Turning Your College Room from Sloppy to Sophisticated!

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Kendall M

A room in a dorm or an apartment can sometimes feel juvenile or just plain plain! Don’t fret! There are simple things that can turn your room from drab to fab!

This is a great example of a homemade headboard that I found on apartment therapy.com!

Making your room feel sophisticated will help you to feel like you are going places in this world. Not to mention everyone will be asking you to decorate their rooms because yours is just too darn good! Here are four easy steps to step up your room!

1. Headboard. A headboard on a bed can do a world of difference in your space. The headboard will not only add height to your bed but interest to the wall. If you don’t have a headboard or cant afford one, just make your own! You can use a thin piece of plywood or

This lamp was a steal at TJ Maxx for only $30 and it add so much to my bed side table!

even foam core boards. Simply cover the board with batting to add depth and then use fabric to finish off the look. Stretch the batting and the fabric tight and use a staple gun or even hot glue to secure to the back of the board. The back will be up against the wall so you don’t have to worry about what your staple or glue job will look like!

2. Lamp. A good lamp will take your room to the next level. Try finding a lamp from somewhere like Marshalls or TJ Maxx, they have great lamps at even better prices. A sophisticated lamp will give you more light in your room and brighten up your space. Also a few great things compared to a lot of little things will make your room feel more put together and sophisticated.

These are my custom-shelving units that I made from crown molding, but any simple shelving set will do the trick!

3. Shelving. Good shelving on walls can be used for storage, but can also be used to display your memories. A good design tip is to keep things in groups of threes. This is a great place to put up a vase of flowers or display pictures. Adding interest to your wall in a three-dimensional aspect will make your room feel like it’s a million bucks.

These cute curtains make take the shabby dorm room furniture from shabby to chic and make then look brand spanking new!

4. Curtains. Curtains will make your space feel larger and more put together. Usually college dorms or apartment have very drab window shade or vertical blinds, and who wants to look at that! Don’t forget that curtains are not just for windows anymore! You can use curtains instead of closet doors. Some of the furniture provided with the rooms can be bulky and plain, using a curtain can add interest and will almost make the furniture disappear! If you cannot find pre-made curtains that you love try making your own, check out my article on no sew curtains for instructions!

Follow these simple tricks of the trade and your room is sure to be fabulous in no time! These things will make you feel sophisticated and mature even in a frumpy dorm or apartment. These are simple things that you can do in a night or weekend, so take a study break and spruce up your space!

Kendall Meyer is an intern with College Lifestyles (TM). She is an Interior Design major at James Madison University and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. She loves turning any room into a home for everyone and everything!

Check out my post for more dorm decorating tips that you are going to love!

Birthday Ideas for the Classy College Co-ed

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Kendall M

Celebrating birthdays at college can be very different than you are used to at home. Luckily, there are ways that you can make your birthday and your friends birthdays very special, maybe even better than at home. Friend’s birthdays can fall in the middle of a busy week, but that does not mean they can’t be just as special!

The contents of my "birthday box" has expanded over the past 3 years with things that I have collected along the way!

Step 1: Bring supplies with you to school. One of the best graduation gifts that I got was a “birthday box” that was filled with supplies to celebrate with. Here are some things that were in the box:

Happy Birthday sign
Birthday napkins
Birthday plates
Balloons
Streamers
Crown or Birthday hats
Candles
Ribbon
Tissue paper
Small gift bags
Confetti

Yummy Funfetti cupcakes are always a crowd favorite!

Step 2: Plan ahead. If the birthday is going to be during the week get everything that you need the weekend before when things are not crazy and you don’t have classes. If you are going out make sure that you invite people and give them time to clear their schedule for the exciting event! If you are going to bake a

Room decorating is a fun for you and a great surprise your the birthday girl!

cake, make sure that you have time to bake, cool, ice and serve!

Step 3: Decorate! Use the supplies in your birthday box to decorate your friend’s room. Make it a surprise. Blow up balloons and put up steamers when they are in their morning shower or class. Decorate their door with a sign and streamers while they are still asleep so they wake up to a surprise!

Step 4: Give a small gift. Gifts don’t have to be big or expensive. You could get together with all of your friend or hall mates and get a gift card to somewhere like Target. You could even make your friend an inexpensive craft! Here are some craft ideas and some how-to’s from previous posts:

Super fun crafts for you to make for the birthday girl!

Remember that a birthday should be special for everyone! If you are having a party for yourself or your friends make sure you are safe and respectful to everyone there and neighbors. Check out Michelle M’s post on party do’s and don’ts. Also for some special gift ideas for your 21-year-old friends check out Kayla’s post on cash friendly 21-year-old gifts! Now get celebrating!

