DIY Wall Tapestry

Hey ya'll! so I spent a bunch of time trying to come up with ideas to make wall tapestries for my dorm room because I don't really want to pay 30+ bucks for one. I tried a few different techniques, including a glue/dye job which if you would like to know more about, leave a comment at the end of this post! Today I am going to talk to you about the first of two different techniques that I used.

ALSO I'm sorry for the awful quality of the picture above, my room has horrible lighting and i promise it looks SO much better in person!

First I bought a twin flat sheet at Walmart. I think it was about 5 bucks which was fantastic.

I folded that sheet in half and pinned it down in order to cut it. There are a bunch of ways to cut it in half, i just figured this method would give me the straightest edge.

Then, I sewed each of the edge to make a hem line so the tapestries wouldn't fray on the edges. If you haven't mastered the art of sewing, you can buy some stitch witchery at your local craft store and use that to close the edges. 

The first is the technique that is a spin off of shibori dye jobs. Shibori typically uses indigo dye in order to make beautiful designs with that rich, dark color. I however bought a tie dye kit and used the purple color along with the left over teal from the second tapestry that I made.

• One twin sized flat sheet
• scissors
• sewing machine (or stitch witchery)
• rubber bands
• dye (however many colors you want to do) 
• if you use the dye from the other project I did, see how to make it here
• plastic gloves

Once you have your sheet cut into two, you can start folding!

Start by folding the sheet like an accordion, starting from any side that you want. I went up and down rather than side to side.

Next, start bunching up the sides in equal distances and wrapping rubber bands around them.

After this, you can choose to fold the entire thing in half and rubber band it together, or dye it as is.

Once the rubber banding was finished, I laid the entire thing out on my lawn and put the dyes in the squirt bottles and began applying the dye. Don't forget to put gloves on.

I let this sit for 6 hours to soak in the dye and then cut off the rubber bands. Once you cut off the rubber bands, rinse in the sink until the water runs clear. When you are done rinsing, hang it to dry.

Again, this picture does not do the finished product justice.

enjoy!

xoxox Rachel

20 Things that I Learned my Freshman Year

Freshman year is full of new things from going to a new school to learning how to adapt to college life. Iv'e learned so much this year but there were many things I wish I would have known going into school. It can be really scary, but freshman year can also be one of the best years of your life.

1. Watch your popcorn

I can't tell you how many times I had to stand outside in the middle of the night, morning and all other times of the day because someone burnt their popcorn. Fire alarms are super sensitive and when they are set off everyone has to evacuate. I set off the alarm once and it was super embarrassing, don't let that be you.

2.  Be open to meeting new people.

Starting college is hard because you hardly know anyone. Take advantage of every opportunity you get to go out and meet people. Everyone is looking for friends, don't be worried about people not liking you. Just put yourself out there.

3.  Try to remember peoples names

You're going to be meeting so many new people your first month or so. If you're good at remembering names, that's great. If you aren't, thats okay too. It's always super awkward when you know you've met someone but can't remember their name but the truth is, at this point they probably don't remember yours either.  So just ask and get the awkwardness out of the way, it's better than never knowing and eventually having it be too late to ask again.

4. Go to class

Even if you have those professors that don't care if you come to class, or if you're in a giant lecture hall, going to class is a must. Professors often discuss material or make important remarks that can't be found in your textbooks. In a smaller classroom setting, professors know if you aren't present and won't think as highly of you if you aren't there.

5. Do extra credit

I'm not sure how grading works at most schools, but at mine the difference between a B+ and a B are huge. A plus is worth roughly .33% more than just a flat letter grade. Extra credit makes all the difference and will show your professor you're really trying.

6. Don't buy your books from the bookstore.

Your campus bookstore jacks up the prices of the textbooks. I saved over $100 each semester buying my books off of amazon. I also recommend buying and not selling your books. Buying is so much easier because you don't have to worry about something happening to them or returning them at the end of the semester, plus it's a nice incentive at the end of the semester when you can sell them back and magically get easy cash.

7. Do SOMETHING

No matter what it is, get involved with something. Whether it's greek life, a club or a sport, do something. You're college experience will be so much better if you're involved. Activities also introduce you to people and can help you adjust to the college atmosphere.

