Back to School: DIY Pencil Pouch

It's back to school season and I thought I would try to make something that fit along the theme of back to school. I start school in a few weeks, but I know there are a lot of people already starting school, and also people that are well into the school year in places like Australia. 

Here is a very simple video tutorial that I followed to create my pencil pouch. One adjustment I made was that I added a lining on the inside, which you can see in the pictures of me following the steps below. 

The denim material I used came from some extremely large jean shorts I found in Old Navy for only 47 cents!

Good luck to those of you going back to school!

~Angela

Exploring nail designs

 I have this amazing roommate named Sara whose hobby is nail art and I was lucky enough to have my nails painted by her! Even though she has a had a few years of practice, it became obvious to me that professional looking nails don't always require professionals. All you really need for nice crisp lines or intricate designs are some nail tape, nail pens, and patience. You don't have to spend tons of money on different colors if nail art isn't your thing, just get black, white (the basisc colors), and two or a few nice shades you know you will personally use.
Hope you guys are having a great summer and if you want more information on how exactly this was done, I will be updating this post in a few days.


~Angela

Harvard Dorm Tour & QUICK DIY

This summer I have been a part of the Harvard's Residential Summer School Program for high school students. Basically I traveled across America from Washington State to Boston, but there are a bunch of amazing and friendly people that I have encountered in this program which is really great. For example, I have a roommate from Italy and China. Also I have met great students from Columbia, South Korea, Poland, Germany, Indonesia, and many more. The best thing about doing summer programs, I personally think is that you no one really knows anyone else, and everyone is super friendly and open.
I know I have been inactive for a while, but I will continue to post weekly in the Hope this gives you guys a taste of how the freshman door of Harvard are like.

BUT FIRST: The quick DIY wall decor
literally all you need is poster putty and a bunch of coins.
Next, all you have to do is stick some putty on the back of a coin and stick it on the wall. It is actually really sturdy and if you ever need money for laundry, you know you have at least some spare change to fund yourself.

 desk area, with the most random wall decor: coins stuck with poster putty

the bed situation, it feels so empty and I might get some photos to decorate soon

the grid print blanket was from target, and although I love it, I kind of regret using up so much space in my luggage.

you can actually stick a lot of random things with poster gum... this is what my roommate did when I wasn't looking . But I guess it also kind of looks like cool collage art?

its not that grand, but it's pretty comfy and here's another angle for you to enjoy (:

My desk which is usually unorganized, but somewhat clean in this image. 

closet, and what few hangers I have

Hope everyone's summers are going well, and if it isn't summer where you are living, hope you are still enjoying some fun times with friends!



~Angela

DIY: Embroidered Quote T-shirt

Hello there,

Hope you guys are ready to make something. Once again I have been inspired by pinterest, tumblr, etsy, instagram, and etc. to create a DIY project.
Today I'll be showing you how I embroidered this t-shirt, which I later gave to a friend as a birthday present.
The best part about embroidering is that once you know how to pull a needle through fabric there is no limit to what quote you can put on your shirt.
Overall, embroidering quotes is super simple and easy, and I will definitely be creating more shirts with quotes for myself in the near future.
Here are the things you will be needing:

• Plain T-shirt
• Black embroidery thread
• embroidery needle
• Washable pen or marker

* to be honest I used a regular needle and thread, but had to make the stitches thicker.

 

Step 1. Place the embroidery hoop where you will be putting your quote.

If you have never used an embroidery hoop before it is really simple: Place your fabric over the small inner circle, then put the outer ring over the fabric and press until the bottom ring is snug inside the outer ring. Tug the corners of the fabric slightly to make the fabric taunt – make sure this is as tight as possible so the fabric won't slip out of the hoop. Tighten the nut or screw securely.





 Step 2. Find a quote to use, and with a washable pen or marker to write down the quote as a guide.
*It will make it easier for you to follow along with a needle if you use mostly straight lines

Step 3. Embroider based on your guide. 

 

When you are finished, just remove your hoop, wash your shirt, and you are ready to put it on or give it a friend.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post and try out this simple DIY.

Keep on crafting!

 

~Angela

 

Liebster Blog Awards

Hi guys!
I know it's been a while since my last post, but school, sports, volunteer work, and academic registrations have been keeping me rather busy these days.

Anyway, I was nominated by the amazing Bec to participate in the Liebster Blog Awards. Thank you so much for the nomination and I hope you don't mind that this post took so long.

Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog.

2. Answer the questions given by the nominator.

3. Nominate some other bloggers who have less than 200 followers and link them. (It's totally okay if they have more!)

4. Notify the bloggers you've nominated.

5. Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer. (Have fun!)

Answers (:

1. What's your favorite item of clothing you own?
~ Probably my chunky knit cardigan(s) just because they're warm and stylish (or at least according to me). This was kind of a hard question, because I have a lot of clothes, but I guess I wear cardigans the most.
 

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be? Why?
~I really want to travel to Rome because of all the amazing artworks from throughout history. Currently I'm taking a class where we learn about all of these art works, and I am dying to see them in person. Also the food there sounds amazing!

3. Who's your blogging inspiration?
~ I am extremely inspired by Joy from Oh Joy, (totally stalking her on instagram) and the lovely blogs : abeautifulmess, apairandaspare, ispydiy. There are many more, but I was mostly inspired by pinterest because I am online all the time and I love all the crafts they DIY. All of these amazing crafting bloggers are out of my league (at the moment) and they truly inspire me to be more creative and make more art.

