Tired of the plain white walls in your dorm room or apartment? Sure, you can always head down to the university bookstore and pick up a couple of posters, but you’re unique… so shouldn’t your artwork be as well?

Give TurningArt a try. Choose from TurningArt‘s gallery of over 700 paintings and photographs from some of the best rising artists and photographers in the country. You can browse by style or medium, or also by artist if there’s a particular artist you like or by location if you’re interested in supporting the local art community. Once you find a piece of artwork you like, add it to your queue. Before you know it, a framed high-quality print of your chosen artwork will be on its way to you. Keep the art hanging on your wall as long as you’d like, or send it back in the pre-paid mailer for the next piece of artwork on your queue. Read More »

The importance of bedding in a college dorm is pretty obvious. Considering most colleges think a jail-cell sized space is fitting for us students to sleep, drink, cry and sometimes study in (no, thank you college- you really know how to make us feel at home), bedding is one of the only ways to express your self. Unless you’re a poster-lover in which case, don’t invite me over because I don’t want to see your Phoenix poster…we get it, you and every other knitted-beanie-wearing-creative-writing-major is their number one fan…I digress.

Below are some classic college beddings, and what they really mean about the person dreaming in them! Read More »

[It's a new year (which I am having trouble remembering when I have to write the date on anything), meaning it's the perfect time to wipe that slate clean and start anew. And we're gonna help you out. Every Thursday in January we're bringing you advice from experts on ways to improve yourself and your life. From mental health to making the most of your workspace, we'll all work together to get our lives, health and GPAs back on track. First up, Mary Mihaly, a feng shui expert is going to show us how to make our living spaces work for us.]

You know when your room needs an “energy boost.”  It feels tired in there…it isn’t the haven you want and need it to be.  There’s something about it lately – it doesn’t welcome you, and your friends don’t love hanging out there.

What you need is some good feng shui (pronounced, “fung shway”), the ancient Chinese practice of arranging a space to produce the best possible energy in that room!  It’s a great way to ramp up the positive energy in a space, and the most important feng shui “cures” are easy, affordable—and fun!

Below are 9 of my favorite feng shui fixes. Incorporate some or all of these into your living space and you’ll feel the energy shift instantly. (And yes, these even work in those teeny, tiny dorm rooms many of you call home!) Read More »

I. Heart. School supplies.

Yes, we know summertime can be oh-so-sweet, but now it’s August and summer’s winding down with school just around the corner. As much as summer rules, from the beach to margaritas, there are so many perks to heading back to campus and gearing up for classes.

Here are the top 10 reasons that you can feel good about ditching the bikini for some books!

10. School Supplies
Is there anything sweeter than shopping for new pencils and binders? And highlighters? And an adorable bag to carry it all in? I love back to school shopping for supplies solely because I love thinking of new ways to organize.. and then obviously not following through with any of it come the first day of school. But still – gotta love the crisp pages of a new notebook. Sigh.

9. Dorm/Apartment Shopping
After stocking up on post-its of all colors, there’s no better excuse than back to school to get some brand new decorative pieces for your dorm and apartment. Low on space? Check out the container store, definitely a top fave. Want fun, quirky decorations? Check out Anthropologie’s sales!

8.  School sports
Get pumped for football, hockey and basketball. Even if your school isn’t a Div I college, it’s still amazing to pre-party bond over some sport, even if it’s just squash.

7. Fall clothes
So over shorts and tanks? Slip into some cute new jeans, sweaters, dresses and jackets. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve had it with my gladiator sandals. I can’t wait to bust out my boots and scarves again! Read More »

This week flew by. I mean flew. Between watching Shark Week, voting for my favorite trends of the ’90s and topping it off with the second episode of Jersey Shore of the  season, I made quite the dent on my couch and my parents’ pantry food supply (I’m serious, I probably gained 10 pounds in White Cheddar Cheese-Its).  And I just have to get it out there (because it’s been troubling me the past week); is this a late realization or is anybody else starting to get the hots for Ronnie? Ok, as quickly as it came, it’s gone. I put it out there.

Moving forward. As August rounds the final corner of it’s first week (I can’t believe it’s almost time to start thinking about getting ready for class again), here is the week that was.