8. Watch out for your friends.

A great thing about my school is that we all watch out and take care of each other when we go out. Parties are great but it's still important to watch your drinks and to make sure your friends aren't leaving with a sketchy guy.

8. Take care of people

If a friend is sick, take care of them. You never know when the situation will be switched and you'll want someone taking care of you. Check out this website from the University of Texas for more information about alcohol poisoning. Don't be afraid to call 911 and get your friend in trouble. Many schools have a policy for helping students with no repercussions.

9. Form study groups

Study groups are a great way to go over material. Teaching things you know to others is one of the best ways to remember information. It's also a great way to go over material you don't know.

10. Get away from your high school self

No one cares anymore if you were a super great football player or were the best in your class. People who can't stop reliving their high school days are hard to be around. Don't forget those memories, but constantly bringing high school up to your new friends is annoying. Don't be that person.

11. Avoid sickness at all costs

Staying healthy in college is super hard. You're confined to small areas with people and constantly interacting with everyone. Pump yourself up on vitamin C and use some hand sanitizer.

12.  Call your family

They miss you A LOT. Go ahead and give them a call and tell them how you're doing.

13. It's okay to not know what you're doing with your life

If you haven't decided on a major, THAT'S OKAY. Freshman year is the time to take different classes and figure it out. It's also okay if you don't know by the end. You'll get there and find something you love.

14. Bring enough socks and underwear

Let's face it, you're not going to want to do laundry every week. Hell, I hate doing it. Think about how often you want to do laundry and bring enough socks and underwear to last you however long. This will save you in the long run.

15. Be a good roommate

If your roommate is still sleeping, don't turn on the light when you get up. Stumble around awkwardly with your phone for a flashlight and get dressed.  Use headphones when listening to anything. If you're staying up late and she is going to bed, go somewhere else. Happy roommates make your life easier.

16.  Don't get into a relationship right away

Getting into a relationship as soon as you get there limits you socially. You won't go out as often and you won't be as open to meet new people.  Let yourself meet every guy you can, my guy friends are some of the best people that I know.

17. Long distance doesn't always work and that's okay

Out of all my friends who went into college with a long distance significant other, I think maybe one or two of them are still together. College changes you and it's hard maintaining that connection so far away. IT WILL BE OKAY.  Being long distance means that most of the people you know won't know your ex and you won't be surrounded by things that constantly remind you of them. You are going to meet so many new people and find someone else.

18. Go to sporting events

Supporting your school and hanging out with friends is so much fun! Just do it. You won't regret it. 

19. Don't wear your lanyard 

You are going to be so tempted to wear your lanyard with your ID around campus because it's convenient. Don't do it. It is a huge flag to everyone saying "Hey I'm a freshman." 

20.  Have fun

Freshman year is the year where you're expected to have fun. You will have the least responsibilities this year out of all four years there. Take advantage of it.

 -Love always, 

Rachel

Celebrating Birthdays in College

Hello everyone! I am now halfway through my first year of college! Honestly, I can't believe how fast it has gone so far. In the span of a week, three of my friends had birthdays, so I decided to dedicate this post to how we've been celebrating birthdays in college (specifically in the dorms). I believe that birthdays are SPECIAL, and my goal is for everyone to have a fabulous day. In this post I will be sharing some of the things that my friends and I have done to celebrate each others birthdays since the start of this school year.

Signs

Perhaps the simplest thing you could do is make a sign for your friend's door. I just use a single sheet of printer paper and personalize it for the person using different colors or themes that they enjoy. Here are a couple that I made for my friends James and Isabella:

Balloons

Don't ever underestimate the power of balloons. They can make a room go from drab to fab in seconds. As you can see for James' door, we used balloons to add more color. Now, if your up for it, you can go a little crazy with the balloons. For my roommate Liz's birthday, the room was filled with blue balloons! 

Food

I know the first question I usually ask when I'm invited to a party is, "Will there be food?" SO

this is a necessity (especially with college kids). There is an endless amount of things you can do for food. You can even keep it simple and have everyone go to one of the dining places on campus. On James' birthday, we all ate together on campus and brought cookies. For my friend Isabella's birthday, our group got dressed up and went to a restaurant called Custom House in Avila Beach. We have also  had pizza delivered to our dorm, and gotten donuts for everyone. 

