Study break and that means Pintrest, Twitter, Stumble Upon and all those other fun things :) I thought I'd share a couple ladies with awesome makeup tutorials that I just found. First up is Cassandra. She has a pretty amazing story about something that every girl and guy has had to deal with at some point in their life, acne. She also has some AMAZING videos about how to apply makeup! Her tips could be life changing for young girls going through a similar situation to hers. My other new favorite lady is Carli. How the heck did I survive without knowing how to do eye makeup like her? Seriously, she is truly gifted! I could watch her all day.

Anyway go check out their videos because there are great tips that I had honestly never heard before! Now it's back to studying for me but I hope you enjoy these!

The 36th Avenue

I just found a new website that is quickly becoming a new favorite, The 36th Avenue! They might have some of the cutest DIYs that I've ever seen. One I'm loving is their 25 Handmade Gifts Under $5, talk about cute for the holidays! Go check it out and see if you love it as much as I do (I'm betting you will!

Glitter Letter DIY

Here's a little DIY that I thought of when I was in Hobby Lobby the other day: glitter letters to add some sparkle to a room. Here's what you need:

• Wooden letter(s) of your choice - make sure you get flat ones!
• Glitter scrapbook paper (or any other patterned paper of your choice)
• Ball point pen
• Scissors
• Mod Podge
• Medium to large paint brush
• Acrylic paint - in your choice of color (optional)
• Small, flat paint brush (optional)

When I went Hobby Lobby was having a sale on all of their scrapbook paper so the glitter paper, normally $1.99 was only a dollar a piece so I made sure to grab some extra in other colors for friends. Depending on what size letters you get they should be about $.99-2.99 each. And if you're like me you probably have numerous bottles of Mod Podge sitting at home but if not Hobby Lobby carries that as well. If you want to make your own, here's a recipe that I've found works great as well!

So here's what you do!

1. Turn you paper over so the glitter or pattern is facing down. Place your letter - upside down - on the back of the paper.
2. On a firm surface, trace the outline of the letter onto the back of the paper. Now cut the letter out.
3. Paint Mod Podge onto the front of the letter and the back of the paper. Not flip the paper over and place it onto the letter so it looks like mine in the picture.
4. Now give the Mod Podge some time to dry. I placed a text book on top of my letter to make sure that the paper didn't come up anywhere while it was drying.
5. Once the paper is secure on the letter, I took the acrylic paint and painted the sides of my letter to add a little more drama; this step is totally optional but really cute. I did black paint with my hot pink glitter to make it pop! It only took one coat for mine, but my letter was already painted white when I bought it.
6. After that just let the paint dry and you're done! And now you have a super cute letter to hang on you're wall, decorate a desk, or whatever your heart desires!

I think these would be really cute in a nursery or for a little girl's room. I made mine for my apartment at college and I love it. I placed mine up on a shelf with a bunch of pictures of my friends. I hope y'all like this quick, easy DIY and try it for your own room!

The most wonderful time of the year...

With Christmas quickly approaching (is anyone else shocked that it's already December!?) I want to dedicate this post to some things I've found are great to ease the strain of finding cute gifts for everyone on your list without blowing your budget!

1. When you have a lot of friends that you need to get a little something for or just need a few ideas for hostess gifts one of the easiest and best gifts I've found is to find something super cute like a makeup bag, wine bottle carrier, inexpensive but chic tote, whatever and have it personalized with either a name or your friend's initials. It shows that you cared enough not only to get them something but you took the time to have it personalized as well. And often if you are having a bunch of the same thing done, retailers are willing to give you a bit of a discount! There's plenty of websites that specialize in personalizing things such as: The Pink Monogram and Marley Lilly (two of my personal favorites). But you can also find plenty of shops in your town that do these sorts of things as well.
   
   
2. There always seems to be that one person you forgot to write down on your list or that party that sneaks up and you forgot to grab a gift. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine (which everyone else will) stop by Hobby Lobby and grab a Christmas candle and a cute ornament and you're on your way! It also doesn't hurt that all of their Christmas decorations, gift wrap, etc. are all 50% off right now. So head back there when you're not rushing off to a soiree and pick up a few things for yourself guilt free!
   
   
3. Now we all have our few best girlfriends that we need to get something perfect for and there are ways to do it and still save a little cash. Check out websites such as Retail Me Not and Ebates. Retail Me Not lets you search for stores and see coupon codes they are honoring right now. Who knows, you might score free shipping or 15% off your purchase. When you sign up with Ebates and follow a link from their website to the store you want to shop with you get a percentage of your purchase back as cash and around this time of year that can quickly add up! And they have lots of stores to choose from so you're not limited.

I hope these tips help you find the perfect something for everyone on your list and leave you with a little left over at the end of the season.

My crafty goals!

As a college student I know that many of us don't have a ton of extra money laying around to go blow on all the cute, little things we find from day to day. So my goal is to help you still be able to glam up the everyday and have a little money left over. Of course not everything I share will be budget friendly for us all but I'll try my best to keep a balance of things to splurge on and things that are a steal! I'll post yummy recipes that have been tested my yours truly (along with my roommates, boyfriend, and anyone else that I can get to be my taste-tester!) I'll also be sharing ways that you can recreate some gorgeous things that would normally be a splurge item for way cheaper! I'm a huge fan on Pintrest and I get so inspired by the things I see on there so I'll share some of my favorites from there as well. I hope you have as much fun reading this blog as I know I will have sharing it with you!