Don’t you ever get tired of not knowing how to do the crap that other people know how to do? Your computer cable breaks and you resign to just buy a new one because you don’t know how to fix it. You see girls wearing cute t-shirts that have been cut into elaborate halters, but you just buy the generic version of the shirt at the store because you have no idea how to turn so much fabric into something so little.

For all of you out there who have ever wanted to do all of that crap that other people know how to do, your prayers have just been answered:

Instructables is here to save your life.

This site is one of the coolest sites ever (second only to CollegeCandy…) and I can hardly begin to explain all of the reasons why. Ok, so I will try. Here goes: they walk you through the instructions of how to do just about everything.

Literally, everything! No more asking guys to help with “guy” things or calling up your sister to teach you how to get your hair doing that perfect balance between chic and messy.

The Instructables people break their projects down for you by category. Once you decide between Art, Craft, Food, Games, Green, Home, Kids, Life, Music, Offbeat, Outdoors, Pets, Ride, Science, Sports, and Tech, they send you on your way to DIY heaven.

Step by step. Project by project. It doesn’t get any better than that.

The next time you have a project in mind, but just don’t know how the eff to do it, I can guarantee you Instructables will. And they’ll show you, too.

We all have them – those four million t-shirts baring our university’s logo/our sorority letters/the 45 clubs we are a part of. You’ve collected them over the course of your degree, and now you have so many you can barely close your dresser drawers. You probably have a few you wear — the nice one you bought at the bookstore, or your favorite shirt you acquired at a school event (because every college student knows free sh*t is good sh*t) that you wear to the gym or sleep in. But the rest? They just sit there taking up precious dresser space because you can’t bring yourself to get rid of them.

“I did my first beer bong in that one,” you tell yourself. “I can’t throw away the memories!” Well, you don’t have to. Here are a few ways to reuse your old shirts.

Throw pillows — Pick the t-shirts with logos you love, but never wear. Follow these easy instructions, and you have new room decor. The main cost is pillow forms, or cotton batting, but it’s a lot cheaper than going out and buying them from a decor store. Variation: make an actual t-shirt pillow.

T-shirt shopping bag — Go green when lugging your groceries home with a snazzy new shopping bag. You can save the planet by not using plastic bags, and have extra change for happy hour by not spending a cent on the reusable ones from the grocery store. Plus, you can turn that pre-party t-shirt into something actually useful! Read More »

By now you’re probably passed all of your fascination with college being new and exciting.  You’re also probably tired of the same old dorm posters.  Instead of just plastering your walls over with stereotypical college imagery, why don’t you make your dorm as unique as you are?

Have no fear my decorating minions, get your hot glue guns ready and lets get crafty!

Let’s Make… Picture frames! Posters are so…mainstream. Everyone has them. Why not hang your own pictures in personalized frames?

 This is an easy craft. You can find ready-made frames for cheap at any dollar store, walmart, or craft store. All you need to do is decorate with fabric, sequins, or little plastic accents…things you can again find at walmart or a craft store. Just apply them with your hot glue gun…and there you have it!

Let’s Make… Beaded curtains!  This project will take a little more time to finish, but it allows your mind to go to a zen-like place while you do it.

You will need: Beads! Fishing line and a tension curtain rod.

First measure your door frame and decide how thick you want your curtain to be. Thicker curtains call for more beads. Cut your fishing line to fit, and then start stringing your beads (this part takes awhile).

Once you’re done stringing all your beads,  apply them to the rod and hang. Put a dab of hot glue over the part where the beads are tied over the rod to keep the steady. There you have it! Read More »

There are few things I enjoy more in life than having a tiny brown peacock on the palm of my hand.Henna, or mehndi as it’s called in Hindi, is the perfect compromise between a temporary tattoo and a permanent tattoo.

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. Read More »