James' birthday on campus.

Isabella's birthday at Custom House.

Adventure

If your friends are lucky enough to have a birthday on the weekend, then you should plan something entertaining to do during the day. A hike, bonfire, or even just a day at the beach are always good ideas. Cody's birthday was on a Saturday, and when we asked him what he wanted to do, he said he wanted to go kayaking. After some research online, we found a reasonably priced place that wasn't too far away and were off! The spontaneity of the occasion made the trip even more fun! 

Themes

Now, I know this is a bit elementary, but hey us college kids can have themed parties too (also Liz and I just wanted an excuse to Pinterest...). Our friend Clint is obsessed with Star Wars, so everything we did for him fell under that theme. 

So, I hope this post inspires you to all make your friends' birthdays special! This just goes to show ya that you don't need to spend a lot of money in order to have fun. Feel free to share how you  guys spend your birthdays! 

Bisous!

Lauren

How To Get Organized for a New Term

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season, I know I did. My break was full of sleeping, eating, and lots of extra doggy time.Since most people are headed back to school/already at school now,  I wanted to share some tips on how I organize myself for a new term/semester. Personally, I am at a school that runs on a quarter system, so my post will be geared towards a 10 week grading period, but I'm sure you can adjust it to your own liking.

Printable Schedule Using Microsoft Word

Okay, so my school gives me the option to look at my scheduled online by week/time and print it out through our online services, which is pretty handy, however it looks absolutely horrid.

NO COLOR COORDINATION?! This is unacceptable. I will commend my school for making it easier to understand than the fall term layout, but still I prefer something a little bit more... cohesive.

Like this! Much easier to understand with the colors and table design (plain table 5). You could get fancy and change your fonts and stuff, but I like to think Microsoft knows that they are doing with the default font. You can modify your times column depending on what times your classes end/start. Some of my classes start/end at a funky time, like Writing 121 at 8:30, so I just wrote in parenthesis next to it the exact time it started (8:30) and ended (9:50). I also like to differentiate whether I'm going to a lab or a lecture, like in my Sustainability class, I wrote LAB next to, obviously, the lab. The only problem with this schedule is that I don't have any of my class locations written down!

 Fixed! For this schedule I just used 4x6 plain table 1 and modified each of the box sizes to what I needed them to be and added some rows in the 2nd ,3rd, and 4th columns. It's okay if it's not perfect at first, just play around with them a little until you get yours to your own liking. I also made the lines in between each day a bit thicker so it was easier to visualize one day at a time. I did not put my classroom numbers on this table because I don't want anyone stalking me around campus, however you should put them in your own schedule for sure! This schedule is my personal favorite, my roommate even made one for herself this term and we both keep them taped above our desks so we know each others whereabouts/schedules.  You can refer to Lauren's post about roommate 101 for further tips on roommate coordination.

Microsoft OneNote

One of the most important tools I used my first term in college. If you have a copy of Microsoft Office 365, I highly recommend taking advantage of this tool. I created a "notebook" for each of my classes (color coordinated to my schedule), and with in each of there notebooks created sections for the syllabus,weeks, and projects, and within each of those sections you can create more pages.This program is perfect for anyone who finds the simple joy in things that are mega-organized (me), or for someone who needs help imporving their organizations skills. I also went bascially paperless after using OneNote!

 I will say that you don't need to make a notebook for every class, I didn't make one for my Physical Activity Course (Ballet) because there was no notes, or online information that was needed. But they were extremely useful in classes that posted a lot their information onto blackboard, for example my Communications course:

Most classes will post a syllabus online, as well as hand one out in class. I always came to class prepared with a copy of the syllabus in my notebook on OneNote on my laptop. I would either directly copy and paste the document from Microsoft Word directly onto a new page, or print the document into OneNote. To print a document into your notebook ,simply go about printing the document like you would on a printer, but when it comes time to choose a printer, select "Send to OneNote" and it should then ask where in OneNote you would like it to be printed.

I would do this for lecture slides as well. This cut my note taking down immensely, allowing my to have access to the information presented without having to scramble to write it down before the slide changed, and instead concentrate on the information being presented and taking notes on the information not written down on the slides. My laptop is the lenovo yoga, so it is a tablet/laptop and I took note with a stylus on top of the slides, but typing them out is just as helpful. You can also use highlighters to mark stuff that is super important. Like here:

Ignore my messy handwriting please.

