[Ever see something you want but don’t have the money to buy? Ever get sick of studying/watching TV and have the urge to get crafty and make things on your own? We know! Us too! We just don’t know where to start, which is why we got some of CollegeCandy’s craftiest writers to share their favorite DIY projects with everyone. So get to your nearest craft store for the essentials and let’s make some fun sh*t.]

Okay, maybe “new” is not technically true. But hear me out.We all have that old once-loved pair of perfectly worn-in shoes that are still perfectly functional but are (a) out of fashion, (b) scratched up, or (c) both. Such shoes can often be found at the back of the closet, in hopes that their exteriors will suddenly heal and they will rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes of their fashion faux pas.

But there’s a solution! You can revamp them!

“That’s retarded,” you say. “I mean, yeah, I can take them to a tailor to get them revamped–if I want to spend $80.”

“Listen,” I reply, “for you are the one who is retarded–you can fix them up yourself!”

How? Two words: spray paint.

I ain’t freakin, I ain’t fakin’ it: spray paint works great on leather shoes. Plus, metallics and neons, both of which are very in right now, are two very available spray paint colors. So grab a can of spray paint (or two, if you’re feeling really creative!) and follow these instructions for your new pair of shoes! Well, new for all intents and purposes.

(1) Find the right place to create your masterpiece. You should set up next to an open window (you don’t want to asphyxiate, right? the fumes are pretty toxic). Spread out some newspaper or old magazines so you don’t stain the floor. And, I mean, REALLY spread ‘em out–don’t underestimate the distance spray paint can spray.

(2) Double-check that the window is open.

(3) Shake your spray paint in the can for about 2 minutes to really loosen up the paint.

(4) Stuff more old newspaper inside your shoes. This helps it keep the shape and also keeps paint from getting on the interior.

(5) Take your sad old shoes and spray the heck out of them. Try to keep the coats of paint steady and consistent. Spray quickly to keep the paint from dripping.

(6) Let it dry for a half hour.

(7) Repeat step 5. Cover that muthaflippa!

(8) Put your shoes outside (if you can’t, put them right next to an open door or window). Let them dry for about four hours, give or take an hour. You want to make sure that they’re dry enough that, when you touch them, no paint comes off on your fingers.

(9) Once they’re completely dry and you’ve brought them back inside, you can remove the newspaper from inside the shoes.

(10) Wear those puppies! Await compliments on your new shoes!

[Image courtesy of http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/]

Seriously. There are a lot of us who actually ENJOY meeting – and dating – this special breed of douche.

Okay. I might be EXTREMELY overgeneralizing here, but I have seen a wide range of chicks fall for guys who treat them like absolute sh*t. I’ve seen girls who stick with their sub-par lovers for years and can’t give you a straight answer as to why they put up with it.

I probably fall into this category as well; nice guys like me all the time, yet I constantly shy away from them in favor of their more dramatic/mysterious/douchebag-y counterparts.

This might be like flossing a dead horse – or watching a Tina Fey as Sarah Palin SNL skit (again, not that I’m complaining!), but seriously, why the hell do nice guys finish last? And whose fault is it, really?

A few of my theories :

1. Girl mistakes cockiness for confidence. Because we live in an individualistic society that stresses the importance of CONFIDENCE and SELF-ESTEEM and GOING FOR THE GOLD (no matter how you get there), it is totally possible to perceive straight-up cockiness as a public display of confidence. However, in the case of the A**hole, the guy isn’t just confident – he’s practically narcissistic. He basically feels NOTHING for any other human beside himself. So, by the time the Nice Girl realizes said dude will never care about anything other than his hair, his car and sticking his you-know-what into every willing hoo-ha in town, she’s already said the “L-word” and picked out future children’s names.

2. Girl thinks she can change the bad boy. Women are natural nurturers. We like to take care of stuff, like our best friends and our nails and our MAC makeup collection. We play therapist to most everyone in our lives. It makes us feel good to make other people feel good. So, when Nice Girl meets a guy who has some issues – like being unable to emotionally connect with other people, and/or maintain a solid relationship, or has cheated on past girlfriends – Nice Girl always thinks that SHE is obviously the one who can change the A**hole’s deviant ways. Realistically, she knows this isn’t true. But we all want to believe that we are that special girl.

