For a fun way to hang up your jewelry (and one that gives your room a nature feel), you can make use of leftover tree branches. Just find two or three medium-sized thin branches (you can also buy some at a craft or garden store). Take off any leaves and wipe off all the dirt. Find a larg vase to display them in. Metallic colors look really neat. Hang your jewelry on it and add other decorations like small flowers in the vase for a more colorful look.
Distressed Miniskirt
Don’t know how to get the rough edge on the bottom of your skirt? Here’s how:
Step 1: Mark a denim skirt at midthigh. Cut off the bottom of the skirt.
Step 2: Pour a teaspoon of bleach onto a piece of sandpaper. This will help with the rough look.
Step 3: Rub the sandpaper along the bottom of the skirt. Wait 15 minutes, then wash and dry the skirt so the edges will fray. Viola!
Iowa v. Ball State
I attended the Iowa v. Ball State football game. My live blog on the game can be found on my twitter account or by looking at my sidebar on the right side of this page.
Charm Key Chain
What you need:
plain metal key ring
charms
beads
stuffed stickers
small stuffed animals
metal jump rings
thread
Step One: Cut holes in stickers.
Step Two: Place jump ring into each hole in the beads, stickers, stuffed animals, etc.
Step Three: Sew jump rings to particularly loose items.
Step Four: Use pliers to open jump ring when necessary.
Need extra shelving?
This will be a quick and easy idea. When I wanted more shelving for my room, especially to put up little nic-nacs, I made use of an item I already had without spending a dime.
All I did was take a drawer from my old broken dresser (it doesn’t have to be a drawer but you can use something similar to this) and nail it to the wall to create more room. Put the bottom of the drawer closest to your wall and the handle at the top. An easy way to make it look nicer is to put cloth inside the drawer to make it stand out. You could also paint it however you want. It’s simple and can hold pictures and whatever else you want to use it for.
Ribbon Watch
I have a lot of ribbons laying around my room (mostly from the ones Aerie gives me every time I shop there). A ribbon watch is a good way to make use of those extra ribbons.
Instead of using the band that comes on a watch, I like to string ribbon through the ends of the watch to make it more decorative.
All you need is an inexpensive or an old watch and ribbon of your choosing. Make sure there’s enough to fit around your wrist.
Step 1: Detach the watch from it’s original band. Most watches have a spring bar. Just push it together like a toilet paper roll. If no spring bar exists, cut the band from the watch.
Step 2: Carefully thread the ribbon through the back of the watch to form a new band.
It’s simple yet makes a huge difference!
Where were you on 9/11?
I know this doesn’t fit in with my blog theme, but I thought it would be interesting to hear everyone’s answers.
We all know exactly were we were and what we were doing. I don’t think anyone will forget. I remember it well.
I was in the 7th grade. I had just gotten to school. My teacher had the TV on when I got into my first class. Both buildings had been hit but as we were watching, the Today Show had put another video on of the pentagon. My teacher wondered out loud if anything else would be hit. I didn’t understand the implications at the time, but I remember knowing that it was a big deal.
Later that day, the entire school had a moment of silence for those whose lives were lost. All I remember thinking is that this moment was the quietest moment of my life. Not a single peep left anyone’s mouths. Even kids who normally caused trouble remained silent. I haven’t ever had silence like I did on that day.
I may have only been in Iowa, but it still affected me and other people in my community. And I know the entire country was affected by the events on September 11, 2001.
Towel Pillows
My room is swamped with Iowa Hawkeye memorabilia and sometimes I don’t know what to do with all of it. But I also don’t want to get rid of it. One item, for instance, that I have created a neat way to use are the towels I have received over the years at Iowa football games. For a few years I had them tacked onto my wall. After deciding I had more important things to put up, I sewed them together into pillow form. It’s easy.
Step One: Turn the towels so both front sides are facing each other. Pin them together.
Step Two: Start by sewing 3 of the 4 sides (It is best to use a sewing machine but you can hand-sew them too).
Step Three: Turn the partially sewn pillow inside out and stuff it with your choice of insides (feathers, cotton, etc.).
Step Four: Sew the final side by hand. Now you have a soft, decorative pillow…and a use for those Hawkeye towels!
Off-the-Shoulder T-shirts
While I was getting ready for the first Iowa Hawkeye football game, I thought of a brilliant idea for my blog. Instead of writing about my boring law school application process, I decided to write about something I enjoy (and I’m sure others would enjoy) a little bit more.
I tend to be crafty (especially when I’m procrastinating more important things like homework) so I thought it would be a great way to produce blog posts by following some of my crafty ideas and helping those of you at home follow along.
My first crafty idea is “how to cut your t-shirts to have an off-the-shoulder look.”
What you’ll need:
T-shirt
Scissors
Pen (optional)
Step One: Lay the t-shirt flat on the table. Make sure all the seams from the front and back match up.
Step Two: Start on the shoulders about two inches away from the neck seam. Mark it. Try on the t-shirt to see if it is located in a good starting spot (hint: cutting less material right away is the best option because you can always cut more but it is difficult to add material that’s already been removed).
Step Three: Starting from one marked shoulder to the other, cut across as close to the neck seam as possible.
Pair it with any tank-top for a cute off-the-shoulder look.
Do It Yourself (DIY) 