DIY No Crease Hair Tie and Giveaway

I am sure all of you have grown to know and love no crease hair ties (aka emi jays) and I too am very fond of them. However, I think the price tag is a little steep for such a simple product. I have been making my own hair ties for the past two years and I am excited to finally getting around to sharing the process with you!

Many of you have probably seen this tutorial before but I wanted to share how I do this anyway!

I have used both patterned and plain elastic and both turn out equally as cute! The best and cheapest place to find the fold over elastic you need to make these hair ties is etsy! When you go to etsy type "fold over elastic" into the search bar and a plethora of the product will come up!

What you will need:

fold over elastic

ruler

scissors 

lighter

What to do:

1) Take your elastic and measure a piece to 9 inches (this can vary depending on your preference but I like this length).

2) Cut elastic, I find it easiest to cut all of it at once and then complete the next steps.

3) Fold the piece of elastic in half  and tie a knot.

4) Now take your lighter and turn it on (I don't know how you would properly say to make a flame appear so we will go with that) and run it across the ends of the tied ends to avoid fraying.

Ta Da you have just created your own No Crease Hair Ties! Super easy and fun and they make amazing gifts for friends!

Want to win your own set of these hair ties made by me?

There will be two different winners! 

One will win the pink set and the other will receive the purple set!

To Enter:

follow me via Google Friend Connect

and

leave a comment telling me your favorite color (doesn't have to be pink or purple, just in general)

dWa

Prep In Your Step Art

I am excited to have this post up at a normal time! My past two posts were both uploaded at odd times because of how incredibly busy I have been lately but I am glad that I have been sticking to my resolution of blogging every weekday even when life is hectic!

One thing I love to do when I get stressed (aside from blogging) is paint! As a lot of you may know, I have an etsy shop filled with fun canvases that I have painted! The focus of most of the art in my shop is essential wardrobe pieces that I love to incorporate into my outfits!

I have recently added some new canvases and wanted to share them with my precious followers seeing as y'all probably love preppy pieces considering you are following my blog!

If you are interested in looking at more of my paintings and my etsy shop then click here!

This is my new favorite! Combining four articles of clothing into one painting is so cute and such a statement for any room! This canvas is fully customizable and can be done with any clothing article or colors!

Tory Burch Revas, my ideal pair of black flats!

What girl doesn't love nail polish? I have one of these sparkly Essie inspired canvases hung up in my bathroom!

If you like some of these canvases then stay connected with my shop because I have many more pictures of new designs for paintings that have yet to have been uploaded!

dWa

My favorite iPad Apps, What are your favorites?

As some of you may remember from my Christmas post, I received an iPad for Christmas! I absolutely love its size and convenience! I have already discovered quite a few Apps that are great and I would love your suggestions about your favorite apps as well!

Ignoring the preinstalled apps that come on every device, I am going to share which apps I already have installed!

The Lucky Non-Foldered/Use ALL of the Time apps are Gmail (for my blog) and Pinterest (Dorothy W.) ! If my iPad counted which apps were used the most it would definitely reassure me that those get the most attention!

Folders:

Social Networking:

1. Twitter- I love using twitter as a tool for blogging and I think it is a great way to inform others of new posts and announcements! My twitter is @prepinyourstep if you are interested in following me.

2. Facebook- This is pretty self explanatory, who doesn't love Facebook!

3. Instagram- Another tool I utilize as a blogger, I love taking photos and looking at other peoples photos! My instagram is prepinyourstep!

4. Snapchat- Selfie heaven!

5. Blogger- Obviously this is one of my favorites since blogging is a major part of my life! I love how convenient it is to blog anywhere and have really enjoyed writing posts on my iPad!

Shopping:

1. Ebay- Recently I have really been liking ebay. You can find some super awesome deals on here! My best deal so far has been a signed Essentially Lilly Book for $17!

2. Etsy- Obsessed!

3. Polyvore- while this isn't really "shopping" I think it is best classified in this folder!

4. Nordstrom

5. Rue La La- My favorite of all flash sale sites! If you would like to join you can do so here!

Noise:

1. Youtube- I would love to know why they deleted youtube from preinstalled apps but nonetheless I enjoy watching some youtube videos through this easy to navigate app!

2. Netflix- I love Netflix! As ridiculous as this sounds, some weekends I will watch Netflix on my iPad while I type blog posts on my computer! Netflix has amazing shows-5 seasons of Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie, DC Cupcakes, and countless others!

3. Pandora- I have stations for everything and don't know what I would do without pandora, Love!

Productivity:

1. Cloud On- This is absolutely amazing if you are a student who uses Microsoft products! This is a free app that connects with drop box and encompasses multiple Microsoft programs. I love this for note taking!!

2. Drop Box- Perfect for sharing documents between multiple workstations without having to email documents back and forth!

