim around the edge of your felt rings.

Stack them up and hot glue to the sweater dress.

Add Christmas ornaments to spruce up your Christmas tree.

Finish off the outfit with a felt star headband and battery-powered Christmas lights.

Who wore it better?

Grab your gang and squad up for the ultimate Christmas photo.

Happy ugly sweater days everyone!

Materials:

• doll sweaters
• ribbon
• rhinestones
• puff paint
• embroidery floss
• aluminum wire

Tools:

• hot glue gun
• needle

Rhinestone Sweater

Bling out your itty bitty sweater with as many rhinestones as you wish. Pick every color of the rainbow, stick with a festive red and green, or go with your favorite color! Some may say rhinestones are tacky, while others may say they provide unlimited opportunities for smiles and sparkle :)

Use puff paint to hand letter your best holiday pun. Bonus points in the paint color matches the rhinestones. You can also definitely practice on a sheet of paper beforehand to work out any kinks.

Embroidered Sweater

Use long angled stitches to create a Christmas tree in the center of your sweater. Pick a thread that a dark green for a more classic look or go teal for a modern finish. Just make sure you stick a piece of paper or cardboard inside the sweater so that you don't accidentally sew all the way to the back.

Finish it off with an embroidered phrase in a color of embroidery floss that will really stand out. Don’t forget to top off your tree with a star!

Tacky Ribbon Sweater

Use bold Christmas ribbons to take your sweater to the tackiest level. This is a great way to use up some leftover ribbons after you've wrapped presents!

Use the aluminum wire to create mini hangers for all your sweaters. Slide the hanger into the sweater, then hang it on your tree or mantle.

Pair these sweater ornaments with a tree skirt that is just as cozy. But let's be real — no one will even see the tree skirt by the time all the presents are underneath ;)

Guilty — I have jumped on the “lit” train.

Snap all your #elfies this holiday season and tag us on Instagram! We love seeing what you all are up to during the holiday season.

Here's How Often You Should Cut Your Hair, According To Professionals

I’ll admit it — it had been eight months since my last haircut. My hair had lost its shape, my layers were nowhere to be found, and my ends were begging for mercy. Life got busy over the last few months and I was neglecting my haircare like never before.

My hairdresser could immediately see that I was beyond due for a cut and said I needed to get more taken off than I was hoping. I was definitely disappointed — I'd been working on growing out my hair for a while now, and it just felt like my hard work had completely gone to waste. He explained that getting consistent haircuts is the key to growing out healthy and strong hair, rather than letting it grow and grow until it eventually breaks. So let's dig into the top three things you can do to avoid this scenario!

1. Just Get The Dang Haircut

Also avoiding a haircut like I was? You might want to schedule one at your nearest salon. Like my stylist said, when you wait too long between trims like I did, you risk your hair becoming heavy, dull, and lifeless. When the hair is dry or even dead, it’s nearly impossible for it to hold a curl or style, essentially collapsing on you and taking on more and more heat damage all the while. I know the pain of spending time on a blowout only for it to fall minutes later — it’s the worst.

According to Jack, getting a haircut every 10-12 weeks is the best time frame or your ends will pay the price. Between blow-drying, curling, straightening, sun, and weather, our ends get dry and start to break without the proper care. Getting consistent haircuts allows hair to bounce back, shine, and perform the way we want in a healthy way.

2. Leave-In Conditioners Are Your Friend

His top piece of advice to keep your hair looking and feeling hydrated between trims? Invest in conditioning treatments. Jack swears by the Olaplex conditioning system, specifically the No 3 Hair Perfector. Made with patented OLAPLEX Bond Building Technology™, this conditioning treatment repairs and prevents damage in as little as three minutes. No 3 promises to reduce breakage and visibly strengthen hair, so it’s the perfect assistance to keep ends fresh between cuts. Another conditioning treatments I’ve used and loved for years is the Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask, which is designed to restore moisture, elasticity, and shine to dry hair.

3. Switch Up Your Shampoos

Switching shampoos frequently is a pretty hot tip that I honestly hadn't thought of. Our hair gets used to the same products and grows tired of them, resulting in lackluster locks. Jack’s advice is to switch brands after finishing every bottle of shampoo to bring life back to your hair. Have two brands that you’re loyal to? Even switching back and forth between them after every bottle should make a big difference in your hair. I’m a huge fan of the R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo, which makes my hair look thick and full, as well as the Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo, which is so hydrating and gives so much shine.

In the end, navigating your back-and-forth relationship with haircuts often feels like a rollercoaster ride between wanting that fresh look and cringing at the receipt. Luckily, by using conditioning treatments and switching up your products,, you can keep your locks healthy, shiny, and full of life between trims. But take a newly learned lesson out of my book: don't let your ends pay the price for procrastination and just book the haircut.