Kendall Meyer is an intern with College Lifestyles (TM). She is an Interior Design major at James Madison University and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. Birthdays are her favorite and she loves celebrating with all of her sisters and friends!

Check out this series on back to school Bash’s (one) (two) (three) for ideas for celebrations!

Making Your Small Space Feel Bigger!

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Kendall M

When you are living at college, weather it be a dorm room or an apartment, usually your space is smaller than desired. You are going to be living, breathing and working in this space, you are not going to want to make it feel like a dungeon. Remember that you are probably going to be sharing this space with a roommate, so think about all of the things that you are bringing to college with YOU and then DOUBLE it, will you really have all that space? There are a few things that you can do to make your space actually seen bigger than it is. This really does not mean that you are going to be able to bring more stuff, but it will hopefully make you more comfortable when you are living there!

7 Tricks for making a small space feel larger:

This light is perfect because you can control which bulbs to turn on letting you decided how much light to bring into the room!

Lighting – Make sure that your room is well lit. A dark space will make is seem closed in and actually make the space appear smaller than it is. Think about using a lamp that has multiple bulbs like the one picture from target so that you control the amount of light that you want, less during the day and more at nighttime.

This is an example of an extremely cluttered room, try and limit the about of stuff that you have out and keep your room clan at all times!

Clutter – A space that is cluttered with to many accessories and messy dishes and clothing will begin to feel like you are getting caved in on. Keeping your space neat and tidy will always make you feel like you have more room to breath in. Make sure everything has its place and it get put back when you are done using it. Clothes left around the room will not only stress you out about the laundry you need to do but make you fell like you are living in a dungeon.

Curtains – Adding curtains to a window will break up your walls giving you the feel that you are not boxed into your room. Many closet doors are unsightly and bland. Taking down the doors and replacing them with fun curtains is a great way to again break up the solid colors of your room and add fun color or even a patter to your space!

We put up this curtain in my little sisters new apartment, it really does a great job breaking up the white walls and openin up the space!

Furniture- Large items of furniture will make your space fell full even without all off of your other belongings in it. Try and stick with smaller or even multi use items, like a desk that can also be used as a vanity, or storing your dresser in your closet to get more space. Light colored furniture will also help your space to feel more open. If you re stuck with what you got, like in your dorm room, try covering your dresser with removable fabric (try using sticky back Velcro to attach) or toping of your desk with a fun colored painted hutch.

This is a perfect example of shelving that is used for storage and displaying accessories!

Wall space – Make sure and use your wall space! Shelving units on your walls can be used for great storage as wall as display of some of your most prized positions. Try and keep your furniture up against and wall and not floating in the middle of the room, this will hopefully give you an open space to make you feel like you there is room to relax in.

Here is an example of a room that is using light colors on the wall and on the bed to make the space feel larger.

Color- Dark colors will close in your space. It is ok to have some darker accent colors, but if you can paint try and pick a lighter color. Bright colors can also tend to overwhelm you, stick to a more muted shade of your favorite bright colors and leave the bright ones to the accessories.

Mirrors- This may be obvious that mirrors will seem enlarge your space, but it is something that people often forget. If you leave your closet doors up, think about putting mirror tiles on them or full length mirrors, they will serve a double purpose of making you space seem larger and making sure you always look classy! Even accent mirrors on your walls will help to brighten up your space by reflecting light from windows are giving the space an open feel.

These are some sweet accent mirrors that are great for reflecting light into your space!

Follow these tricks are you are sure to make your cave seen even slightly larger, which trust me will help. This is the pace that you have to relax, do your work, hang out with friends, and much more. Make it so you are comfortable in your space and love being there!

Kendall Meyer is an intern with College Lifestyles (TM). She is an Interior Design major at James Madison University and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. She loves helping everyone, especially her sisters decorate their room for the school year!

Check out my post from last week about what not to forget when packing for college!

Dorm Checklist – What Not to Forget!

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Shelly Marie

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It is that time again … back to school shopping season is upon us! It is time to get all those things that you are going to need for college! The basics are easy, comforters, office supplies, refrigerator, but what about all those things that you never think of? I have been compiling a list from the experts, previous dorm livers, on what are the most essential things that everyone forgot to bring with them to college. Some of these things may seem like something that you would never forget, but you would be surprised at how scattered you can be when preparing for this great move!

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Cool Gifts for Your New Little Part 4 – Initiation Basket

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Shelly Marie

Check out the final part for crafting for your little, the Initiation Basket! (part 1, part 2, part 3) The time is finally here, your new little is getting initiated! Here are some great things you can put in her initiation basket. There are some simple ways you can personalize items to your little, your family or your organization! Your little is going to be most excited about things you put in your love making special for her, and you will feel great when the everyone is telling her how cute everything looks! I would like to make a special shot out to my family for being amazing and sending me all of the pictures I needed for this series (especially Cayte and Colleen, sorry for the late notice!), you are all the best!

