DIY Flag Banner

Hey guys! It feels like forever since I last posted. School started on Friday (ew) so I guess I got caught up in the back-to-school frenzy. Sorry about that.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I'm trying to gradually re-decorate my room in a black and white theme. And I'm all for cheap DIY projects, so this little flag banner fit perfectly into both categories. As a bonus, it was very easy to do and I already had all of the supplies I needed and you probably do, too.

Speaking of supplies, all I used for this project was a piece of cardstock, a Sharpie, scissors, a ruler, a needle, some thread, and of course a little Pinterest for inspiration. If you have an aversion to drawing or don't feel like you're much of an artist, check out my Pinterest page here for some designs that you can print out and use for your flags. 

First, draw or print out your design (preferably on cardstock). Then, flip your paper over and draw triangles that are the same size on the back. The tops of my triangles were about 2.5 inches and the sides were 3.5 and I used 9 triangles to fill about 2 feet and 8 inches of space. If you want a different amount of flags, you can make them bigger or smaller, but I think my measurements are a pretty good default. Cut out your triangles.

Next, prepare your thread. Ribbon would also work, but I couldn't find any that matched so I doubled up some thread a few times and it worked just fine. Using scissors or a crafting knife, cut 2 small slits about half an inch from the top of the triangle and the same distance from either side. Then, take a flag and thread your string through one slit through the front and then from the back on the other slit (I used a needle for this step and it made everything a lot easier).  Repeat this step for the rest of the flags. 

Finally, hang your banner with a piece of tape on either side. Pretty straightforward, right?

I hope you enjoyed this project and I'd love to hear if any of you tried it!

How to Make Social Media Buttons for Your Blog

Even as a beginning blogger, I know how important social media is in order to get connected with other bloggers and grow your audience. Personally, I like when I can easily navigate to other bloggers' social media right through their home pages. That's where cute little social media buttons come in handy! If you've spent hours scouring the Internet for cute social media buttons that actually go with your blog design, you're probably pretty fed up with these buttons. I was! Then, I decided to create my own buttons that match my color scheme and took practically no time to make. Now I'm here to show you how to do the same thing.

Step 1


Find a  png of your desired social media logo. To find this one, I simply typed "Pinterest logo png" into Google. The background of your image should be a checkerboard, like in the screenshot above. This means that everything except for the logo will be transparent.

Step 2

Go to PicMonkey.com, and click on "design" at the top. The "canvas color" box will open up on the sidebar. Choose the box for a transparent canvas. Now is the fun part-designing your button! Choose the butterfly symbol over on the far left and use the overlays to make your design.

Step 3

Click on the "your own" button at the top of the overlays page. Upload your logo, change the color or size if needed, and add it to your button. 

Step 4

Next, click on "save" at the top of the page and name your button so you can easily find it later. You can resize your button here if you need to.

Step 5

Go to your blog and open up a new post. If you're going to be adding more buttons later, it helps if you name this post something like "Social Media Buttons" so you can use it again and know not to actually post it. Insert your image and highlight it, then click on link. Add the link to your social media account. Then, go to the HTML tab and copy the HTML code of your image. 

Step 6

Go to your blog layout and add a new gadget. Scroll down the list to find the "HTML/JavaScript" gadget. Add a title if you want, then paste your code into the content box. This step might be different for other social media platforms.

Step 7

Post your gadget and test it to make sure your link is correct.

Congratulations! You just made your own social media button. Simply repeat the process for an other social media account you need, then stand back and admire your handiwork!

The Liebster Award!

Exciting news! I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Kelsey at Leather & Lipstick and Toni over at ClarkCouture (thanks again)! I was pretty ecstatic to see that I'd been nominated because I'd seen some of these awards floating around and I thought it was a pretty cool concept. Basically, it's an award given to bloggers with less than 200 followers and it's a great way for small blogs to get a chance in the spotlight. Also, liebster means "dearest" in German and that's pretty adorable.

