Pillow DIY

Recently, on tumblr, I stumbled upon this image

and I'm obsessed.

I started googling looking around for where to get them, and found several different sellers:

I believe the original is Gypsy Warrior, for $32(+shipping) where they're available for presale only.  

Forever 21 sells the same Gypsy Warrior ones at the same price.

I found similar ones on Amazon for $29 and Etsy for $35.

All these prices were just a little too high for me, mainly, because I am ALWAYS buying pillows. 

I don't need more at that price.  

So, in spirit of "craft night" 

I started my own little DIY.

1.  I started with plain white pillow cases, available at Walmart, $6

2.  Then went over to Michaels for iron-on transfer paper, $10.

(but I used my 40% coupon, so they were $6)

3.  I looked through my fonts for something similar, and decided to use League Gothic, in all caps.

League Gothic doesn't come preinstalled in Microsoft Word or Pages (for Mac), but you can download it here.

 I like this font because, coincidentally, it's the font that Kate Spade uses on a lot of merchandise. 

See below:

4. I used this font in Pages at font size 425 pt, printing a few letters per page right onto the transfer paper.

↓ THIS IS SO IMPORTANT ↓

Because you will be flipping your picture over onto the fabric to iron it, it must be printed mirror image onto the transfer paper, so that it comes out reading normally.

There's a "Flip Horizontally" option under "Layout" in the dropdown box for print options on both Pages and Word, which makes it super easy.

Pages

Word

Note: be really careful not to touch the ink on the transfer paper right after it's printed, it smudges easily and I had to redo a couple of sheets.

5.  Once all the letters were printed, I carefully arranged them on my pillowcases, making sure they were centered, evenly spaced, and level.

I pinned mine down to the pillow case to make it easier to transport to my ironing board.

6.  Iron on high heat without using steam, for about 60-90 seconds, giving even and firm pressure all over the transfer paper

Allow them to cool, and when they are cooled completely, carefully pull away the transfer paper.

And... Voila!

Here they are finished... they don't match my off-white home bed, but they're perfect for my all white bed at school, where they'll be living this year.

My very own "Dance All Night, Sleep All Day" pillowcases, costing me $12 all together, a fraction of the online price.

I have a few more pillows to make for my bed at school, and 

I'll be sharing the DIYs here on Dorm & Cozy.

xo, Genevieve

Soft Bananas.

Lately, I've been wondering if my family is purposely leaving our bananas in the bowl, as spots emerge, and insides soften, until their function as peanut butter and Nutella vehicles is lost, and they have only one hope left.

Say it with me everybody.... Banana bread.

I used a recipe I found on Pinterest for chocolate chip banana bread.  

It's been getting good reviews from everyone so far, but honestly, have you ever given free chocolate chip banana bread a bad review? No, you haven't.

We had five spotty bananas, which, as it turns out, makes four loaves of bread.  I doubled the recipe that I found on Pinterest.  

(Luckily, the only casualty of today's baking endeavor)

So I may have put in twice as much butter as the recipe called for (yes, even after doubling).  Boy, was this not a mistake (okay it was a mistake, but a lucky one).  I made my bread in loaves, so the extra moistness of the batter/bread from the butter was not an issue, but rather, delicious.  The original baker made her bread in mini bundts, which would have fallen apart with all the extra butter I put in.  Even regular muffins would have been a loose and crumbly mess. Yum.

I also added a cinnamon streusel to the top of the loaves, with no exact recipe. 

Something along the lines of...

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tbsp. flour

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 tbsp. of cold, thinly sliced unsalted butter

I put it on before they went in the oven, but next time, I'd put it on half way to two thirds of the way through the baking time.  Trying to perfect the art of streusel... stay tuned.

We'll see how long it takes for four loaves of banana bread to disappear.  

My bets are on not too long...

xo, Genevieve

DIY Vanity Lights

I've been struggling for months (years?) with finding the best lighting for my vanity.  In my room, there are two wall sconces and a hanging light, all in separate corners of the room.  Where my vanity is, I've always used a lamp, but have found that lamps just don't give enough bright and full light for doing my makeup and hair, especially at night.  I have a small lit mirror, but it really only lights the  standing mirror itself, not the whole area, and the mirror is useful for details, but too small to use to put on a whole face of makeup.  

I've been wanting the hollywood style vanity lights forever, (the ones that most beauty gurus have, or that you see on pinterest) but most styles are built into the mirror, and run from $100 to $300... Too much.  

The other option was to buy a vanity light bar itself, then have to wire it, and I didn't have a spot for in-wall lights where I would have wanted them.  

Then, I stumbled upon Lisa Pulano's DIY for plug in vanity lights, and it was perfect! Exactly what I needed: inexpensive, quick, and SUPER easy.  

I followed the video exactly...down to the light bars that she used, coincidentally.

Here's what I used:

Lighting bars, $10 each

Extension cords, online it says $3.50 each, I got mine in-store for $1.37 each

Light bulbs, $4.18 for a pack of two **

Command strips, $7 for a pack of 12 strips

(**I bought 60watt originally, and as much as I LOVE how bright it is for doing makeup, it's too bright and will probably strain eyes. Not to mention, I bought incandescents which give off a LOT of heat because while they're cheap, they are NOT energy efficient. I'm saving my pennies for LEDs.)

An important note:  the lights go on and off by plugging in/out, so it can be a hastle plugging and unplugging every time you want the lights on or off.  I would recommend plugging them into a power strip with a switch on it, like this one.