Et Cetera

Make sure you buy your books (I recommend used if you can get them), find out when all your finals are, and drink lots of water! Oh, yeah and don't forget to mix in a little fun with all of that studying, okay? Hope y'all have a great first few weeks of your term/semester!

XOXO
Natalie

How to go back to school after Christmas (Winter) Break

 So you've just spent roughly four weeks enjoying your mom's food and your comfy bed. Here's how to prepare for that daunting next semester...

1. Binge watch Netflix for as long as possible...

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If netflix has become Bæ, it is important to maintain that relationship. During break is one of the only times you can do this guilt free so take the opportunity to watch every season of Friends or whatever your heart desires.

2. Don't forget to buy those books... and don't cry too much after spending all your money.

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I've found that the best way to buy text books is either on Amazon or Abe Books. They have the lowest prices and I haven't had a problem yet.

3. Eat as much as your mom's cooking as possible

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That goes for other foods you won't have at school too. Stalk up and eat like you're going into hibernation... you won't have some of your delicious favorites for awhile.

4. Do all that weird stuff your friends at school would judge you for.

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Whether it's an inside joke with your best friend from home or something unique to your old school, keep all your weird habits at home.

5. Savor those last precious moments in your own bed.

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Get ready for those uncomfortable dorm beds and enjoy laying like a starfish while it lasts.

Lastly, Get pumped for another great semester!

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-xoxo Rachel

Desk Tour

 Hey Y'all,

Where are you girls at? I know college has gotten pretty busy for me, class, projects, friends, studying, reading mid-terms, homework, social functions, oh yeah and trying to remember to eat at least twice a day. So I understand the lack of activity of here at LTP, but let's try to get some posts up so we can keep in touch :)

I thought it would be fun to do a desk tour, as my desk is where I spend most of my time.

So here is my desk as a whole, if you couldn't tell, I like bright pastel colors, especially pink. I brought most of this stuff from my old desk at home, though I have less space here (big surprise) at college, so I re arranged it a bit.

Starting on the left I have my light blue bookend from Daiso and Koala Beanie Baby from 2003 sitting on top of my flash card holder. Blue owl coin jar look familiar? It's because Lauren got it for me for my 16th birthday, it such a fun and unique little piece that really "quirks" up my space, also it reminds me of my dear friend Nathan Ong. Behind the owl I have my Neon stationary from Target for letter writing. And next to that my nerdy collection of 3DS games that I no longer have time to play. (Although Cameron and I occasionally play Smash from time to time, it's so much fun!)

Next up, I've got a copy of "Lights Out" by Ingrid Michealson, my journals, favorite movies (Frozen & Tangled), favorite books, a Daneryus figurine (wearing Rapunzel's crown lol), all of my pencils and pens, and a french cade lavender scented Voluspa candle (that I can't light, but it smells so good.)

These are the journals on my desk, the two purple are moleskins I got in a bookstore, and the other two are gifts from Lauren.

Here we have my Betta Fish, Atticus Finch, to do list, sticky notes, a mug I made a Color-Me-Mine, a lamp from Target, a clock from Daiso, and two antique rabbit figurines. Oh and a Halloween card from my parents that I couldn't resist hanging, isn't it so cute??

I have my fabric covered shoe box that I made with this tutorial, my PEAS from Disneyland, a tissue box, my Frankie Mags, and a mason jar mug I got from a coffee shop right off campus that was just TOO cute not to buy.

These are my desk drawers with miscellaneous stuff that's most likely either from Target or Daiso.

My Lilly Pulitzer Agenda always brighten up my desk (like it really needs that), my Yoga Laptop ft Rapunzel's Tower, and a kitty cat mouse pad, even though I don't have a mouse yet.

And finally here's my whiteboard calender and cork-board! Which I could talk about for hours, but I'll resist the urge to go all Shabby Chic on you and just leave them here for your visual enjoyment.

I can't believe Halloween is this Friday? What are you guys being? Cam and I are going to be Hans Solo and Princess Leia from Star Wars. I've got to go head to my math lecture, Hope college is treating you well, take care ladies!

XOXO,
Natalie.