Here are the rules of the Liebster Award:

• You must link back to the person who nominated you. 
• You must answer the 11 questions given to you by the person who nominated you. 
• After completing these questions you must nominate 5-11 bloggers and give them 11 questions of your choice to answer. (Must have less than 200 followers)
• You are not allowed to nominate the person who nominated you.
• Make sure you let the nominee's know that they have been nominated and provide a link to your post for them, so they are able to learn about it. 

Soooo, here are the answers to Toni's questions:

1) Do you have any pets? If so, what are they? I have a betta fish named Marco (you can see him in this post), who I've had for about a year. He's a pretty cool fish. There's also a neighborhood dog and cat that hang around our house quite a bit, but I don't know if you count those since they aren't technically ours.

2) What is your best childhood memory? That's a tough one! Umm...I think my whole childhood is kind of my best childhood memory, if that makes sense. I've been blessed with a fun, crazy family, so there were never many dull moments. 

3) If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you spend your time doing? Another hard one. I'd spend a good bit of time with my family and friends, and then I guess I'd give try to make as many people as possible happy. Like giving away my clothes/money/possessions to those who need it. Nothing crazy, like trying to do every single item on my bucket list like they do in those movie montages!

4) What is your biggest fashion must-have? Well, I'm not super fashion-savvy, so I'd have to say a pair of basic skinny jeans. You can dress them up or down, plus they can be pretty comfy, which is one of the main things I look for in clothes!

5) What was your biggest fashion/beauty/hair error as a child? Ohhhh, just one? I guess my worst fashion/beauty/hair-crime would have to be my hair from about 5th-8th grade. My hair is super thick and has these weird wavy curls, so I didn't really know how to do anything with it (I'm still trying to figure it out). I resorted to terrible buns and braids and it was a bad time. 

6) What is your favorite food? Definitely pizza. Especially when my mom makes it from scratch!
7) You have 60 seconds in your favorite store, what do you grab and why?  My favorite store is probably Hobby Lobby, so I'd probably try and grab a bunch of paint, paintbrushes, those fancy Micron pens, etc. etc. I loooove arts and crafts (I'm a small child at heart), so 60 seconds in Hobby Lobby would be amazing.
8) What inspired you to become a blogger? I've always loved writing. I had a few blogs when I was younger, but they were mainly just viewed by my mom (thanks, mom). I guess it was just a combined love for writing, design, and of course the Internet that made me want to start blogging for real. 
9) Do you have any tips for new bloggers? I'm still a new blogger myself, but I guess I'd say to not give up. It may be discouraging when nobody reads your posts or you aren't getting any feedback, but be patient and keep blogging! It'll come eventually.
10) Do you have any bad habits? Of course. I pop my knuckles a lot and I mess with my hair way too much.
11) If you could have a dinner party with 3 celebrity guests, who would you invite and why? Jennifer Lawrence would definitely get the first invite, because she seems like she would be really fun to hang out with. Next would be Pope Francis, because he's pretty awesome. And last but not least, I would probably invite John Green because he seems like a really cool person. It'd be a pretty great dinner party.

Here are my nominees:
Good Girl Gone Brum
Polka Dots and Whiskers
Lipgloss and Glitter Drops
Aicha Vienne
Lasi Locks

Aaaand here are my questions for the nominees:
1) If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be and why?
2) What is your favorite TV show?
3) If you could have any job, regardless of money, to do for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4) What is your favorite past-time?
5) Are you a cat or dog person (or both)?
6) What is your favorite part of blogging?
7) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
8) What is your favorite song/band?
9) Would you rather live by the beach or in the mountains?
10) What's your favorite blog?
11) What's the best book you've ever read?

Thanks again to Toni and Kelsey for the nominations and happy blogging!

Free Calendar!

Hey guys! I apologize for my lack of posting...again. But good news, band camp has ended so I now have more time to do nothing all day! Hooray! 