And here's how it turned out: 

I mounted the bars with Command picture hanging strips, so it's easy to bring them to school, then back home. 

Command strips are awesome for dorm rooms because they mount almost anything, but come off clean and never damage walls.

The plug is exposed, but this doesn't bother me too much, i just covered it with the stuff that typically sits on my vanity! Pick your battles.

The lighting looks dim in this picture, but in front of the mirror it's bright white light.  Perfect for doing my makeup!

All together this DIY took....maybe ten minutes.  SO easy!  

And the final cost: just around $40!

xo, Genevieve

catching up, getting caught up

Lately, my self-understanding is being smothered by materialism.

I get caught up.

I bury myself in social media trends, blogposts, makeup videos, fashion updates, clothing sales, unaffordable purchases, new "needs," endless "wants," and too many "haves."

Sometimes I feel like I'm looking through life through an instagram filter.

Sometimes I feel like the only thing grounding me is my bank account statement.

I am fascinated (maybe obsessed) with aesthetic.  I love to shop, love to dress up, love to do makeup, love to decorate.  It's perfectly okay.  I tell myself that it doesn't make me superficial or materialistic, but I think reality checks are a must.

Social media does a funny thing where it twists and taints your perspective on reality.

My instagram feed is beautiful, and makes me think everyone I follow lives a daily fairytale.  I then channel my jealousy of said fairytales through collecting *things* to make my life feel the same way.

But, reality check-- bloggers post the beautiful stuff.  Messes and untidiness are carefully cropped out of frame.  I have to remember that when I post, I do so every few weeks, when something beautiful and inspiring finds its way into my usually-unworthy-of-of-public-attention life.

My craving for one of those picturesque, blogger-type lives weighs me down.

I collect and perfect, and in attempts to make my life "postable" I become unhappy and curious about whether or not I'm doing so solely because others do, or, honestly, if it's because I'm just seeking the attention of others.  (I looove attention, okay? Live for it.  Who doesn't? Why else would I have a blog... really?)

I lose my attention to things that matter, to my true self, and get caught up in a web of what others are doing, saying, posting.  Buried.

But, I believe that true voice and clear thought come from an uncluttered mind and soul.

Too many material things, too much spending, and focused attention on social media makes me feel chaotic and cluttered.  It makes me feel distanced from myself and my pure thoughts.

My new year goals** (you can still make those in february right??) are attention and focus.  On things that matter.  I want to give attention to myself in healthy ways, like taking care of my mind and body.  I want to perfect the art of focus.  Focus myself on real understanding of everyday gifts that get overlooked, focus my gaze up in front of me, rather than in my past or down at my phone.

I need to catch up with myself, rather than getting caught up with everyone else.



**I won't set a resolution.  Resolutions imply giving up or starting over-- recreating yourself.  A goal focuses on progress and steps, making a better you rather than a different you. Goals give emphasis to the present and to hard work. While resolutions can be given up on, goals will remain, despite regressions.  Goals seem more attainable than resolutions.  #NewYearsGoals ...Let's make it a thing ;)


xoxo

Genevieve

posting vs. posing

As I scroll down my Instagram feed, Facebook timeline, and update myself on all of my favorite blogs, I’ve come to find my usual feeling of inspiration replaced with one of dissatisfaction about my own life.  Scrolling through instagram has become like leafing through the pages of an expensive catalog, wanting everything, wishing your life was as beautiful as pictured, feeling mildly (ok or very) jealous. (Hey, I know you know the feeling!)  Thumbing through endless perfection in small square photographs, one, twice, three times daily (Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m an instaholic) makes me strive in every way possible to attain this same “perfection,” and, when I cannot, I feel kind of yucky about all the less-than-perfect parts of my life.

I forget, though, what goes on before we hit the share button on Instagram, Facebook, etc…

Maybe I’m the only one that does this, (though I doubt that I am), but think about the amount of time we spend moving all the ugly stuff out of the camera’s view, arranging our plates at lunch, opening and adjusting the blinds for the perfect light, snapping from all angles, then, upon choosing the perfect photo… sending it through app upon app, adjusting temperature, saturation, sharpening, etc… 

It sounds kind of sad when I say it out loud.

How, after we’ve manipulated a single moment to the point of perfection for the sake of a post, are we expected to live our daily lives this way?

Now, I am in no way bashing social media or editing in any way, but attempting to point out it’s flaws.  Social media isn’t real life.  I’ll say it again: social media is not real life. No one’s life actually looks the way it does on their Instagram. Mine sure doesn’t. We pick out the prettiest moments, edit them up real nice and post them for all of our friends to see! And isn’t it fun? I love this about my Instagram. It’s all the nice stuff! No where on my insta are you going to see my dirty laundry, I'll-just-spark-note-it reading or yesterday’s makeup (that I woke up in today…). That’s not how it works! When we’re posting, we’re posing, and that is OKAY. It’s fun to play pretend every once in a while, but we have to remember what’s behind the filters.  

No one’s life is perfect, we cannot try to live our live in the shadow of someone else’s facade.  So pose for the camera and let the spotlight hit you where it will, in carefully planned, beautifully captured moments, but never forget to live all your moments loud and bright, your messiest and your most insta-worthy, ‘cause in the end your own like is the only one that matters ;)

btw— check out #uneditedlifeproject for a sweet and sincere campaign against hiding the messy behind an insta filter… I love seeing everyone’s beautifully unedited moments.

Stay lovely, xoxo

Genevieve