Cute DIY Coasters

Hi Everyone!

I'm getting ready to move back to my apartment at school in about a month and my roommates and I all try to decorate using our own DIY creations. Today I wanted to share with you a really easy and fun DIY project for coasters that take a really short amount of time and you can use your own designs to make it fit your style.

What you will need:   

Cork Coasters-Any amount you need

Nail Polish-Any color you want

Step 1:

Get your coasters ready! I'm making four, one for each of my roommates and myself. You can find these at any craft store.

Step 2:
Grab any size cup you want, I turned it upside down, and outline a circle using your cup as a guide with a pen. (Don't worry well cover the pen up later.)

Step 3:
Take any color nail polish you want and start painting the outer circle of your coaster. I painted two coats on but you may have to add more depending on the color and brand of polish you choose.

Step 4:
Continue steps 2-3 until you have painted all your coasters. As you can see I alternated colors on each but you can do anything you want.

Step 5:
To cover the pen take a polish with a thin brush and paint over the pen to get a clean line.

Finally let the polish dry and your done! You can use any color or any designs on these coasters and they last a really long time. You can also make them for a great gift.








Have a great day everyone!
-Miranda

Give Yourself a Facial At Home For Under $10!

Hi Everyone!
Summer can take a huge toll on your skin from sun damage and the drying effects of salt water and chlorine in the pool. I notice in the summer my skin can very easily get red and irritated and many times flaky if I'm a little stingy with the sunscreen, so here is an easy way to refresh your skin without spending a lot of money on spa or salon services!
What you will need:

Lemon Juice- $1.00 at the grocery store
Exfoliating glove- $1.00 at Dollar Store
Face mask- $4.00 at TJ Maxx
Lotion- $4.00 at CVS
Cotton Balls












Step 1: Start with clean skin with no makeup or products on it. Run some hot water under the faucet until its too your liking. Run the exfoliating glove under the water and begin to scrub your face in circular motions to remove all the dead skin cells and flaking skin.
Step 2: Rinse your face with warm water and dry with a clean towel.
Step 3: Take your lemon juice on a cotton ball and apply all over your face avoiding your eyes. The lemon juice loosens any blackheads and dirt you may have stuck in your pores and it is a natural alternative to all those harsh peels that can cost a fortune. Once you have covered your skin rinse off the juice with warm water and dry with a towel.
       Tip: The lemon juice is very acidic so don't leave on your skin for long as it may begin to sting.
Step 4: Apply your face mask all over your face and leave on for 10-15 minutes. I used a purifying mask but your welcome to use any kind you like. I highly recommend going to either CVS or TJ Maxx because they have really high quality masks that are reasonably priced.
Step 5: Once your mask is dried rinse it off with warm water and completely dry your skin with a towel.
Step 6: Apply a good amount of moisturizer or lotion on your face.


Once you are finished your skin should feel soft and smooth and be much cleaner. This routine really does wonders for my skin and all the supplies were around $10 altogether. Everything lasts a very long time so you don't have to worry about spending $10 each time your give yourself a facial. Compared to salon and spa services, the least expensive facial I've seen is $30! That's crazy and completely unnecessary for something you can easily do at home! You are welcome to swap products for the ones that work for you since everyone's skin is different, so experiment and have fun! 
-Miranda