I've been wanting to make some sort of free download for a while now (because everyone loves free stuff), so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity with August right around the corner. So here's my calendar! I know it's nothing spectacular, but it'll be better next time, I promise. If you want to download my calendar, click the link below and download it and print it out and all that jazz. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>download here!<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I'd be pretty excited (and quite surprised) if you guys do download it, so let me know in the comments if you do! 

In other news, I've recently made a grab button that's on my left sidebar with an HTML code if you'd like your very own Teenage Digest button for your blog. Who wouldn't??

Songs of the Week

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, band camp started last week and it goes from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon! It doesn't really leave much time for anything other than showering, eating, and sleeping. But fear not! I'm here today to bring you the songs I've been loving for the past week or two.


1) Best Shot by Birdy and Jaymes Young (this is my favorite from the The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, which is basically great all-around).
2) Cough Syrup by Young the Giant
3) All I Want by Kodaline (also from the TFIOS soundtrack)
4) Blew My Mind by Dresses
5) Love Runs Out by One Republic
6) Lost in My Mind by the Head and the Heart
7) Play With Fire by Vance Joy
8) White Teeth Teens by Lorde
9) Valarie by Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse
10) Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners

I have a weird, vast taste in music, so there should be a song for you here no matter your musical preference!

Let me know in the comments what you guys are listening to!

DIY Origami Light Boxes

I found these cute little origami boxes on Pinterest the other day, and I just had to try them. They're really easy to make and can add a little flair to any boring string of lights. After making a few of them, I decided to make a tutorial so you guys can make them, too!


1. Start with a square of colored paper. I used 1/4 of a piece of origami paper.
2. Fold it in half vertically and horizontally. Make sure to keep the colored part on the outside when you're folding.
3. Fold it in half diagonally, both ways.
4. Take the horizontal crease and fold it inwards (this is kind of hard to explain, but the picture should help).
5. You should have a triangle now.
6. Take the top flap of the triangle's side and fold it up so it lines up with the triangle's edge. Do this to the other side, and then flip and do it to those sides, too.
7. Your paper should now be a diamond shape.
8. Take the corners and fold them in until the tip is touching the center line. Do this to all sides.
9. Fold the bottom flaps up against the corners you just folded in.
10. Fold the flaps again, so they make a small triangle. Do this to all 4 flaps.
11. You should have a little pocket in the bottom of the corner you folded in step 8. Open up the pocket and tuck the flaps you just folded into it.
12. Do this to all 4 flaps.
13. Unfold your box so it's not flat.
14. Find the open end and blow into it to inflate.
15. Slip the end you blew into over a light bulb, and enjoy!

Sorry for my poor instructions. I'm pretty bad at explaining things. Oh well.

 If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll try to help!

Thoughts

source

These somewhat slow days of summer have allowed lots of time for me to do some thinking, mainly about my blog. When I first started the Teenage Digest (only about one or two months ago), I didn't really have any idea of what I wanted it to be. I like fashion and beauty and all that, but I'm not really an expert in those fields. I like DIY projects and crafts, but I don't want a blog based solely on those things. I like taking pictures, but I don't want photography to feel like a chore. I've been confused as to what I want out of my blog, how to gain readers, etc. etc. 

Then, when reading one of my all-time favorite blogs, Lauryn's Notebook, I came across a line that hit home:

"I'm simply here to document my teenage years and share my simple, undeterred love for writing."

That is exactly why I made this blog. To share about my life and interests and projects and to write. I should try to base my posts off of what I would like to read. My new goal for this blog is to simply do what makes me happy, and not stress out over silly things like followers or views. While it's nice to get feedback and everything, I'm content with my three-hundred-and-something views and my two comments. 

I just wanted to share those few thoughts with you, to maybe remind you of the joy that can come from blogging. 

Also, be sure to check out Lauryn's blog here. It's pretty great.
Hope you're all having a great day!