Eventually though, Nice Girl learns that A**hole will never change, but she sticks around because she’s still in love with the concept of who A**hole COULD be, if he only stopped hanging out with that crowd/gave up drinking/got a new job…none of which will ever happen. Girl digs A**hole because she genuinely believes that underneath all the B.S. there is a knight in shining armor just BEGGING to be set free and show up on her doorstep with a bottle of red wine and a copy of “Baby Mama.” There’s not.

3. Girl lacks confidence. Of course, we can’t blame EVERYTHING on the A**hole. According to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, “we accept the love we think we deserve.” I don’t think I could have said it better. Sometimes, we find ourselves attached to the A**hole because we don’t believe that we can find anyone else, or perhaps we don’t even know anything better exists. It does.

4. Chivalry kinda sorta scares Girl. Although Girl doesn’t want to admit it, being treated well sometimes feels kind of awkward. When we go out with a Nice Guy, we know he’s going to do all the “typical” gentleman-ly stuff, like open our car doors and hold our hand while walking down the street. Sometimes, this is just plain weird and makes us feel kinda funny. Nice Guy virtually loses all unique points when he acts like this because Nice Guys all. act. the. same. way. They wait too long to make a move, they call too often and they are just too damn nice.

5. Girl likes the chase. Seriously, who doesn’t? Sometimes Nice Guys are just too easy. We like it when guys don’t give in to us right away. It’s exciting and it gives us something to daydream about when we’re bored in English Lit. Lame? Yes. Understandable? Definitely.

6. Finally, sometimes A**holes just really know how to play the game. They can thoroughly convince us that they are indeed a Nice Guy when the complete opposite is true. When our friends start to point out several signs of their douchebaggery, we have a “talk” with A**hole and he convinces us that our friends are batsh*t crazy and watch too much Sex & the City and that we have nothing to worry about. The A**hole will do anything he can to prevent Nice Girl from seeing his true colors….and he’s damn good at it, too.

That’s all I got. What do you lovely CC readers think – why do girls like assholes?

[Photo from kit haselden's flickr]

And I know you think I’m just being melodramatic, but I was legit depressed. Not for a lack of jeans, I have a great variety in my closet. But I ONLY wore these two pairs. The rest are a size too big, or a size too small; these babies have always been just right. And I’d never entertained the thought of having to give ‘em up.

So, I decided to take the next logical step: deny the hole, and continue to wear the jeans. Unfortunately, the hole that I was now modeling garnered more attention than I’d anticipated. After a few “Are those crotchless jeans?” I knew it was necessary to fix ‘em, or nix ‘em.

Had I know about Denim Therapy, my next step would have been easy and my denim-life would be sweet right now. Denim Therapy specializes in reconstructing torn or damaged jeans with some shnazzy technique not possessed by tailors.

But this genius entity was useless to me a few months ago, because nobody told me about it! So, I took my wounded babies to my ordinary tailor, who we will now refer to as The Devil. Well, The Devil told me he could fix them—no prob.

I returned three days later to pick them up. And after The Devil inappropriately asked me if the jeans had ripped because I had “thick thighs,” I jetted home to try them on.

The Devil totally screwed me.

The problem: one-inch holes on the inner thigh of the jeans. Satan’s solution: he decided to cut out the entire crotch—and replace my premium denim with some cheap, stiff material, which also happened to be 5 shades darker than my jeans. How heinous is that shit!? Basically, if I wore the jeans, I’d looked like I pissed myself.

If you, too, have an evil tailor, I’d turn to Denim Therapy to fix up your beloveds. Your jeans will get a hell of a lot more attention from the pros at DT than they would at any tailor. Each pair of jeans is evaluated to determine the proper method of reconstruction. Then, Denim Therapy uses “a unique reconstructive technique that places new cotton fibers into the existing denim fabric to replace the undesirable holes.” Yep, that means no patches!

And, it only costs $7 per inch of holes or damage, plus shipping. I paid $30 per pair of now-ruined jeans.

Please learn from my mistake, because your prized jeans deserve more than a tailor’s touch.