DIY Abstract Geometric Triangle Composition Notebook

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I'm back in school, which means that I'm trying to incorporate fun and funky-ness into my everyday routine while I run around campus. Everyday is consumed with school work and blog work, already... and the semester just began. Oh boy...

To deal with all the extra stress, I'm trying to let some of my creativity flow in ways that involve school and/or the blog, so I can still be productive even when I'm being eccentric. Lately that means I've been giving myself a little bit too much time to work on DIY projects that involve school supplies, which has been so rewarding but may also be considered procrastination to some.

While I'm not advising you to procrastinate, I am advising you to have a little fun with your creative side and your school supplies before things get too serious this semester! Whether you're a high school freshman, a college senior, a teacher with tenure, or a parent with a few extra minutes to spare, this DIY Abstract Geometric composition notebook project is the perfect way to express yourself and make something cool and useful in the process.

To make this project you'll need a handful of old magazines or photos, a composition notebook,  a pair of scissors,  a paint brush,  Mod Podge,  a ruler, & a pen if you don't feel confident in eyeballing measurements!

The first step of this awesome DIY notebook project is simple, all you need to do is find images that appeal to your eye. Find colors that are similar and patterns that flatter your eye when placed nearby each other.

After you have several magazine pages torn out it's time to move on to the second step, you can either trace shapes onto the pages or just begin cutting and hope that your shapes are similar in size. Once you have a few shapes cut out, begin organizing them into a pretty pattern. Whether you choose to cut your shapes into long rectangles or triangles, like I did, I'm sure it'll turn out beautifully!

Once you've cut out all of your shapes it's easy to complete step three, place a few small dabs of mod podge on the back of the magazine image or photo and secure each image in place. Allow that glue to dry for a few minutes and then apply a thin, yet well-coated layer of mod podge over the top of the entire notebook and the images.

Let the notebook dry for 12+ hours and you and your new creation are good to go, but be prepared to mention my blog when someone asks how you made it! Now that I've shared a super fun way to personalize your composition notebook, I'd love to hear what your favorite part of the back to school season is?

Concert-Going Essentials for The Modern Girl: Be an #Underwarrior + Be Prepared!

I don't say no to a good time, I especially don't say no when that good time involves live music, sunshine, and my friends. With so many good bands and performers coming in town soon, it's been hard to choose which events I want to attend but I think I've finally narrowed it down, while I have a couple concerts on the books over the next few months! I'm pretty excited to be heading to a BBQ & Bluesfest in a few short weeks so obvs I'm already planning what I'll be wearing and what I'll be bringing with me.

Today I'm sharing my idea of the perfect outfit for a BBQ & Bluesfest and a few other helpful tips to ensure you have a terrific time while getting your groove on to the music.

Let's start with the outfit details! I'm super excited to share that this outfit cost me a grand total of $10 with the accessories included, but not the shoes. The shorts and the earrings were purchased earlier this year at everyone's favorite rollback store for a grand total of $8 and my cobalt blue tank top is a Forever21 $2 find from Black Friday! While this outfit didn't cost much, it looks like it did and it feels so comfortable!

While my outfit matters, what I bring with me definitely counts for something as well. I'm a bit of a worrier, in case you can't tell by me planning an outfit weeks ahead of time. I like to make sure I have all my bases covered so I'm always sure to bring back up plan a, b, and sometimes I even bring a back up plan c.

These are just a few ways I make sure I'm always prepared for anything when I'm at a concert with my chicas:

1. Lady Products: While you can plan ahead and know approximately when she's coming, you can't plan AF for your friends! Be sure to have some U by Kotex® Ultra Thin Pads with 3D Capture Core* plus Xpress DRI* in your bag in case you or one of your gal pals happens to have Aunt Flo visit while you are at the concert. Want to give these products a try? Click here to grab a free sample to keep in your purse!

2. Sunscreen - If you are going to an outdoor venue, this is a must! I suggest getting a brand with a pleasant scent, especially if your concert is going to be attended with a guy you have your eyes on!

3. Sunglasses - Speaking of your eyes, you will want to protect them and still be able to see the performance. Grab a stellar pair of sunglasses so you can rock the concert in style!

4. Notepad + Sharpie - Are you a fan-girl of the band you are going to see? Be sure to bring a notepad and a sharpie with you so you can get autographs from all your favorite performers.

