My Last Undergrad Semester/Sorority Goodbyes/Formal

We're finally here.  We made it.  

My last semester of my undergraduate career.  

I graduate in 5 days.....

I may be going crazy.

I have been in school since I was four years old.  That's 18 years of education.  As my last semester comes to a close, I am left with so many feelings.  The first: relief.  I am quite done with school.  My whole life has been filled with lectures and exams.  & as so many of my peers are feeling, I too am battling senioritis.  All of the extra assignments my professors throw at me seem like literal attacks.  This semester has been one of my most challenging.  I honestly thought last semester was my most difficult, but I was wrong.  Spring 2014 has been very difficult and trying.  

I am also feeling quite a bit of sadness.  This was not just my last undergrad semester, but also my last semester as an active sister in Iota Delta Sorority.  I love my sorority and will miss seeing all of my sisters several times a week.  I am very glad that I can come back as an alum and still be part of the sisterhood.  I received two littles and a grandlittle this semester.  I am most sad about having to leave them before knowing them well.  I do feel very fortunate to be so close to them geographically and I know that I will see them often.

Here is a picture of my beloved Tiny Family, at our last ritual. 

Starting at the top right and moving clock-wise is my Big Alex, Auntie Jess, Grandlittle Karla, Little Carina, and myself.

 Only one of my littles was present for this.

Starting from the bottom and working up, my grandbig Ann, Big Alex, myself, Littles Carina and Alma, and grandlittle Karla. [My first little was not present].

5 Generations of perfection, after our Greek "Graduation"

My Big and I posing with our graduation caps.

Class of 2014♥.

This semester we also had our 26th annual Founder's Day Formal.  My big was in charge of last year's so we had very high expectations.

Our theme was 1920's Gatsby, and it lived up to it's name.

Here is a picture of my boyfriend Dave and I on the way to the hotel. ♥

A picture of my big and I posing in one of the mirror's in the bathroom.

I am including this picture to show her adoration for me!♥

& That's why we won Big and Little of the year, 2014!  We honestly really were hoping for this award. Her and I are completely inseparable.  We truly are a perfect match.  In our short time together, we have been through so many things, good and bad.  All of these things have helped us to become super close and thick as thieves. ♥

Our formal chair is also in charge of making senior pillows for those graduating.  Mine was spelled wrong, but is beautiful and actually goes with my bedding perfect!

Here is a picture of my first Little [or O.G. Little, as she's come to be known] at formal.  The even took place at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, California.  The venue was beautiful!  My dress was from a pin-up shop and was 1940-1950's style.  I did my hair in 1940's style victory rolls, and paired it with a handmade feather head piece and headband, in 1920's style.  Even though most of my outfit was not theme-perfect, I received a lot of compliments for dressing "to the theme".

This semester has been amazing.  No doubt I will be posting many more blogs about it.  Even though it has been so stressful, I know that my Bachelor's in Business Administration will make it all be worth it.♥

♥Riley

P.S. HUUUGE Congratulations to my biological younger sister who is graduating later today from High School!

Big and Little Week Crafts!

Big and Little craft time!!! :]

I've made sooo many crafts over the past couple of weeks. It's been crazy!

I was lucky enough to have gotten TWO littles this semester!! I now have triplets.  Which is intense. 

Anyways, here are some very simple ideas of crafts you can make littles or anyone else in your life!

For the first craft you will need:

• Clothespins [$1, Dollar Tree]
• Mod Podge [Michael's, Walmart, Hobby Lobby]
• Sponge brush, or another kind of cheap brush you don't care about
• All Kinds of Glitter. All kinds. 

 This is the simplest craft, I swear!! 

Take a clothespin and brush or dab on some mod podge!

Start sprinkling on the glitter!  Do this over a piece of paper or box that can collect the glitter.  This way you can pour it back into the container and save it for another time!

By now your clothespins should look like this! 

Actually, scratch that.  I did two coats of glitter and mod podge.  This is what yours will look like with two coats!

Two coats of mod podge allows more glitter to adhere to the surface of your clothespin.  It also helps to keep the glitter on.

I chose to do red and green glittered clothespins to represent my sorority, as our colors are forest green and red.

They're so cute.  They'd be perfect for holding pictures or cards!

On to the next craft!

