A Spiral Rose

Get ready to be wow-ed.  This wrap is not for the faint hearted!  After two days of moving, wearing an awful pretied, feeling totally grungy, I was just itching to do a beautiful wrap!  You can get excited for a tutorial as soon as I get my video camera set up 🙂

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

Yeah, I know.  Twists at the sides … over the top, and…

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

… twists at the back and then down the side!

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

I have to thank a VERY special for person for inspiring this wrap; she will know who she is once she sees it.  (Did I do that semicolon correctly?)  This wrap was done in the spirit of deep friendship and sisterhood, and represents the ties that can never be severed, regardless of distance, time, or circumstance.  Thank you, beautiful lady!  You are such a gift to me ❤

Here is a closeup of the side twist, as well as a shot from the back!

 

A Softer Black and White

I always find black and white combinations a bit stark on me… but am realizing that the contrast can be softened with pretty patterns, intricate designs, and soft textures.

Oh, and the “pin”?  Clip on earring.  Yep.  Works incredibly!
(Thanks to my friend who made the recommendation!)

andrea grinberg wrapunzel black white

 

Moving update: we are in the middle of our move currently (at a rest stop right now) and should be in Baltimore soon!  Likely won’t have internet there for a bit which is why I’m making this post now.  Also, a few of you asked… no, we did not live out of boxes for 2 months because we had so much stuff to pack!  We actually have very little, as we were living in a studio apartment and are currently driving ourselves cross country in a teeny moving van.  However, for our last two months in Chicago, we were apartment sitting, so therefore had to pack up everything for the move beforehand!  Thank you all for your well wishes!

Wrapunzel Goals!

Hi Everyone!  My husband and I are making a cross country move this week after house sitting (and living out of boxes) for the last two months.  This is why I haven’t been able to create new videos, and you may have seen some repetitive daily wraps… my recording space is non-existent and most of my scarves are packed away!  That being said, I have been thinking a lot about your requests, ideas, and suggestions… and have great hopes for where Wrapunzel can go once we settle into our new place!

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Here are some of my ideas and goals, based on your comments and requests:

– Clothing matching and style suggestions.  I am planning on doing posts showing how I match outfits to scarves… I am very excited to do this!  Even though I am by no means a fashionista, I have realized that perhaps the fact that I am a working woman who needs to find (very) affordable clothing AND wrap amazing scarves around my head makes it even more important that I share what I know.

– More giveaways!  I am stunned by how successful our two giveaways have been, and how they have brought this community closer together.  I am hoping to do many more!

– Personalized attention.  I am hoping to do one on one consultations, troubleshooting, and personalized scarf selecting for ladies that are interested.  I am also looking forward to doing many more scarf wrapping workshops, which is a great chance to get hands on experience!

– Measurements.  I will get a measuring tape and share with you the dimensions of the ideal head wrapping scarves.  This is a promise 😛

– A chance for you to buy head coverings.  I seem to have a magnetism/gift for finding beautiful and affordable scarves and matching them with accessories.  And I shouldn’t be the only person benefitting from this.  A huge chunk of women seem to stumble on this site, think that I am selling these creations and are disappointed to find out that I am not.  I will figure out a way to make this happen for you… looking forward to this!

– Video tutorials.  You ladies love watching them, and I love making them.  You can look forward to watching my do many more tichel ties… and as requested, I will show you more side and back views!

– More lady wrap stars from around the world!

So… this is what I have been thinking about and looking forward to!  I would like to open up the comments section of this post to hear what you think about these ideas, and if you have other suggestions.  By the end of August I should able to get most of these ideas off the ground.  Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks in advance!

Love, Andrea

A Happy Ending

The beginning of August marked the end of the summer orchestra program that my husband and I have been directing.  We finished off with a ridiculously epic concert (the kids were INCREDIBLE… like, woa!) so an equally ridiculously epic scarf tie was needed since I was to be MC-ing the concert.

andrea grinberg wrapunzel purple fancy andrea grinberg wrapunzel purple fancy andrea grinberg wrapunzel purple fancy

This tichel was wrapped similarly to the technique shown in this video.  Honestly, there were so many tails hanging around that I just tied and tucked them in randomly… and got lucky with the result!