Now that I've shared some of my concert-going essentials, I'd love to know what your must-have items are when you plan on rocking out? I'd also love to know who your favorite performer is this season? Leave me a comment cluing me in on your necessities and your favorite rocker below!

How to Thrift Store Shop Like a Pro: 4 Fantastic Fall Outfits for ONLY $17.93

If you know anything about me, you already know I love a good bargain which means I also love to go thrift store shopping. It's a bit like a treasure hunt each time I go and recently I keep finding all kinds of awesome treasures at all of my favorite second hand shops!

Designer jeans, adorable flowy tops, fun and funky sweatshirts, proper button ups, and all kinds of other goodies came home with me over the last few weeks. While I'm super proud of all my treasures, today I'm sharing just a sample of my new wardrobe and a few hints on how you can find some awesome additions to your closet as well! These four stylish fall looks were all put together with items I bought while thrifting, so start taking notes because this is how you thrift like a pro!

Outfit number 1 is a fun and flirty bohemian look, a flowy, sheer, oversized shirt with a lace bottom paired with pastel short shorts and pair of nude heels. Not pictured, but I accessorized with earrings that match my shorts and I was good to go! I love this outfit for warmer days, long days at school, or even just for running errands. Casual and classy, this outfit is timeless and comfortable.

Shirt: $1.49 | Shorts: $2.49 | Heels are old

Outfit 2 is a pretty little number, perfect for a funky office environment or just a romp around town. I styled a pink and black cropped blazer with a tank top, a grey mini skirt with black stripes, and a black druzy necklace; admittedly, this outfit would look better with a black tank but I still love the style. Speaking of style, I opened the fitting room door to show my husband this cropped blazer and had a stranger tell me it didn't look good on me. While I appreciated her input, I'm glad I trusted my instincts and bought it anyways; which leads to a little thrift store advice, if you think something looks awesome then it probably does so buy it... and on the other foot, if you aren't sure about something, then go ahead and put it back!

Cropped Blazer: $1.99 | Skirt: $1.99 | Necklace is old

Outfit number 3 is a preppy, dressy casual look. I paired a pair of designer jeans that fit like a glove with a white tank and a teal long sleeve, button up shirt and left a few buttons undone to show off my black druzy necklace. I love the simplicity this outfit offers and think it would be perfect for someone trying to portray a laid back yet polished look!

Shirt: $2.49 | Jeans: $4.99

Outfit number 4 is the perfect cozy, cool-weather fall outfit. With a purple metallic polka dot, ultra comfortable sweatshirt paired with the same designer jeans mentioned above and nude heels, you can't go wrong! I love the down-to-earth look this outfit gives off and can't wait to rock it around town the few days Florida actually has some cool weather.

Sweatshirt: $2.49 | Jeans: price listed above

So just in case you are like me and hate doing math, all of this means that I put all four of these outfits together for only $17.93! I literally feel like I've won the lottery every time I go thrift store shopping, simply because I'm able to get so much value for my dollar and most of the time the clothes have barely even been worn! What's not to love about scoring awesome deals on adorable clothes?

Are you wanting to get your hands on some excellent second hand deals? I'm not an expert but I'm a pretty avid thrift store shopper, so here's my top 3 tips for finding things that are perfect for you at a thrift store:

1. While this first tip may be obvious to some, it's probably the best way to find things you'll love... You need to choose thrift stores in a more upscale environment. I've been to thrift stores in the hood and I've been to thrift stores nearby the rich & famous, you can guess which store had tons of name brand merchandise and which one had nothing of interest. I'm not saying you won't be able to find something at the thrift store "on the wrong side of town" because most likely you will find at least a few things, but you are more likely to find things you are gaga over when shopping on the nice side of town!

2. Look at each and every item, twice. I know it sounds crazy but I highly recommend looking at each and every item among the things you are wanting to add to your wardrobe. If you are wanting a new skirt, don't just skim over the surface of the skirt section but dive in, hands first. You'll want to look at every skirt, if you like the design or pattern, check the size, and if it's your size add it into your cart. This may seem like another obvious tip but so many of my friends skip over large sections of clothes, while my version of shopping takes more time, I always find the best items in the store! Give every piece of a clothing a look and you'll notice you'll find a lot more adorable additions to your wardrobe than you did just skimming through racks. Also, give each and every piece you choose to buy a really thorough second look for stains, holes, or other funk after you've tried it on!