Nutrition Tips For Summer BBQ's

Hi Everyone!
Since Fourth of July is right around the corner I know many people are nervous about the temptation of all the delicious barbecue food that can ruin your beach bod. Well there is no need to worry anymore because I have a few quick tips on how to still enjoy all the wonderful food without ruining your summer diet.
Did you know that most of the calories you find at barbecues and parties come from drinks? "Liquid calories" are a major contributor to the pounds you can gain during the summer. I mean of course its tempting  to try with all the yummy mixed drinks and sodas and punches that surround you during the summer but it is SO important to limit the amount you have. Instead of having mixed drinks stick to water with lemon or fruit to make it less boring or iced teas so you still have some reminder of summer. Mixed drinks and soda will also make you extremely bloated, which lets be honest is not very cute when your in a bikini but drinking water or lighter drinks and staying hydrated during the day will keep you going and flush and bloat out so your bikini ready anytime!
Now of course who doesn't love barbecue food? I mean really, your not American if you don't like a good barbecue. However, barbecues are known for their fat greasy food that can also make you extremely bloated and have hundreds of calories (even the salads!) so it is extremely important to make conscious choices when filling your plate. Make sure most of your plate is filled with veggies and fresh fruit along with some protein like chicken or a lean burger with no bun (you can also substitute the bun with lettuce). Try to limit the salads that have a lot of fat, like potato salad or coleslaw because even though they are "salads" the fat in them makes them far from healthy. If you really can't help yourself make sure you try everything in moderation. A small spoonful of potato salad won't hurt. Don't deprive yourself because you'll end up binge eating later.
Ice cream is a summer dessert hands down and is always around parties. Here is the rule I always follow, if your going to have dessert keep in mind about portion size, surprisingly a little taste of something will satisfy you more than eating an entire pint of ice cream and regretting it later. Since fruit is usually always at barbecues, opt for that instead and you can still have some ice cream.
My own rule of thumb is to never deprive yourself and have everything in moderation, its summer so your supposed to have fun! Keep a few of these tips an tricks in mind during your Fourth of July festivities and I promise you will see the difference.
I hope everyone has a wonderful fourth!
-Miranda

How to Make Your Own Colored Jeans!

Hi Everyone!
I am super excited to share with you today how to make your own colored jeans! Colorful, vibrant jeans are so in right now but can be really expensive so I found a way to make colored jeans by using a pair you already have and transforming them! Overall this project cost me around $5 in total for the dye and the bleach! I hope you enjoy!

Step 1: Start out with a pair of jeans! I used skinny jeans that had a feathering wash on them.

 Step 2: Using a bucket that you don't mind gets a little stained pour equal parts of water and bleach into the bucket and then throw in your jeans! The jeans will float so try to get most of it under the water so it bleaches evenly.

After bleaching them overnight they came out like this! They didn't bleach completely which worked out okay with the color I chose, but if you want a really light color them make sure your jeans are fully bleached.

Quick Tip: This is very important! Do NOT bleach your jeans in just bleach and no water, the bleach will eat away at the fabric so make sure you add water to dilute it a little bit.

Step 3: After you squeeze out all the bleach from your jeans, its time to dye! I used a liquid dye from Rit in the color wine, which is a reddish maroon color but you can use any dye you want. I got this at Michael's but you can find it in any craft store.

Step 4: Follow the directions on the back of the bottle and using the same bucket you bleached your jeans in, dunk them in the dye making sure most of the fabric is underwater again. I left my jeans in a little longer than it said on the package just to make sure the color was even all around.

Step 5: When your happy with the color, rinse your jeans under water until it runs clear and wash them in the washing machine on a gentle cycle to get any leftover color out.

BEFORE

AFTER

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial! I love how the jeans turned out and it was super easy and fun to make!

-Miranda

Glamorous Red Nail Tutorial

Hi Everyone!
Today I have a fun kind of glamorous red nail tutorial to share with you all. I got inspired by the show Bones since I just started watching it on Netflix (and I'm officially obsessed with it btw), but anyway, there was a woman with red nails with a rhinestone on each one on the show so i decided to use that as my inspiration and put my own twist on it. Its really easy and looks great! Hope you enjoy :)

The colors I am using today are: (from left to right)
Art Club in Fine Silver (Fine tip)
Art Club in Black (Fine tip)
NYC Color in Madison Avenue
Sally Hansen Hard As Nails UV Top Coat
I also used the smallest rhinestone from my black blazer transformation tutorial below so make sure to check it out! :)

Step 1: Paint on two coats of the red polish and let dry fully

Step 2: Take the fine tip black polish and start from the outermost left corner and draw a thin line up towards the opposite corner of your nail

Step 3: Again using the same polish draw a second thin black line starting from the same corner and draw it upwards towards the corner of your nail on the left side

Step 4: Again starting from the same corner draw a shorter black line underneath the first line you drew

Step 5: Now taking the silver polish draw a line in between the two bottom black lines and extend it all the way to the upper corner

Step 6: Take the clear top coat and put a small dot on the upper right corner of your nail, this is how we will attach the rhinestone

Step 7: Using your finger, gently press the rhinestone onto the dot of clear polish

And finally your done!