You will need:

• Corkboard [Daiso, $1.50]
• Puff Paint [Michael's, Walmart, <$1 a piece]
• Pushpins
• Anything else you wish to use! [Glitter would have been mad cute!]

Take your corkboard and pick which colors you want to use, as well as what you want to write or draw on it.

I chose to do our sorority's name along with our motto.  I alternated our colors to make it more exciting, since it started out as the most boring brown thing.

That's literally all for the corkboard. SO. EASY.

This next one is pretty universal for any sorority, or special person in your life.

GIFT BASKETS!

Here are two baskets I made my littles. I like to go to the Dollar Tree for these because of the selection and the price is right.  I added flowers and easter grass for some flair.

Putting someone's favorite snack or candy is always a crowd favorite.  It's a perfect way to show that you care about them and what they like! Same with the flowers, I used my littles favorites!

I also made sparkly letters [as in their first intial], and made them door hangers! 

Here is a door hanger and a little flower frame I found and decorated for my little Carina!  

The door hangers I found at Michael's were uncomfortably expensive.  What I decided to do was to by foam sheets [they sell them in large packs with multiple colors for about $8], and cut them into door hangers.  I saved a bunch of money and now have a bunch of foam I can use for other crafts!

The flower frame is from Michael's as well.  I used paint, glue, and glitter to decorate it, as well as some puff paint to add her name. 

The door hanger is a great way to express your creativity while further showing your interest in this person.  You put stuff on it that represents them or their style, and it can be quite personal.

Here's the inside of another basket! [I ♥ Baskets!!]

Inside of it I put a cute pack of tissues, an adorable pocket mirror, a little teddy bear with hello kitty ribbon on it, a pen, and two easter eggs filled with loving notes.

Our big/little week is full of surprises for our littles.  They don't find out who we are until we've spoiled them!

I didn't want my littles to know for sure that they were twins, so I tried to switch it up a little bit. 

Instead of a corkboard I did a mirror!  I tried to make the colors more cohesive, and added more swirl detailing to this one.

Another picture of a basket, with a fishy plush!

This basket was filled with candy and bubbles!

Here is little Alma's door hanger, with a fish on it! :] 

In the back you can see the "A" I made for her wall.  It's so pretty in person, the glitter is amazing.

I made a lot more things, so hopefully I'll get to posting them too!

I hope this has been helpful :]

Are you in a sorority? Do you craft? Let me know! :]

♥Riley

Big & Little Season

The excitement is in the air! You can feel it building in all of the members, initiated and new.  Big and Little season is almost upon us once more.  

All of the girls have smiles on their faces and attendance is nearly perfect.

With each class of new members brings a new outlook on sorority, an excitement.  

This semester, my sorority has the Beta Beta pledge class.  We are all so excited for them to go through our process and grow to love the sorority as much as we all do. 

In this group of young college girls, are leaders. They all have the potential to get where they want to be and we are just the organization to assist them.

The most important assistance they will receive through these six weeks, and the rest of their life, is their Big Sis. You all have heard me talk about [praise and fawn] my big sis before.  I think she is an amazing young woman.  She really is going places and I cannot wait to sit passenger to her journey.  She's driven, hardworking, and smart.  There's not a thing in this world she could not accomplish.

I hope that I have been able to provide valuable guidance for my little.  I love her dearly and missed her sooo much during her semester abroad to Cheltenham, England.  She too is an amazing woman.  She's so open and friendly, but holds herself high.  

This picture, while completely unflattering of me, is of my entire sorority [minus a few] and our new member class.  In this picture might stand a new little, or grandlittle.  Someone new to love in my Tiny Family line.  

Even though I am a graduating senior, I have decided that I would love to have another little one.  We shall see if the Big/Lil gods favor me, but for now I will just sit and wish. :]  I already have one perfect little, who makes me smile everyday. & I am so proud of her for deciding that she would like a little sis.  

Whether or not we get new additions to our family, my line is already perfect, and going strong.  With this being said, I am feeling many things.  I think the best word to describe it is that I am nesting.  I feel like I need to make stuff for my new potential little/grandlittle.  I've already broken out all of my glitter and bought way too many new craft supplies.  

I will keep this blog posted on this, as well as posting some ideas for Big and Little crafts, old and new.  

