People can learn a lot about you from your Facebook profile. By considering your favorite movies, pictures, quotes and the things other people write on your wall, it is quite easy to get a good idea of who you are as a person. And knowing that, many of us are extremely careful about what we throw on there.

And I’m not talking about taking down all those drunk pictures from the Jell-O wrestling tournament so you can get that job with the government you’ve been coveting. I’m talking about leaving those up to show anyone and everyone who is looking that you are one cool girl who happens to enjoy wrestling in gelatin.

Your Facebook picture is especially important. It’s the first thing people see when they look you up, not to mention the fact that it comes up next to every wall post, Facebook message, chat, update, etc., that you do on that damn website. Naturally, you are going to put a lot of thought into your photo of choice. It needs to be a good representation of who you are, be it an artist, a class clown, or any other type of person.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook (is there a 12-step program out there?!) and I’ve noticed that of the 500 million people using the site worldwide, there only 6 basic types of photos that people post on their profile:

[Click on any image to see the gallery!]

[This story was originally posted by Lauren - University of Michigan]

Likey? Don’t worry, there are plenty more faves where this came from.

People can learn a lot about you from your Facebook profile. By considering your favorite movies, pictures, quotes and the things other people write on your wall, it is quite easy to get a good idea of who you are as a person. And knowing that, many of us are extremely careful about what we throw on there.

And I’m not talking about taking down all those drunk pictures from the Jell-O wrestling tournament so you can get that job with the government you’ve been coveting. I’m talking about leaving those up to show anyone and everyone who is looking that you are one cool girl who happens to enjoy wrestling in gelatin.

Your Facebook picture is especially important. It’s the first thing people see when they look you up, not to mention the fact that it comes up next to every wall post, Facebook message, chat, update, etc., that you do on that damn website. Naturally, you are going to put a lot of thought into your photo of choice. It needs to be a good representation of who you are, be it an artist, a class clown, or any other type of person.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook (is there a 12-step program out there?!) and I’ve noticed that of the 500 million people using the site worldwide, there only 6 basic types of photos that people post on their profile:

[Click on any image to start the gallery.]

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2009/05/06/the-6-most-common-facebook-photos/feed/ 156 Lauren - University of Michigan facebook.jpg http://collegecandy.com/2008/11/10/how-you-do-make-your-own-greeting-cards/ http://collegecandy.com/2008/11/10/how-you-do-make-your-own-greeting-cards/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:40:40 +0000 Carly - Grinnell http://www.collegecandy.com/reality/13898 [I used to think I knew everything...until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you. Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely …

[I used to think I knew everything...until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you. Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely random. Because, hey, you never know when you just might need to know how to change a tire...or mix a perfect martini.]

I think we can all agree that Hallmark cards are lame. If the card doesn’t contain something that you would actually say out loud on it (“For You, Mother, on Your 50th Birthday,” anyone?), it’s not worth spending your hard-earned cash on. Especially considering they cost like $5!

So what’s a gal to do when the holidays and special occasions roll around?

Duh! Make your OWN cards.

If you normally run screaming at the thought of anything crafty, take a deep breath and hang with me for a second. I also hate crafts, but I love to make greeting cards. They’re so much fun, and you can personalize them any way you want. AND they can be as simple or as involved as you like—no need to spend an hour laboring over intricate cutouts and frilly decorations if you don’t want to.

Here’s the other good news—they’re easy. All you need to make a basic card is some paper that you can fold and some markers (or crayons, pens, colored pencils, paints, or even chalk). Try making a painting on the outside of your card and writing a message on the inside. If that doesn’t strike your fancy, do a stencil or make a collage. A mosaic is another fun idea.

And don’t limit yourself. Remember, you can use anything to spice up the design—ribbon, googly eyes, fabric, shells or leaves, beads, scrap paper… you get the idea. Here are a few materials you may want to gather:

Glue. If you’re really desperate, you can tape cut-out pictures to a card, but it looks kind of tacky (no pun intended) and it won’t be as permanent.

Scissors. You can tear the paper to fit your needed shape, but it’s easier (and cleaner) to cut. Plus, you can cut out any shapes you want.

Pipe cleaners. As in the cool picture above and the How Stuff Works tutorial from where it came, you can twist pipe cleaners into flowers, moons and stars, hearts, birthday cakes… you get the idea.

Scraps. If you’re a pack rat, you’re probably a natural for making greeting cards. Saving receipts, business cards, take-out menus, and old wrapping paper will really pay off when you want to make a cool patterned skirt for a greeting-card girl or a funny-lettered billboard that spells out a birthday message.