3. Did you know that a lot of thrift stores have sales and discounts?  All you have to do is look at the stores event calendar and you'll be able to save even more money on your new clothes!! My local thrift store offers half off days, once a week, as well as discounts for senior citizens and our service men, plus occasional blow out sales including a pretty rockin' Black Friday sale! Crazy huh? I'll be honest, I tend to go on the half off days! It's a great way to save SO much money, you'll

Now that I've shared 4 epic outfit ideas and 3 tips to ensure you find something you love while thrift store shopping, I'd love to hear all about your favorite thrift store find? Have a favorite piece of furniture you scored or maybe a rad pair of jimmy choo shoes that you just happened to find at a second hand store? Tell me all about it in the comments below!

Find The Perfect Gift with Best Buy Gift Ideas + Wish Lists!

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

There's just something so special about celebrating birthdays with my loved ones! Ranging from making a cross country trip to attend my adorable niece's 2nd birthday party to planning a kayaking adventure for my husband's upcoming birthday, I'm all about doing things in a big way to help celebrate the people I love so dearly and their date of birth! I don't just like to just go on epic adventures for birthdays though, I'm also all about giving epic gifts; but as you may know, sometimes that gets hard, especially with a quirky family & group of friends!

So when I heard about Best Buy's Online Gift Experience making online shopping for everyone a little bit easier, I knew I had to check it out. They've made gift giving a breeze, with lists of great birthday items categorized and easy to shop for ‘Him’, ‘Her’, ‘Kids’, and ‘Teens’. Plus, if you are shopping by price point, they even offer lists of gifts in a range of prices from under $25 all the way up to $250+! With gifts like heart rate monitors and coffee machines to fondue sets and the best romantic comedies to date, you are bound to find something for everyone!

Maybe your shopping for the super sophisticated techie in your life that has everything already...? Best Buy even has a category for that person! You can shop their top tech gifts and find the perfect present or send a gift card via mail or e-mail and let the techie in your life find the best birthday gift ever for themselves; the choice is yours and I'm sure the gift will be much appreciated either way!

That's the thing about Best Buy, everyone can find something they just have to get their hands on!  Now that I've shared why Best Buy is the best place to shop for any birthday celebration, I'd love to know what you will be adding to your Best Buy wish list?

Go ahead and make a list of all the epic techie stuff you need and let me know what you want the most in the comments below! I may be making my wish list currently; after all, my birthday is only 5 months and 3 weeks away! *snicker*

It Feels Good to Be Bad with This Notoriously Delicious Honey Vanilla Fruit Dip + The New Movie “Descendants”

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Disney #VillainDescendants #CollectiveBias

I've always been a huge fan of Disney; growing up with the classics like 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Snow White, etc. made me fall in love. I mean with character development and plots that keep people of all ages entertained, Disney really is pretty amazing!

So when I heard about the release of the new Disney movie, "Descendants", I set a reminder on my TV to tune in on July 31st! There's only one thing I love more than the main character in the Disney movies that I grew up watching and that's the villain! With characters like Cruella, Maleficent, Jafar, and the Evil Queen, what's not to love? Descendants is a super cool movie about the children of all of these villains and the overall idea is that even if you are born into a villainous family, you don't necessarily have to be that way.

The message, the entire plot, and the sweet little love story that develops through out the movie are just a few of the reasons that I decided I had to go out and buy Descendants after seeing it.

No worries though, I won't be sharing any true spoilers in my post so you'll still be able to enjoy all the twist and turns when you see the movie! I must say, the music is also pretty rockin' and I have a feeling my nieces and nephews will think so too, so I went ahead and grabbed the soundtrack while I was at Walmart as well!

Once I got home, I decided to watch Descendants again while I whipped up a little snack. During one scene in the movie Mal, Maleficent's "evil" daughter, is on a date with a prince. They are in a beautiful setting, picnicking, and then he shares strawberries with her and she's never tried them before. She's a brave girl and decides to give them a try and she loves them. Which made me start thinking about my favorite fruits and my notoriously delicious fruit dip and I knew what had to happen... If you love being bad, you'll love this ridiculously tasty dip! 

Ingredients:1 cup Mascarpone
2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Want to see how I made this dip? Check out the video below or read on for the recipe!

This simple honey-vanilla mascarpone dip is so easy to prepare and it tastes so indulgently delicious with any of your favorite fruits you'll feel like you are being bad! To prepare this dish, simply place the mascarpone, honey, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream together in a small bowl. Stir until well combined and dip fruit until your heart is content!

