A couple of ideas for those of us whose hair is just too short for a bun or french braid -- or with bangs or layers that don't want to fit the rest of the 'do!

-- Crown Roll : pick up hair in the front, seperate into 2 strands then twist one over the other, twisting towards the top of your head.  Pull up another strand and add to the top-most strand, continue twisting.  Keep adding and twisting until you reach a line above the ear, then just twist the whole strand round and round until you can secure it in the back with a small clip/claw.  Do the same on the other side and then secure them together if they are long enough or seperately if they aren't.

-- Twisted Cornrows - take strands lengthwise along the head, twist each strand individually and secure with mini claw clips.  I usually end up with 7 or 8 twists secured just behind the ear-to-ear line.

Hope these make sense.  Pictures with instructions can be found at http://www.dressytresses.com/hair-styles/default.asp

The pictures show much longer hair, but it works for us long-hair-wannabes.  They show much smaller twisted cornrows, picking up strands and twisting as they work back.  I don't have enough patience for that at 6:45 a.m.  so I do larger sections and twist the whole section at once.  That allows me to loosen the cornrow at the front so it isn't so tight and looks better on me.  I also make cornrow twists all the way down the sides, not just across the top

Here's to hoping for bun-length soon !