When you’re making your cards, keep a couple of things in mind:

- Reinforcement. When using a lot of glue, you don’t want marker pictures to smear or bleed, and you don’t want those annoying wriggly wet lines. If it looks as though your card is heading in that direction, dab some glue lightly on the edges of one or two more pieces of paper that are cut to the same size as your card, and glue them on the inside so that the card will look smoother.

- Personality. Keep your audience in mind when making your cards. Just as you wouldn’t buy a card with a Shakespearean love sonnet on it for your brother, you wouldn’t want to give a slapdash and amateurish-looking thank-you card to someone with whom you just had a job interview. That’s not to say you can’t give homemade thank-yous after job interviews–just that if you do, they have to look professional.

- Creases and folds. Decide whether you want a long and narrow card, a fat square one, or something in between. Fold the card in half, and cut. If you don’t have a scissors handy, you can crease it along the edges where you want the cuts. Fold one way sharply, then straighten the paper and fold the other way. Make each fold again a couple of times to reinforce it, then use one hand to hold the paper and the other to tear gently along the edges. It should tear away in a straight line.

If you’re not artsy and all of this talk about designs makes you wanna hurl, just fill your card with cool words. A simple list of words and phrases that remind you of the other person is a creative, personal and not-at-all artsy way of creating a special card. It might seem lame, but if you’ve ever received a homemade card, you know how great it feels.

Now all you need is an occasion. So log onto Facebook right now and find out when your next friend’s birthday is—and get cracking!

[Image courtesy of howstuffworks.com.]

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Temporary tattoos will flake (yuck) and wash off within a day, and permanent tattoos will never wash off (which is terrifying enough in itself), but henna stays on your skin for one to four weeks before fading away. It’s beautiful, it’s painless, it’s natural, and you can do it yourself.

Yep! You heard that right. Even if you have no artistic ability, henna is very forgiving, and most designs are abstract enough that you’ll be able to pass off almost anything as something gorgeous.

First, you’ll need the henna. Most Indian grocery stores stock it, so just do a quick Google search to find the store closest to where you live. It’s cheap—you shouldn’t have to pay more than $5 for the powder you need. You can also buy it online. The Henna Page has an entire list of retailers that will ship henna.

Henna cones are also available, but I find the quality in a pre-made cone isn’t as good as what you can get from mixing your own henna and making your own cone.

Once you have the henna powder (about 50 grams should be enough for at least 5-10 separate uses), you can mix up your henna paste. All henna artists likes to put different ingredients in their pastes, but the basic recipe is 1-2 tablespoons of henna (sift it first if possible, to remove any lumps), about ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice, and enough water to make the paste’s consistency resemble smooth yogurt. If you have too much water, put in more henna…if it’s too chunky or thick, add a little more water.

To get a darker stain, I usually mix my henna with coffee instead of water. Other people like to add turmeric, black tea, cinnamon…all kinds of things! Feel free to experiment.

Now you have to let your henna marinate for a while. Find the warmest place where you live, cover the container you mixed the paste in tightly with plastic wrap, and leave it in that warm place for 12-24 hours. Treat it like rising bread…you want it in the warmest place possible, and you don’t want to peek at how it’s doing by removing the plastic wrap.

You’ll be able to tell when it’s ready because it will have changed from a greenish color to a murky brown, and drops of moisture might be clinging to the bottom of the plastic wrap.

Peel off the wrap and make your cone. You can use Mylar gift-wrap or cellophane tissue, but I always use a Ziploc sandwich bag. Here are some detailed instructions on how to make a cone using a Ziploc freezer bag. You probably won’t need a cone that big, so you can just sub in a smaller sandwich bag. Basically, you cut off a square of the bag or gift-wrap, roll it into a funnel, and tape it into shape. If you want, you can put tape all the way around it to hold the shape better. Then scoop in your henna. You may want to tie off the top with string or a rubber band.

Once you’ve made your cone, clip a tiny opening in the bottom of the funnel so that you’ll be able to do the henna in a way similar to frosting a cake. And that’s it! You’re set to go. For design ideas, try this design gallery or hennadesigns.org (though theirs are pretty complex, and you may have to simplify).

After you’ve applied your henna, leave it on for at least an hour and optimally up to four hours. The stain will be darker if you can dab a cotton ball soaked with sugar and lemon juice on your designs (a friend helps) every 20 minutes or so. When you can’t stand it any longer, peel the henna off instead of washing it off. Your hands will be red for a few minutes, but the design will stain better.

If all this seems like a lot of work, it is. But it’s also worth it. Henna is one of the most beautiful forms of body art there is, and your canvas is waiting.