I suggest whipping this recipe up and then sitting down with your family to watch Descendants today, don't forget that you can grab everything you'll need at Walmart!

I personally fell in love with the movie and can't wait to hear your opinion! For now, though, leave me a comment telling me about your favorite villain, I want to know who else love the "bad" side of Disney as much as I do!

The Perfect Wedding Party Wardrobe Solution: Custom Bridesmaid Dresses from K Couture

Summer is wedding season so I'm always shopping for cute new dresses, especially this time of year!  I'm the type of girl that needs a dress fit just for me when I go to a big event. I recently found K Couture and I'm so happy I did, they hooked me up with a beautiful dress for a recent event and I love it.

Some that I adore about K Couture is the fact that they offer the ability to design your own custom bridesmaid dress with their "Design a Dress" tool and the different designs you can create are all so beautiful! Whether you want a long, dreamy gown or a cute mid-length sweetheart neckline frock, K Couture is the perfect place to shop for bridesmaids of any size or shape!

I'm a bit of a pinterest junkie and hope to eventually renew my vows with my hubs so you could say that I'm already contemplating what my besties will be wearing when I walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams (again). I can picture the girls all in champagne dresses with different styles of sash for each of their different personalities or all white dresses with a POP of color by adding a bright sash... That's what's so fun about getting to design the dresses, you can go traditional or quirky with K Couture!

As a bride, a service like this is invaluable! I can only imagine how awesome each of the custom bridesmaid dresses will turn out in all of the gorgeous shades they offer and then allowing each girl to add their own quirky touches by adding on their favorite accessories like the style of the sash or their own choice of sash color, the possibilities for dresses are almost limitless!

Plus, any bride that chooses to shop at K Couture can rest easy and not worry about the small stuff! Sound too good to be true? It's not! You won't even believe it but they offer free styling services to all customers so you don't have to worry about a thing, just ask for some advice and you shall receive!

Another added bonus with K Couture is that they specifically name their colors and they'll send over some free swatches in the colors you have your eye on, so now there are no worries about having all the girls get the right shade of turquoise (or whichever wonderful shade you choose to incorporate into your wedding colors)!

For my most recent event I went with the champagne color and a champagne sash and it turned out beautifully; paired with my purple hair and my nude heels, I was getting compliments all night!

The best part about K Couture though, is that you can turn it into a one stop shop for your wedding party! The men in the wedding party can match the bridesmaids to a tee without even having to shop around and hold up swatches to a thousand different tuxes! K Couture offers ties, bow ties, vests, and cummerbunds, in all the same fabulous colors they offer their beautiful dresses in. Combine these gorgeous accessories with their high-quality tux and shirt packages and your men may give the women in the wedding party some competition for "best dressed".

Are you planning a wedding quickly? I planned mine in just a few months so I know how much of a struggle it can be to find pretty dresses, that can be customized, that aren't shipped from overseas and that don't cost an arm & a leg to be shipped to you in time. Luckily, K Couture designs and creates their own dresses in house at their 22,000 square foot headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. This helps them provide inexpensive, yet super high quality dresses in a hurry!

But that's not where they stop with all of the beautiful fashion, K Couture also offers jewelry, robes, buckles, embellishments, sashes, flowers, brooches and more; all at an affordable price! Plus, they decided they love us so much, they are offering all of my readers 10% off with the coupon code KDress10! So head on over to K Couture and let me know, whether you are planning a wedding or not, which dress is perfect for your bridesmaids?

Thank you K Couture for sponsoring this conversation.

5 Easy Steps to Perfect Your Instagram Feed + Gain Real, Engaged Followers Quickly!

I absolutely love social media. From Pinterest-inspired DIY projects to Facebook contests, the world of social media has provided me with a web of amazing things. One platform that really stands out in a creative sense is Instagram, I love how inspired I can get after flipping through some amazing feeds and I really love when I can inspire others with my own feed.

So that's what I've been working on lately, trying to "perfect" my Instagram feed in a sense. You may have noticed this if you follow me (ahemmmmm, if you don't follow me then you probably should, so just go ahead and click here). I'm trying new things out, using creative new ways to enhance my images and just really trying to make sure that I put my best foot forward on that platform, I even changed my profile and updated my profile picture.

Then I realized, there's lots of Instagrammers out there trying to gain a following as well. We all love sharing photos on Insta, that's why we use it, right? Well, today I want to share five steps to perfect your Instagram feed and gain real, engaged followers quickly.