Contents:

1. Flowers – get your little a bouquet of flowers or a bouquet of your sorority flowers, they will brighten up her day and her room!

2. Wall Letters – Use wool letters from the craft store and craft your littles initial or your

My littles initials, find a ribbon that you like and match the colors of the letters to that!

organizations letters! (check out the wood letters in this dorm decorating post for a how to!)

3. A Family Tree – a great item for your little to keep for years to come. You can make very cute family trees out of wood cutouts and ribbon. Use a sorority symbol, paint them, and write the names of all of your family members.

A nice example of a personally crafted pin box!

4. Pin box – pick up a small box from the craft store, paint it and use a cute quote on the box with a paint pen. You can make a small pillow for the inside. This box can be used to store your pin, lavalieres and even mascot charms. Use a straight pin through the loop of the charms to hold it in place on the pillow.

5. Letters / Shirts – though your little probably has made her own letters, this is a great time to give them special letters you have had passed down or special family letters. You can even make big / little letters!

A quote that is very special to my little and I, what is your special quote?

6. Stuffed Animal – get a stuffed animal of your sorority mascot.

7. Quote Plaque – Use a small wood plaque from the craft store to write a quote that is special to you and your little!

8. Stool – this is a traditional gift for many

Personalized stool for my little! I continued the theme of zebra and pink!

organizations, you can purchase a unfinished stool from the craft store and make it super cute with paint and mod podge (mod podge can come in a glitter finish or simply glossy to finish all of your painted crafts)!

I have used the sam background in a different color scheme for the rest of my family members, try taking something that reprents your family, if you are the royal fam use crowns or stars for the rock star fam!

9. Paddle – for me personally this was one of the things that I was the most excited about, however, these can also be the most expensive. This about developing a theme for your family and varying the colors year to year to fit the colors in your littles room or her favorite colors! Get a bunch of your sisters together and order your paddles online to save money on shipping costs!

Here are some tips on crafting and buying for your little:

Spend your money on items that your little is actually going to keep and use, not fillers that just make your basket look bigger!
Make everything you can! It means more when it come from the heart!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are not good at writing with puffy paint and your friend is, offer to paint something for her solid colors while she helps you with your projects!
Pass down everything you can. Don’t be afraid to re-gift items, it is the sincerest compliment to the person that gave or made it for you!
Get together with a bunch of sisters and share crafting supplies like paints and brushes, that way you all don’t have to spend your money on the same items!
Split pack of items – candles, markers, etc.
Try to chose an overall theme for everything you make, this will keep you focused and not questioning what to do on everything. Use the colors of your littles room so she can display them proudly on their walls! (as you can see for my little the theme was pink black and white / zebra print. I carried this through most of the crafts that I made for her!)
Traditional Blue Eyed Family stack after initiation! (Bayley, me, Cayle, Kelly & Colleen!)

Remember its not how expensive the baskets are, it is the heart you put into it that counts! Even if you do not have a lot of money to spend, and who really does these days, you can make great gifts for your little on a tight budget by planning smart and starting now! Look for things on sale, the dollar spot at Target is a grate place to find little gifts you can personalize later!

Kendall Meyer is an intern with College Lifestyles (TM). She is an Interior Design major at James Madison University and a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. Ask any of her little and grand littles, her favorite past time is crafting for all of them!

Check out this great post, Newbie Scrapbooker Must Haves, for some sweet tips on scrapbooking, a great way to keep all you great sorority memories!

Cool Gifts for Your New Little Part 3 – Movie Night Basket

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Shelly Marie

We are back with part three of cool gifts for your little! (check out part 1 & part 2) This week we are going to do a movie night basket! What is better than a night in with your girls or better yet your new little! Here is a basket full of goodies that you guys can use for a “family” night in with fun and movies! A special shout out to one of my sister and best friends Liz for the inspiration for this basket! Don’t miss the final post in this series on Thursday for the initiation basket!

Contents:

Here is a great personalized popcorn bowl, use your littles name or your organizations letters!

1. Ticket – make a movie ticket out of paper and write a note to your little on it about how excited you are to have her at your family movie nights!

2. Popcorn Bowl – these can be found at the dollar store or the dollar spot at Target. Use puffy paint or paint pens to personalize it!

These seasonings will really spice up your popcorn! They come in great flavors like nacho chees, white cheddar, and so many more!