Can't you just feel the excitement?

♥Riley 

P.S. If you are feeling any of these emotions, I would LOVE to hear from you! :)

Gemstone Letters!

I have been toying with several different ideas for letters recently. I am hoping to learn how to use my sewing machine soon.  I would love to be able to sew my own and have them look professional! 

For the time being though, I found a much easier and faster method that's fool-proof!  


What You'll Need:

• A shirt
• Gemstones or rhinestones with flat backs
• Paper
• Photocopier
• Scissors
• Aleene's Permanent Fabric Glue, or something similar
• Wax Paper

I had the shirt, gemstones, and fabric glue beforehand, so this project didn't cost me anything.  

This was the exact box of jewels I used, by Bead Landing.  I think it was like $7 or $8.  If you use a coupon you can save a couple dollars.  Also, this is my second project using them and I've barely made a dent in them! I got them at Michael's

http://www.michaels.com/Permanent-Fabric-Glue/gc2116,default,pd.html?cgid=products-generalcrafts-aleenes

^ Here is the link to the exact fabric glue I used.  I noticed on the website though that there are tons of different glues that would work well too, especially the Jewel-It Embellishing glue.  I'm not sure how much it costs, but I'd guess like $4 or $5. 

Here is what they look like when they're almost done! I don't have a picture of the finished product, but as soon as I do I will post it!

 Here was my rough draft on a black t-shirt.  You can tell the letters aren't straight, but I was just seeing how the gems would look on the front of a shirt!

 After much thought and some outside opinions I decided to make my letters on a white t-shirt. 

 I cut wax paper down to fit inside the shirt.  With this in the middle of the fabric the shirt won't seal itself shut.  I found that the shirt actually stuck itself to the wax paper instead, but it was easy to peel off. 

 This is with the wax paper inside of it.  You can't even tell, but it's there!

 When I was pursuing sewing my own letters, I made a stencil of them using cardstock.  The pink and green letters are what I had before.  I photocopied them. [for what I was doing it didn't matter if they were straight or not].

 Then I cut the letters out, leaving the white on the outside in tact.  This will serve as a stencil for the gems to fit inside of.  Since my letters are so straight [most greek letters are, actually] I wanted a stencil to keep the lines very straight.

 Before I applied these stencils, I actually took the green cardstock letters I had made and put on the shirt.  I then taped on the letters to the shirt to make sure they were straight and check the placement. Then I very carefully took off the shirt with the letters still taped on.  I put the white cut out stencils over the green cardstock letters and taped them down.  Then I took off the green letters.  This sounds a lot more complicated when I'm typing it, I swear! It was very simple, I was just being a perfectionist.  

Once the white stencils were taped down [even the little triangle that goes inside the delta] I started filling in the gems.  I wanted to make sure that the edges were filled in well, with minimum white spaces in between.

 I zoomed into this picture so it would be easier to see the entire set-up.  Also, because of my perfectionist tendencies and pride in my letters, there is a pattern to how I laid down the stones, though it's kinda hard to see if you don't know about it.  Also, you don't have to have a pattern at all.  I liked that you couldn't really tell I had a pattern, but all the colors were pretty well spaced out from another. 

Here's a different angle of the same step as earlier!

Once I had all the letters down where I wanted them, I started gluing them in. 

I used Aleene's Permanent Fabric Glue for this project.  I picked all the gems up one at a time, placed a drop of glue on the back, and placed it down.  Then after a minute, I would apply a little bit of pressure to the stone, as the instructions direct you to do.  

I'm not going to lie, this took a long time to do.  Picking them up one at a time is time consuming, but you will for sure keep your pattern, and nothing will get messed up.  Try not to get any of the stencil underneath your gems, or the paper will tear when you take it off and you're left with little pieces of paper like I am.  [I think they will wash off].  Oh! I used Aleene's because I know from prior experience that it's very resistant.  Also, you can wash clothes after you use it, unlike Tacky Glue or other similar products.  I'm sure there's substitutes out there, but I know for a face that I can attest to Aleene's. 

 I used Aleene's to affix this Dragonair bag.  These aren't gemstones though, these are actual stones.  The decorative kind you can find at Michael's and Walmart.  They are really heavy.  & I am not nice to my bags.  Not a single stone has fallen off and I use this bag for my school bag.  