Step 1 -  Get a Clear Focus + Establish Your Aesthetic: This step is a combined step because both parts of it are so easy to accomplish. Getting a clear focus for your Instagram profile over all will help you establish a following and guide you on your photo taking journey, but in this case I'm talking about choosing what the focus of your camera is on. All you have to do to adjust the focus and hopefully make your subject more vivid and clear is touch where the subject is located. Now, on to establish your focus on your actual profile, this is establishing your aesthetic and is so important! Whether you want to establish yourself as a pupparazzi for your new puppy and only post pictures of your pooch or serve up only fitting room fashion photos, it's up to you. Personally, I post about a little bit of everything but my food, fashion, and fitness posts seem to be the most popular.

Step 2 - Follow The Light: This step is even easier than learning to focus your camera, all you have to do is "follow the light". What do I mean by this? Simply take your photos in natural light whenever possible. If you are photographing food, set it on a window ledge or on your patio table. If you are photographing people, I suggest taking pictures around twilight so it's still light out but you don't have to worry about squinty eyes or the like. No matter what you are taking pictures of, know one thing, it's going to look a thousand times better in natural lighting!

Step 3 - Use Hashtags Correctly: Using hashtags is an art form. Whether you think they are annoying or not, they actually serve a very real purpose and can connect you with other people and maybe even companies you love. Some of the hashtags that I've been loving lately include: #NothingisOrdinary | #ThatsDarling | #ABMlifeiscolorful | #LiveColorfully. If you are looking for more hashtag inspiration check out the Tags for Likes or other fun hashtag apps!

Step 4 - Be the follower you want to gain: This is a bit like the famous quote, be the change you wish to see in the world, adapted for Instagram. You want followers that are interactive, that comment and like your content, and that genuinely want to get to know you. You need to be that type of follower in return, like photos, comment, and follow like it's going out of style and you'll notice you'll get some love in return.

Step 5 - Stay Consistent But Stay True: If you browse some of the most followed 'grammers you'll notice that their photos stay consistent to their style. Whether they are a rainbow themed account or a mainly muted pastel based account, you'll notice that a lot of the best accounts seem to edit each and every photo in the same fashion and they typically post similar content everyday. While posting similar content seems to drive in more followers and likes, always stay true to you...

#Love is all you need. 💞💋 #valentinesday #sprayroses #nothingisordinary #my_365

A photo posted by Lauren Paints (@sunkissed_sweetheart) on Feb 14, 2015 at 9:54am PST

Now that I've shared some of my instagramming tips today, I'd love to make some insta-friends! Leave your username in the comments below, or you can always follow me on the gram (and let me know how you found me) and I'll follow you back!

Make Smelly, Moldy, Old Books Like New Again with This Simple Trick

Have you ever found a book you just had to have while browsing at a thrift store or garage sale? If you are a bargain shopper like me, you can't pass up a good deal on an old favorite and when I recently found a hand full of first edition copies of some awesome books, that must have been decades, if not centuries old I just had to buy them. I was so excited I didn't even notice that although I had fun some hidden treasures, they stunk something awful.

After contemplating and a testing a few methods, I found this way of cleaning the scent of the books the most effect. It's super easy and while it may take a while for the smell to completely disappear, it's definitely a useful way of restoring glory to some classic literature.

Before we get started, you'll want to take a very lightly dampened cloth and wipe the pages of all the books. This will remove dirt, mold, and other nasty little grime around the pages, the spine, the covers, etc.

For the project of removing the actual smell of the book, you'll want to start with a large covered bin of some sort, an old garbage can, a plastic tub, or a small pail will work just fine. Please keep in mind that it'll be in use for a fairly long time though and you'll need to be able to fit another smaller bin inside of it.

You'll want to put several inches of an odor absorbing material at the bottom of the bin you choose. By odor absorbing material I mean anything that is known to absorb stinky smells; such as kitty, litter, charcoal or baking soda.

Now place a smaller pail of any sort inside the "smell absorbing bin", place a handful of books (or whatever will fit) inside of the smaller bin, and place a cover or a lid over the top of the smell absorbing bin.

It's that easy, all you need to do now is sit and wait. I suggest checking on the book and it's smell level every couple of days or so until you no longer can smell the stench. It may take a week or maybe even a month, but that stink you once dreaded will dissipate and you'll be left with a wonderful book to add to your library.

If you decide to give this method a try, let me know how long it took your book to smell better... Here's to the reading of books that don't smell for many years to come!