3. Popcorn / Seasoning – grad a box of popcorn and a cool “popcorn seasoning” to spice up your corn!

Here are some super cute slippers from Target for only $6!!

4.$5 Movies – Places like Wal-Mart, Kmart and Marshall’s usually have a rack of pretty good old movies for only $5 or less. Pick up some chick flick classics!

5. Tie Blanket / Pillow – if you did not use a blanket in another basket this could also be a great place to use it, what better to cuddle up with than a soft blanket while you are watching your movie! (Check out my article about no sew curtains and pillows for directions!)

6. Sorority PJ Bottoms – There are a great little basket filler and super cute!

Here are some awsome letter pajama botton from somethinggreek.com

7. Cute Slippers – throw in someinexpensive fluffy slipper to keep your littles feet warm!

This amazing sorority mug also comes from somethinggreek.com!

8. Coffee Mug / Hot Coco – You can grad a sorority coffee mug or personalize your own with your littles name! Add some hot coco mix and marshmallows for a hot drink to enjoy during the movie

9. Mani/Pedi Supplies – there is no better way to start out your movie night than a mani / pedi secession, make sure your little has everything that she needs! (nail polish, toe separators, file, lotion, ect.)

10. Candy Jar – This is an easy DIY craft for the movie night basket, check out this how to below!

All the materials that you will need to making your Candy Jar!

What you need:

1. Jar (you can use an old spaghetti sauce jar or anything that you have laying around!)

Complete Candy Jar!

2. Cotton balls

3. Small Piece of Fabric

4. Rubber band

5. Ribbon

6. Puffy Paint

7. Candy

What to Do:

Clean you jar of any labels. To create the top use the cotton balls to puff up the top a little. Cover the cotton balls on the lid with the fabric (cut in a circle slightly larger than the size of your lid). Use the rubber band to secure the fabric to the edge of the lid. Cover the rubber band with the ribbon for a more finished look. Use the puffy paint to personalize the jar. Fill with candy!

Check out this post about some great movies that you could think about putting in your basket!

Cool Gifts for Your New Little Part 1 – Paradise Basket

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Shelly Marie

For many of the girls taking a new little, grand little, or for me great grand littles the beginning of the school year can be stressful. It takes many hours of crafting and searching for things to fill cute baskets for them! So why wait? Summer is a great time to start putting things together for the new addition to your family! Over the next four posts I am going to present you with four fun themed baskets that you can use or mix and match that won’t break your bank!

This first basket is a great one to get started on now (with summer supplies on clearance!). Paradise Basket – a basket filled with summer and beach or pool gifts! As the days start to get longer and colder during the school year this is a great way to cheer-up your new addition to the family!

Contents:

This cute beach towel is from target, the best part is the price, only $9.99!!

1. Beach Ball – use this to write a note to your little telling her how much your love her and are so excited to have her in the family, use a cheesy catch phrase like “you are going to have a ball in this family!”
2. Beach Towel

My fabulous AST shades!

3. Sun Glasses – if your sorority does not already have them try and get the fundraising chair to order some of the neon sunglasses with the sorority letters or name. They make great gifts!

4. Sudoku / Crossword puzzle / Game book – something fun!
5. Water Bottle

Stack of turtles that I found at a beach shop in Sandbridge VA, personalized with everyone in my family!

Me and some of my sisters in our letter hats during Relay For Life!

6. Koozie – check out my article on fun summer crafts for a how to for a personalized water bottle and koozie!

7. Sorority Hat.
8. Frisbee – personalize with your little’s name or your organizations letters!
9. Sand Bucket – try and pick up a small sand bucket at the dollar store, personalize it and then fill it with your littles favorite candy!
10. Flip Flops – check out Old Navy’s great selection of cute flops! (on clearance now!)
11. Beach Knickknacks – look around for small things that you can put in the basket like fun shells, napkins, if your mascot happens to be a turtle or an anchor, beach shops are a great place to pick things up!

Here is a cute idea of how to personalize flips flops in your organizations colors or in there own favorite colors! For balloon tie flops all you need is a colorful pack of water balloons and your favorite flops and just get tying! Alternate the way that you tie your balloons so that they come out every other balloon top and bottom! Ribbon flops are just as easy, determine how long to cute your ribbon by how long you want the ties to be, then just tie them all on!

Try out these cute flip flops for your beach basket!

If you don’t already have a bunch of baskets think about putting some of these things in a beach bag or a big sand bucket!

Make sure to tune in on Monday for part 2 – School Spirit Basket! Have any ideas for things to add to this basket or themes you would like to see? Let us know!

Check out my favorite post from last week, How to Motivate Your Chapter for some tips on keeping your chapter motivated during the long school year!