This was a present to one of my new member educators in sorority [our "mamas"].  I used the same decorative beads as before and glued them to a canvas bag using Aleene's.

I wouldn't suggest using a product unless I really knew it worked.  I have full faith! :]

Leave the letters glued down for at least the night.  I left mine on for the night and a good part of the next day.  Once they are dry, carefully tear off the stencil.  Then you need to take the wax paper off.  Mine had to be peeled off, because the glue stuck itself to it, but it wasn't a big deal.  Then your letters are ready to wear! You can't wash them for the first 10 days though.  I've never washed anything I've used Aleene's with, but I would guess that hand washing is preferred.  If your washing machine has a hand washing setting, that should work, if not wash them in the sink :]

Hope this was helpful! 

Please let me know if you try this out with greek letters or another design!

♥Riley

Life Update!

One of the reasons I was gone so long from posting was that my sorority had our summer retreat.  We did all kinds of activities that promoted bonding and getting to know each other even better.  It took place over a weekend at a sister's house.  We spent the night each night and we were far enough from school that we stayed there but not too far so that we didn't mind driving there.  It was really nice to see everyone there and catch up.  It was a bit overwhelming though.  My sister's are so loud! But we had a ton of fun! :]

With summer retreat brought the realization that school is really almost here.  It's the 23rd today and school starts the 26th.  Back to school time brings up a lot of feelings for me.  Mainly, anxiety.  I have always been a very nervous person.  I was an extremely anxious child.  I'm hoping that the anxiety will decrease a bit with the fact that I only have 3 days of school this semester.  Another much more confusing feeling is the one I got when I realized that this is my last year in school. Ever.  [If I don't go for my Master's, which won't be for a while anyways.]  I don't know how to be anything other than a student.  That sounds kind of silly, but I really don't.  My family kind of discouraged me from getting a job until I finished school. [So I didn't get any experience, and now it's harder to find a job, but oh well.]  

I am also excited.  I've always loved back to school season.  The back to school clothes and supply shopping, the choosing of classes, seeing friends again.  I am very excited to see all of my friends again, but the truth is, I really am sad to see summer go.  My summer was two and a half months long and I wouldn't mind if they made is a little longer.  My classes this semester seem easy enough, and I know I have sisters in at least a couple of them.  

I am really excited to spend time this year with my best friends, sorority big sister, and sorority little sister.& of course my blood sister, but it's much easier to see her!  

My best friend Hayah and I need to spend as much time as possible this year. & every year! She keeps me sane.  She knows me.  We do the funnest things together.  She's my Disneyland pal!  A year ago we worked out our schedules so that we could go to Disneyland 3 times a week! [We don't live that close to it either!]  This year she's transferred to another school, so it'll be a little more difficult to go now, as we are on opposite sides of the park.  

I've mentioned it before, but Hayah is Muslim.  I only bring this up because it brings up the idea of marriage.  I know that she will be getting married soon and that I also want to get married in the near future.  This doesn't mean that we won't see each other, it just means that things will be different [hopefully for the better!] Her and my boyfriend Dave get along really well and we all spend time together often.  I know that we need to make the most of this time and spend as much of it together as possible! ♥

I also can't wait to spend time with my big sis Alex!  [It's very weird for me to call her by her first name!!]  Even though she is my "big" sis, I am older than her.  But I'm a year behind in college, so we're both graduating in Spring of 2014.  We've had almost a year together now as Big and Little.  I always have so much fun with her.  We're very different but we also have a ton in common.  She is so accepting and never holds anything against me. We can talk about anything and know that it won't be shared with anyone it shouldn't be.  

My Big is going to be less involved in campus life this semester and I'm super excited about it.  Senior year is stressful enough as it is without having positions in sorority and the campus activities board [aka she ran the school lol], which is what her Junior year was like.  With all of her newly opened time we're going to spend loads of time together! :] She also has a Disneyland pass! So we'll be going there a lot this semester.  ♥

Aaaand finally my Little.  Last semester I got a little sister in sorority and I'm too excited about it still.  I semi-stalk her.  But in a loving way I promise!  I won't get to see her this semester at all, at least not in person.  She's studying abroad in England.  I'm extremely excited for her!! But I'm sad to see her leave so early into our relationship.  The bright side: It's only for one semester! I'll get to spend a bunch of time with her in January term and Spring term next year!