Helmet Head (aka Cyclists Solution #2, #3, + #4)

You may remember that I bike to work pretty much every day.  Doing this has been a challenge to my scarf wrapping ways, because a helmet does not work well with a volumizer!  Here are some solutions and advice that I have come up with so far:

1) Get to work early and do your scarf in the restroom.  Often I opt for this solution, and just arrive at work early with scarves/volumizer ready in my bag and do myself up in the restroom (which is also essential if face rinse/makeup touch-up/shirt change is needed).  This was always the most obvious option for me, especially in colder months when I need to bike with a hat/warm headband.  However, it is time consuming and can be awkward when you are biking to multiple locations and/or walking out of your workplace with friends (“excuse me while I duck into the restroom to change my scarf!”)

2) Go casual.  This option works very well, especially with a colourful cotton scarf, glasses, and earrings.  It was my go-to option in this post:

It works well… but as you all know, I couldn’t bear wearing single square scarves all the time!

3) Do the braid.  This seems like the easiest solution, and it keeps my wrap from being too boring.  Only issue is the braid sometimes getting stuck under my bag while biking, but so far so good!

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4) Or do a bow!  One of the simplest options I have found is after taking down my elabourate tichel that I wear at work, I just tie the loose ends of the base scarf in a bow and ride on!  It actually looks pretty good with the helmet off as well.

To all you bikers out there, how do you bike with a tichel?  Any pointers/ideas?

The Joy of Rebecca-Joy!

Many of you may remember Rebecca-Joy from a few months back;  She commented on one of my daily wrap posts, asking incredibly poignant and important questions about hair wrapping.  I did my best to answer, and then shared the post with the ladies of Wrapunzel.  The response was overwhelming!  So many women were eager to share their stories and ideas about hair covering.  I was very grateful to Rebecca-Joy for being so honest and brave in opening up this discussion, and when I found out that she had indeed started to cover her hair as a result, I couldn’t wait to feature her as a Lady Wrap Star.  Without further ado, here she is!

andrea grinberg wrapunzel rebecca joy lady wrap star

(All photos taken by Rebecca-Joy’s sister, Sarah)

“To me a scarf is so much more now than just something to wear around ones neck. In fact, before I found out about tichel trying I never knew what else to do with the scarves that I had, and I didn’t even like having a scarf around my neck anyway… it always got in the way. Now when I see a brightly colored scarf or a pretty sash I see potential. The potential for an amazing head covering that is not only beautiful but special and unique.
I began my hair wrapping journey only a few months ago, I was seventeen at the time and had recently been doing a lot of reading and research about head covering. During that time I stumbled upon Wrapunzel and needless to say, was amazed. I had never seen any head coverings before that were quite so… beautiful!
I liked the idea of using scarves and tichels to cover ones hair and so I decided to try it for myself. After all, what better way to use the scarves I had that were just kicking around waiting to be worn?!
First though, I had some questions. For instance: “Is having all those accessories on your head scarves still considered modest? Are you not drawing attention to yourself by having them on? And what about all the bright colors and interesting wraps. Is that not drawing attention to yourself as well?”
Through the kind and wise answers of not only the amazing author of this blog but also many kind readers as well I gained many insights and learned things about modesty in general that I did not know.
I then started hair wrapping not only because I love how it looks, but more importantly because I believe in being modest. The wonderful author and readers of Wrapunzel helped me to see that being modest doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be beautiful. Quite the opposite. Modesty and beauty go hand in hand. True modesty is beauty. And true beauty is modesty. Once I understood that, things became much clearer.
I also believe that modesty pleases G-d and that He delights to see women who are trying to please Him in this way, small though it may seem. Modesty has become such a big issue in our culture but we don’t have to conform. Being modest is being different… and I’m okay with that.
Since I’ve started covering my hair now rarely do I go out without some sort of scarf on my head, although sometimes I still do. I love how versatile and comfortable it can actually be! On hot days I run a cotton scarf under cold water and wrap it around my head. It keeps me cool for hours.
So for me, head wrapping has been a very positive and rewarding experience. I have never received a negative or derogatory comment.
The following is a poem I wrote that I hope will encourage and inspire those just starting out or who are a bit discouraged. I haven’t been doing it long myself, but this is, in a nutshell, is what I’ve learned so far.”
Tichel Tying
Tichel tying is an art
that reflects a woman’s heart.
It’s a modest sort of beauty
that everyone can see.
So if you’re new to tichel tying
or you’ve already been trying,
bear that thought in mind
and leave your doubts behind.
Even though it does seen daunting
and a bit of skill is wanting,
it’s mainly practice that you need
and a few little tips to heed.
Start off nice and slow…
you’ll make progress as you go.
Don’t be discouraged at the sight
if it doesn’t look quite right.
If you keep on trying,
soon you will be tying
head wraps that you love
and please the One above.
Copyright Rebecca-Joy
In closing, I wish to say and big thank you to Andrea for featuring me as a Lady Wrap Star and for being such a wonderful and beautiful example for us all.