4. If you could only use one makeup product for the rest of your life, what would it be?
~ BB cream, since it usually has SPF for sun protection and keeps you face all moisturized.

5. What your favourite post you've made so far?
~My marble planter DIY post, first of all because it was super fun to make, and second of all I think it is my most "famous" post. Especially on pinterest, I was surprised by the positive response (:
6. Where do you see yourself (and your blog) in a year?
~ I'm hoping that I will be able to post more consistently and increase my quality in images, content, and also viewers.
7. Do you prefer instagram or tumblr?
~INSTAGRAM. Mainly because the stuff I put on there is my own actual content, to me tumblr is more like an unorganized pinterest and I just keep on reblogging. That doesn't mean that I'm ever going to stop using both though. Oh yeah, also instagram is more interactive with followers and you feel like you're learning about real people and their creativity.
8. What's your all time favorite movie?
~ Wow this is hard. At the moment my favorite movie is probably Big Hero 6. Its a super cute, funny, sad, dramatic, amazing movie that pulls at all your emotions. Definitely go see it if you haven't already!
9. What's your favorite photo you've ever taken?
~ I have a few from my trip to New York a  long time ago. I think I was 9 years old when I took these pictures, but if you're in New York, every picture is photogenic, and I feel like this was the moment when I started being "artsy"  I remember my mom telling me not to just take pictures of just buildings and include people ( I didn't listen) otherwise, she said it would be like a post card.
10. What is the story behind your blog name?
~ Hahhaha, so I was taking a supplementary class during my summer vacation (blame my parents) to help me improve my score on the SAT ( a standardized test) and I got EXTREMELY bored. I always had thoughts of creating a diy crafting blog, so I just started doodling in my notebook. I guess the fact that I was in a sad college building at the age of 15 made me feel like a "mastermind" and I wanted to be punny with the word craft. So there you have it: The Crafteen Mastermind!
11. What are you excited for in the coming months?

~I cannot wait until spring break...... hmmm ...or maybe until the end of the school year? I have so many tests and more registration essays to look forward to so wish me luck. But I guess I am also excited for a singing competition I am participating in with my sister, and also some sports events.

I Tag

Bela - @abitamusingblog

Audrey - @hazelsunshineblog
Erin- @bobblegary
Georgia - @lilaclimes
Annie - @helloteatree.blog

Cutely Crafting - @cutelycrafting
Anyone else who wants to participate!

My Questions

1.Which blog post are you most proud of?

2. What inspired you to create a blog?

3. What is your favorite song / song stuck in your head right now?

4. What is your favorite snack?

5. What is your least favorite subject in school?
6. Where would you go if you could travel the world?
7. What are some things you like to do besides blogging/ spending time online?
8. What is your "spirit animal"?
9. If you had to eat the same thing everyday for the rest of your life, what would it be?
10. Do you have any siblings?
11. If you were the king of the world what new law would you pass?

Hope you guys enjoyed  learning a bit more about me, and  have fun answering some of these questions on your own!

~Angela
 

Green house photos,

Hello there,
Sorry for the long wait, but here are some shots I took with my friend last week. Hope you enjoy and get inspired to go on more adventures, take more pictures, and maybe explore nature!

 

 

I also experimented with photo editing using picsart. It is super fun and has some features available in photoshop, only it's free! of course photohop has more features, but if you are unwilling to spend money for cool pictures, I highly recommend you download this app.

As you may have noticed, almost all of my pictures are of my friend @radfoxes (on instagram). And most of the time I am taking a picure of her taking a picture of me, so all of her pictures are of me taking pictures of her. This is what happens when you and your friend enjoying taking photos (:

 

PS, here's a very rare picture of me posing for a selfie... as you can see I am not skilled in the art of looking directly at cameras

Hope you all have a lovely week!
~Angela

 

2 Quick Wall Decor DIYs

Hello friends and creative strangers!

Last week , I showed you guys the basics of my workspace and today I'll be showing you how I made the DIY wall art projects I promised a the end of that post.

These 2 wall décor ideas are extremely easy to recreate. Both can take less than ten minutes to create, or you can add on and make larger versions of each. Lets get started!

For the first DIY Wall Art project, all you really need is some tape and scissors.

 

-Here I used electric tape at first, but then ran out so I found some black duct tape that I cut to be the same width.

-A pencil for sketching is optional

 

 

Steps:

1. (Optional) go online, find some geometric design you want to recreate and sketch it out on your wall.

2. Start taping and cutting to create a complex geometric design, or create a picture, its your wall and your choice!

 

I just have some shots of the first few pieces of tape I laid out. For the rest, I just randomly created a geometric shape by starting and ending at different angles and different lengths. You are free to do whatever you want.

The best thing about this DIY, is that you can peel it right off your wall or make edits if you don't like the way it looks.

 

Now onto the second project:

Basically this is a huge collage board for inspirations or extra clippings you have from magazines. You can do anything as long as it makes you happy and you feel some sort of satisfaction with your end result.

 

Materials:

-magazines

-pictures

-quotes you like

-memorable tickets, or flat items

-a big frame or poster board

-glue

-scissors (they're your new best friend)

 

Steps:

1. grab a bunch of fun pics, and cut out your favorite pieces

2. glue it all down to a piece of poster board or a poster frame

3. display it

4.(optional, but highly encouraged) have a dance party by yourself, because congrats, you just made something cool

 





lets all pretend you didn't notice I reused this image



 

Hope you found some quick inspiration!

keep on crafting (and napping)

~Angela