Now I need your help! Like I said earlier, I absolutely love blogging from my iPad but I have yet to find the perfect app to easily read my favorite blogs on the go! If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

dWa

New Year Resolutions

I know what you are thinking, this seems really late! However, better late than never right! Although this month is half way over I still have plenty of time to continue working with my resolutions and I hope they give you a few ideas!

I figured that as a blogger it seemed fitting to have both online and personal goals set in place!

Online Goals:

1) Blog Every Week Day: This can be extremely difficult with my hectic schedule during the school year as well as my 2 month duration of time at camp. This is definitely going to take a lot of planning on my end but I know that I will feel incredibly accomplished if I am able to achieve this!

2) Comment On More Blog Posts: One of the highlights of my day is to check my email to see if anyone commented on my post for the day! Knowing how much each comment means to me has inspired me to comment on more blog posts! The blogging community is such an uplifting and positive place and I hope my comments contribute to that atmosphere.

3) Inspire Others: I love receiving emails stating that I was the inspiration behind anthers blog! I loved it so much that I wrote an entire scholarship essay about it! Knowing that yo have impacted anthers life in a positive way is such a great feeling!

4) Wish People Happy Birthday on Facebook: I know this probably sounds very silly but I love looking through Happy Birthday wall posts at the end of my birthday and seeing that small gesture! It may take all of two seconds to type in Happy Birthday but it never fails to put a smile on my face!

Personal Goals:

1) Accept Everyone: Everyone struggles with comparing themselves as well as judging others. I hope to not get caught up in this and instead accept everyone for who they are considering I have no right to judge them! A subcategory of this resolution is that I want to give more compliments! An easy and kind way to brighten up the worst of days!

2) Be Spontaneous: I am an organized and neat person and it seems that my life revolves around a schedule. This year I hope to be a little more spontaneous, it is times like those that create the best memories!

3) Worry Less: I am definitely a stresser. When things are out of my control I become a worried mess! I need to recognize when situations are outside of my control and teach myself how to avoid worrying about them!

4) Save More: With college right around the corner I am hoping to put more money in my bank account. Especially with graduation and a job at camp coming up this year I am hoping to make my bank account a little bit fuller and my spending a little bit hungrier!

5) Be a Role Model: This one is similar to my online goal on inspiring others but I want to be a person and conduct myself in a manner that is worthy of recognition. I hope that others are able to see me as a role model and that my actions reflect this resolution!

What are you working on this year?

dWa

Miss Lucy's Monograms Review and Giveaway

Remember the fabulous posts this past year giving away a monogrammed rain jacket and a monogrammed spa wrap? Well, these fabulous giveaways from Miss Lucy's Monograms are continuing this year as well!

I know that for many people, their New Year Resolution is to become more organized. The thing that is usually forgotten with that resolution is that it can easily be played into traveling. When you are on vacation your suitcase and toiletry bags can easily become disorganized. One way I like to keep my toiletries organized is by storing all of my makeup in my monogrammed waffle toiletry case!

These bags are great because not only do they hold a ton of stuff but they also have a lined inside that makes cleaning easy! I love the open pocket on the inside of mine and I use it to store my makeup brushes when I travel. Aside from the pocket, the rest of the bag has plenty of room to store any makeup I may need to take when I travel!

This bag is available in 9 different colors, has close to 50 monogram fonts, and ample embroidery colors to chose from! 

Want to win your own? Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

dWa

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

Since school is starting back for me today it seems fitting to share with y'all what wakes me up in the morning. As you will soon see, I LOVE coffee and nothing beats Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Vias. I stocked up on these right when they came out and I hope to get a few more before this holiday delicacy takes a year off.

For my perfect cup of coffee all you need is:

Mug

milk (% of your preference)

Peppermint Mocha Starbucks Via (1/2 of one packet)

Optional but recommended:

Coffee Mate Peppermint Mocha Creamer

Whipped Cream

Peppermint Sprinkles

To begin you follow the directions provided by Starbucks Via:

(heat up milk in microwave)

Next you add half of a Via packet into your milk and stir it up.

Add a splash of Peppermint Mocha Creamer to your mug and stir that together.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkles and get ready to enjoy!

What is your favorite way to prepare coffee?

dWa

DIY Monogram Acrylic Tray

Today, as you may have noticed from the title, I have an exciting and fun Do It Yourself for y'all to try! I have had this post ready for a while now but can finally show y'all since Christmas has passed and these items were gifts!

For starters, order or head to your local organization store (I ordered from the container store) and purchase some lucite trays, whichever size pleases you. Also, head on over to etsy and order monogram decals!

Clean the surface of the tray and then begin to apply monogram decal.

Tear away top sticker (apply the decal).

And TA DA you have a beautiful monogrammed tray that costs about $11 depending on the size tray you purchase.

Here are the three I have done! I use mine to store everyday jewelry so I am not just setting it on my bathroom counter when I go to shower. 

I hope y'all are inspired to make your own monogrammed tray since it is so easy and requires very little effort!

dWa