Colour Celebration! (and Giveaway!)

[Giveaway is now closed!]

I am so happy to announce that our facebook page has reached well over 1,000 “likes”!

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To celebrate, we are going to do a giveaway!  Two winners will be picked on August 1st!

What will I be giving away?  Get excited…

I will be mailing the  winners a velvet headband (my personal tichel secret!) as well as a handpicked scarf just for her!  How will this Wrapunzel Wrap Kit be selected?  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling us:

1) What is your favourite colour and why?
2) How would you describe your personal style and how does hair covering fit into this?

That’s it!  One winner will be chosen at random on August 1st, as well as another winner whose entry is a personal favourite, and then I will go on a shopping trip for them and send a velvet headband and handpicked tichel through the mail!

Kol tuv (all the best), looking forward to reading your entries, and may we celebrate many more milestones together!
Love, Andrea

[FYI – please be sure to comment/enter only ONCE.  When you submit your entry, it has to go through me for approval and I am usually not at my computer so it may be a while before your comment appears.]

Lady Wrap Star Hannah!

This lady has only been doing hair wrapping for a few months!  Upon becoming friends on facebook, I knew that we had to feature her on Wrapunzel.  I’ll stop blabbering and let her speak for herself; Meet… Hannah!

lady wrap star hannah wrapunzel

 

I am quite honoured to be asked to be a Wrap Star.  I am quite new at covering my hair…only a few months!

I am a nice Jewish girl, and I grew up in Montreal in what I guess would be considered a culturally Jewish environment.  I am married to the most amazing man, who isn’t Jewish.  I have been on a journey which includes becoming more observant.  My amazing husband is completely supportive of this, and is actively raising our son to also be Jewishly observant.  

I have been keeping Shabbat for several years, and our kitchen is mostly Kosher (I only use Kosher food, but we still have to buy separate meat and dairy dishes…in time…).  My husband, son and I went to Israel this past May, and I was incredibly inspired by all the hair coverings.  

I have always liked the idea of married women covering their hair.  To me it seemed to be such a special Mitzvah.  I started covering part of my hair while in Israel, and then by the time we got home, I decided to take on this Mitzvah full time.  

My collection of tichels started with the five I bought in Israel: 3 sinar (apron) tichels and 2 square tichels.  

Like most families, we are on a tight budget, and I realized quickly that buying tichels can get pricey!  I had a thought…how many people buy scarves they don’t wear then give them away to Value Village?  I love buying the second hand scarves because they are so different than the ones in the stores here.  They are also much much cheaper, less than five dollars a scarf.  

I bought a few scarves and realized…I have no idea how to tie them!  I guess that is why I liked the sinar tichels so much.  I discovered Andrea and Wrapunzel and I LOVE her website.  Andrea shows so many beautiful wraps and shows how easy they are to do!  

I buy scarves that I like, but some fabrics are not always predictable once they are on your head.  Andrea has helped me troubleshoot my tichel issues.  I’m still learning to tie my tichels and some days even a simple wrap takes me ten minutes because I can’t get things to sit on my head properly.   

My friends have asked me how many scarves I have…and I really don’t have that many (I think)…and I keep thinking my answer should be “not enough”.  