Just thought I'd update you guys a little into what is going on in my life right now!
♥ Riley



P.S. Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog posts!

My Sorority: Discovering IΔ

I never thought I would actually be part of a sorority.  I always wanted to be, but I didn't think it would happen.  I'm nerdy, lack self-confidence, and don't normally have too many friends.  I've never really been a "popular" type kid.  Never the prettiest or the best at anything.  But I have always been me. 

Last fall I transferred from Mt. San Antonio College, which is a junior college, to the University of La Verne, my dream school.  ULV is a tiny little college in a tiny little city.  Even though it is small, it has four different sororities on campus.  All four of them are very different.  I attended three out of the four's recruitments hoping to find my place at ULV.  I found that I really didn't fit in at two of the sororities and almost had given up when I found the third.  Iota Delta had some of the prettiest girls I had seen around campus, but more importantly, I had seen them.  It seemed like the I-Delts were everywhere on campus, always smiling and having fun as they ran the school.  

Everyone in their organization was so nice to me I thought, "Oh man, they must all hate me."  But it turns out it wasn't that way at all.  I looked around the room and saw uniqueness.  They were all so different, but similar at the same time.  They were quiet and loud, tall and short, outspoken and shy.  I figured something great had to have brought such differences together.  

I couldn't believe it when I got my bid.  My heart wouldn't let me.  I couldn't believe that they actually wanted me.  I said yes in a heartbeat. 

It was once I began my new membership process that I realized what brought all these amazingly unique girls together: their core values.  Seven in number, they define each of us equally.  We're a local sorority, and we have such high standards because we prefer quality over quantity.

I am so glad that I met all of these wonderful women.  They are all amazing, each and every one of them.

 Beautiful ladies at our annual Bowl for Breath philanthropy event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

 A more recent picture of our entire sorority.

Me in my letters! In Iota Delta, we earn our letters, and we are more proud of them than any others.

My pledge class after our initiation. Love each and every one of these girls to pieces.

 A picture of my Tiny family!

 Another Tiny Fam picture.

I love IΔ.

Even though I have only been a member a little while, I have learned so much.

There is so much love and support carried with those two little letters.

Alpha Psi Pledge Class

Each and everyone of these girls has my back, and I have theirs.

Δ♥,

Riley

P.S. I'm thinking about making this a series of posts about my sorority. Thoughts? Are you in greek life?

Puffy Painting Tips

How to Puff Paint like a Champ!

As a proud member of a sorority, granddaughter of a tole painter, and daughter of a certified sign painter, I pride myself on my puffy painting skills.  And I do mean skills.  I grew up with one of the worst, illegible hand-writing styles imaginable.  It took years for teachers to finally understand what I was writing, and learn that I actually had something to say.  

But enough about that, let's get to puff painting! Read the BOLD letters to cut down on length!

1. Always shake the bottle.  Shake it so that the tip is facing downward [with the cap on].  Try to get all the paint down to the tip so that no air will be in the tip and cause it to make a mess of your paint.
2. Practice on something worthless/Made of plastic.  Things made of plastic will normally let you peel off the paint if you don't like your finished product.
3. Work top to bottom and left to right. This will help to make sure you don't drag your hand through your masterpiece.  It can be completely heart breaking.
4. Invest in some gold puffy paint.  This is a really specific tip, but I've found that when in doubt, use the gold puffy paint!  It looks good on almost anything and can really class items up. 
5. Outline what you want to do.  If working on plastic, practice on paper first.  If working on fabric, outline your work in marker, preferably a washable type.
6. Find the middle of what you are doing. Especially when dealing with words.  Count the letters and find what goes in the middle.  Then start with that letter and work your way out.
7. Learn the ideal amount of pressure you need to put on the bottle.  Squeezing too hard or too little will just mess things up.
8. Don't do everything in one movement. It'll work loads better if you take your time and make multiple strokes.   Below is a picture I found that kind of illustrates what I mean by multiple strokes.

I really do get compliments on my puff painting. The only reason I brag? It's a pretty useless skill outside of the world of crafting and sorority.

My grandma taught me how to paint letters with an actual paintbrush.  You can't just jump right in and use it like a pencil.