I hope you all liked this tutorial, it was easy and looks great!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
-Miranda

Update Your Wardrobe!

Hi Everyone!
I want to share with you something fun and simple you can do to update your wardrobe! When I came home form school for the summer I went through all my clothes to see what I wanted to get rid of. I have this amazing Michael Jackson looking blazer from H&M that I absolutely love BUT I would never wear it! It had crazy rhinestones on the shoulders and it was perfect for going out but since I am now a junior in college (AHHH!) I figured I need an upgrade and more options for interviews and job opportunities. So I want to show you a really easy way you can update your wardrobe if you really don't have money to buy new clothes! Its the typical poor college student scenario.

Here's what my blazer looked like at first. It was a 3/4 sleeve black blazer that was cropped as well, a perfect interview jacket minus the rhinestones. So here's what I did to upgrade!

What I used:
Q-Tips
Cotton Pads
Nail Polish Remover
Black Dye (I used the brand Rit)
And obviously my jacket

Step 1:
I dipped the Q-tip in the nail polish remover and circled the rhinestone I wanted to remove so the glue underneath was saturated.

Step 2:
Then I simply peeled off the rhinestone with my nail. You will see the glue stays on the fabric but we will take care of that later.

Step 3:
Next take a cotton pad dipped in the nail polish remover and scrub the glue off the fabric.

You'll see most of the larger pieces of glue come off

I continued to remove all the rhinestones except some flatter ones on the top of the shoulder, I had to keep SOME rhinestones on :)

Step 4:
I found that the jacket was a little faded, especially after using the nail polish remover to take off all the rhinestones, so I decided to dye it. I simply followed the directions on the package, it was super easy.

And finally this is how it came out! I absolutely love it! It is much more wearable now and by dying it it honestly looks like a brand new jacket! Overall the whole project cost me $3 for the dye since I already had Q-Tips and nail polish remover. Much better than getting rid of an old jacket and buying a new one!
I hope this inspires you all the experiment with your wardrobe and remake some of your old clothing!
-Miranda

Fashionable and Inexpensive Way to Store Your Makeup

Hi Everyone!
Its been a while since I posted anything on my blog, I've been super busy, but I have some cute DIY ideas coming up that I hope you like!
I have a white bookshelf in my room that i got from an old RA (Resident Assistant) my freshman year of college that my roomates and I use to house our shoes when were at school, but in the summer it comes home with me and I found some cute storage ideas and ways to store my makeup and hair things I use everyday so they are easily accessible and still look cute! So here are some inexpensive ways to display your makeup using things you can find around your home!

I used to keep my makeup brushes in the case they came in but it was annoying taking out the case every morning and storing it, so I made a makeup brush holder instead!

All you need it:
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon
Small Glass Container

I found this container at Good Will for $2 and I got this cute zebra ribbon for 19 cents at Michaels, but you can use whatever you like!

Simply measure and cut the ribbon to the desired length of the glass container so it fits all the way around, but cut it long enough so the ribbon slightly overlaps itself to hide the glue.
Put a small dot of glue on the edge of the ribbon and on the glass so the ribbon stays in place.

Quick Tip:
If your worried about the glue ruining the container, don't! If you want to re-use the container just peel off the ribbon and the hot glue to use for something else!
Its so easy and it makes the container a little more special.

I also had a hard time finding a place to store my makeup palettes. They used to sit in a plastic drawer in my closet. Yeah its sad I know. So here's a quick tip to display your palettes and also make them easily within reach!

Take a small basket like this to put your palettes in that way you know where they all are and are easily organized!

That's so much better!











And finally, here's how I arranged the top shelf of the bookcase to be my own little makeup station!

As you can see I put the basket with my palettes and my makeup brushes on the shelf as well as my infamous pig makeup case that stands on its own, which has all my everyday makeup, and I also put my Tarte Starlet palette on the shelf too. This shelf perfectly fits all my everyday makeup and overall the supplies I bought cost me around $4!
I hope this inspires you all to create your own space and get creative!
-Miranda