I have a few favourite wrap accessories…my grip band and my colorful bobby pins.  I found a package of bobby pins in the dollar store in a rainbow of colours.  I like using those either because they are camouflaged in the scarf or they add a little flair.  I have a couple of fabric flower clips and I would love to find more pins and hair bands to help accessorize my tichels.  I also found a donut bun thing (what is it called??) that I find helps fill my wraps better.  Of course after I bought it, I discovered Andrea’s sock trick to do the same thing!   

Some other things about me…I used race mountain bike… while I was doing my Masters degree, my friend and I had a vegetarian/animal rights radio show…I used to be painfully afraid to speak in public and now that’s all I want to do!  (too many years of keeping quiet??)  In 2009 I went on the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) trip to Israel and it was AMAZING!  I would love to make Aliyah with my family one day (my parents live in Israel now).  

Thanks Andrea for all you share and having me as a Wrap Star!  

lady wrap star hannah wrapunzel

 

And thank YOU Hannah for being our Lady Wrap Star!  Wasn’t that refreshing?  I think it’s so incredible to have so many women from different backgrounds sharing their stories and love for hair wrapping.  Questions/comments/encouragement for Hannah?  Post below!

Wedding Wow!

What kind of head wrap should one wear to a wedding?  And epic one!

andrea grinberg wrapunzel wedding

This style is an elegant waterfall twist wrap with the new sash that I featured last week thrown in for extra wow power!  I put my bun/volumizer much higher than usual to give it extra height.  Here it is from the side:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel wedding

And from the other side:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel wedding

And since many of you have been asking me to do full outfit posts as well as headwraps… this next shot is for you!  I am still debating whether or not I want to post my clothing choices because this site is about hair wrapping, not modest fashion (there are many ladies on here that wrap their hair and do not dress like I do) but I know it can sometimes be hard to match wraps with outfits.  Disclaimer: I am not a fashionista in the least and it is hard to take self shots of outfits!  But for what it’s worth, here I am wearing a floor length silk dress ($8 thrift store sale yeah!) and a purple shell underneath:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel wedding

Medieval Princess

A high bun and long, flowing scarves are the keys to achieving a medieval princess wrap.  This is the perfect wrap for those too-large scarves that sometimes feel a bit cumbersome to work with!

wrapunzel andrea grinberg tichel

Notice how adding a black shirt changes the look completely!  (It was chilly with the AC inside.)

wrapunzel andrea grinberg tichel

From the back:

wrapunzel andrea grinberg tichel

And from the other side:

wrapunzel andrea grinberg tichel

Anniversary Tichel!

It’s not every day that I celebrate being married to my outstanding husband for exactly two years.  Here is the tichel that I wrapped for our anniversary:

All smiles:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

 

With lots of volume and height from the sides:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

 

Nice and secure from the back:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

 

Don’t you love the colours?  Here is some more detailed shots:

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

 

Bright ‘n’ Beautiful!

I try to convey to women that one should continuously strive to love covering her hair (as with all mitzvot), which means coming to understand it deeply, emotionally, philosophically, logically, and then learning how to put all that knowledge into her daily practice.  On the same note, I would never advise a quiet, subdued woman begin by wearing outlandish wraps, same as I would not advise an extroverted, bubbly woman start covering by wearing something neutral.

That being said, we are so much more than the labels that we give ourselves, and I ALWAYS encourage women to try something new and not get stuck in a hair wrapping rut.  I have often surprised myself by loving colours and styles that I had previously deemed “not me”.  Hence the story behind this beautiful wrap;  Hot pink, bright green and a huge yellow flower?  So not “me”.  But I tried it, and ended up loving it!

Here are too many pictures of this beautiful wrap.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 🙂

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

andrea grinberg wrapunzel tichel

How do I love my velvet headband…

… let me count the ways!

I got this super silky scarf, and my [almost] sister in law expressed her concern for how it would slip off easily!  Enter the velvet headband!  With it, I can wear the slipperiest scarves for hours and hours, and I don’t even need to check on it!

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As well… check out this scarf!  It’s much less colourful than my usual, but is elegant and looks beautiful without a complicated tie or volumizer.