* I went to New York this week and Williamsburg was infested with them.  Hipsters. And New York isn’t the only place feeding the crop of PBR drinking people who don’t smile. Time to hate on the hipsters.

* It’s that time of month again. . .the time of month where you don’t feel like doing it. Wait. . .what?

* Since college is creeping around the corner, time to pimp out your dorm room so you can show it off to all of those drunkie boys you will be showing it to. At 2 am. Don’t worry, they will appreciate your David Beckam poster. And they will like it.

* Now, focusing on school.  CollegeCandy points you in the right direction better than a Target employee. Time to get school supply shopping. Read More »

The other day, while aimlessly roaming through the overpriced yet drool-worthy home goods at Urban Outfitters, I came across some adorable vinyl record bookends. They looked so cute hugging a stack of blogs-turned-books on the table and I just needed to have them. I have this problem where my books always tip over on my bookshelf and then it gets all messy and then my studying gets interrupted because I’m OCD…

Anyway, after looking at the price tag I realized that I didn’t need to fork over my hard earned money for some organization and sanity – I could make these myself! And so can you.

You don’t even need a good taste in music. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t like the record you’re melting… All you need is a little time and some H2O and you’re on your way to adorable dorm decor.

Materials:
2 vinyl records – you can get these super cheap at flea markets, old-school record stores or from that collection that’s been gathering dust in your parents’ basement.
1 pot of boiling water
1 heat resistant bowl (or another large pot)
1 flat piece of wood Read More »

If you’re anything like me, you’re a crafty college girl who may or may not have an addiction to jewelry. You also may be a Disney fiend who reads too many gossip magazines…

Okay, so even if you’re not like me, you probably still have lots of necklaces and earrings lying around (what girl doesn’t love her some jewels?). And you probably have NO place to store them.

I don’t know about you, but I refuse to stuff away my nice necklaces in a jewelry box where they’ll end up tangled and tarnished and I don’t have space on my crowded mess of a desk for anything better. Not that I could afford a fancy jewelry box anyway; I’m a broke college girl with zero cashmoney living the dollar-a-slice lifestyle.

I decided to get a little creative (on the cheap) and come up with a way do store my jewelry and add some personal pizazz to my stark white walls. This on-the-wall jewelry hanger is a creative and easy way to store and display your jewelry. Plus, you’ll spend less time detangling your favorite necklaces and more time actually wearing them! Read More »

We all know that painting the walls in your dorm room is a giant no-no. Hell, you can’t even hammer a nail into those things! But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for some BS Animal House poster for your wall decor; there is another way to show off your creativity and create a space that is both cool and easy to remove at the end of the year so you can get your security deposit back. Because that is a lot of money.

Enter: Paint Chip Art.

Paint chips – or paint samples, rather – are those little cards you can pick up from your neighborhood hardware/paint store. They’re out there for the taking so people can test out colors at home. But they’re good for more than just sampling colors; these free color palettes are perfect for decorating on a college budget.

I stumbled upon this eco-friendly decorating idea during class on Greenwala.com and was immediately inspired. I have big plans for the weekend (starting with a very important trip to Home Depot) and thought I’d share some of this inspiration with you. Decorating has never been easier! Read More »

Yeah, that's right. This cork board makes people want to party.

A dorm isn’t a dorm without the staple brown cork board on the wall. You post reminders of exams, pictures of your friends, phone numbers (of that hottie you just met!), and other important info on your life.

Problem is that the ugly brown cork board is a little bored. I know it doesn’t match the rest of your gorgeous room decor, so here is an easy and creative way to transform that ugly board into an artistic and functional piece of wall decor.

What You’ll Need:
*2 Sets of Cork Tiles: You can find these at Wal-mart, Target, or any office supply store. They usually come in sets of 4. You can make your cork piece as big as you want, but I usually use 8 tiles (so, 2 sets).
*Spray Paint: Use any color you want. The spray paint will be for the background color of your piece.
*Art Paint: Again, choose any colors you want. This paint will add accent colors and design on the cork tiles after they are spray painted. Skip this step if you prefer to have a plain color cork piece!
*Ribbon: Use any color/design you want. Just make sure the color of the ribbon goes well with the paint colors.
*Small paint brushes Read More »