Fun Crafts for Tweens - Make a Blue Jean Purse

Hey GirlMoguls, it’s crafty Daisy here, with another cool little craft you can make at home.  I bet you have a pair or two of old jeans lying around that you’re just not sure what to do with.  So why don’t you turn them into a cool purse that’s an expression of your own style.

Here’s how:

Step 1: using the waistband of the jeans as the opening, cut the legs off a bit longer than you want the purse to be.  If you have to go past the inseam, then just cut across and split the inseam – you can sew the flaps together later.

Step 2: Next  turn the jeans inside out, sew across the bottom of the legs to seal off the purse.  to seal off the bag.  You may have to sew up the inseam as well.

Step 3: Make your straps – cut strips of fabric from the remainder of the jeans to make the straps of the purse and then sew those onto the waistband.

Step 4:  To make a closing for the top, you could add a zipper, some velcro, or a button.

Step 5: Go glitzy – now it’s time to decorate your bag – add press on fabric jewels, patches and other fun stuff to make your bag truly cool.

Posted by GirlMogul Daisy

Posted by GirlMogul Daisy

jean-skirt-for-tweens

Staple #3 – The jean skirt – yup, one or two jean skirts – not too short, not too long.  Depending on how much flair you can stand check out ones with cool designs on the back pockets, or maybe some embroidery or stitching along the front.  Go for a darker wash – like indigo or dark blue. If you can stock up on more than one, then choose a lighter wash.

Staple #4 – The tank – a plain tank in a variety of colors –including white and black will go great as the bottom layers for sweaters or other tops – and in the first few hot weeks, might be all you need.  Don’t go skimpy on the straps though  – look for wider straps that won’t slip off.

Ok, so now that you have the basics down, next time I’ll talk about all the mixing and matching you can do create a totally fab wardrobe from these pieces.

Posted by GirlMogul Daisy

Posted by GirlMogul Daisy

Save on Back to School Clothes for Tweens

It’s back to school clothes shopping time. And that means most tweens are eager to hit the mall to check out and buy the latest styles.  You however have a budget to stick to.  So how can you save on clothes shopping this year?  Follow these tips for a budget friendly back to school shopping spree.

• Go Second Hand – Don’t be afraid to check out thrift shops and consignment stores, especially ones that specialize in children’s clothing.  You will be surprised at the quality of clothes and you may even find things with the original price check on it.  While this season’s latest styles may not be there, you might find some great deals on classics like jean jackets, coats and sweaters.
• Love those Hand Me Downs – Don’t limit yourself to the kids in your family.  Create a network of friends with slightly older (or bigger) kids who would be willing to pass along last year’s styles.  This way you’ll get gently used clothes that aren’t too out of date.
• Go Virtual – Use the internet to bargain shop.  If your tween finds a must have item in a magazine or a store, go online and try to locate it on sale or with some other incentives, like BOGO (by one, get one free).
• Basics Stock Up – Just like you wouldn’t pass up a great deal at the grocery store, keep an eye out for a chance to stock up on basic wardrobe items like tees, tanks and stocks.  You may find these throughout the year, or at end of season sales.  This way you will have the simple items covered and you can  allocate your clothing budget for more of the items your children really want.

The fall means back to school clothing shopping time.  By following these tips above, you can be sure your budget will stretch a lot farther.

Liked this article? Want more tween parenting advice and age-appropriate content for your tween daughter? Then sign up for the GirlMogul Girl Power List – girl power content for tweens, giveaways, and cool stuff for moms too

Win Amazing Prizes from GirlMogul.com

Hey GirlMoguls – it’s GirlMogul Daisy here, announcing our super-duper Prize-a-poolza!  To celebrate summer, we’re giving away a prize a week – super cool stuff like LipSmackers, iPods, cameras, books, sneakers, clothes, accessories….and other awesome things.   It’s simple to enter – just find the current contest, read the question and post an answer.   Winners will be chosen at random and we’ll notify you via email if you win….

Just keep checking the contests section of the site or to be the first to hear about newest contests,  just put your name and email in the spaces below and we’ll send you a weekly update:

Your Life as An Outfit

Hey GirlMoguls – we have a friend – Katia Raina , formerly of the Soviet Union and now an author and writer living in New Jersey.  As a girl growing up in a distant land (read more about her here), Katia believed in magic mirrors and the power of words.   She loves GirlMoguls of all ages and wanted to give you a shout out to all of you and post a question to you – read on and be sure to add a comment in the in the sections below.  We’ll pick a winner – randomly, and send them a gift card to the Justice….

Hey girl moguls! I wish there were websites like these when I was a tween! But when I was a tween (about twenty years ago), I don’t think there was even such a thing as a website.

Isn’t it funny how in those faraway ages you are learning about in social studies classes, the times used to move so-o slo-o-wly.  If you look at the earliest known civilization – the Sumerians – in the Middle East – or if you look at the Egyptians, how fast did their change happen? I actually looked it up in a book called “Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events.” In 3,500 B.C., the Sumerian writing consisted of about 2,000 hieroglyphs, or characters. A thousand years later – the number of characters used went down to about 550. In Egypt, meanwhile, in the year 4,000 B.C. they played harps and flutes. A thousand years later, they moved on to lyres and double clarinets.

I am not minimizing these people’s amazing progress, just saying everything took longer. Or maybe it just feels this way from the distance of many years?

Anyway, do you go through these changes, the way the world does? Do you find that when you were a little kid, you were always pretty much the same person over the years, but now the changes accelerate? Last year, were you super-shy and unsure, and then, did you become this hurricane, involved in everything, a friend-magnet, a science maniac?

I grew up half the world across from you, in the Soviet Union, a country that’s not even there anymore, at least not as a political entity. I’ve gone through all these changes in school. From introverted, scared-of-everything-and-everyone, I went to what my best friend and I gleefully called “the queen of the class” where suddenly I found myself in the middle of every friendship or intrigue you could imagine (please note, I did keep up with my grades at the same time! J) Then, another year passed, and I found myself on the fringes of  the school’s “cool society” again; spawned by my first love, laughed at by people I thought were my “comrades” . . . only I didn’t care that much . . . by then I was preparing for my move to America!!!

Change through life is natural as the shortening and lengthening of days through the year. It’s like we try on these personas as though they were costumes. The boy-crazy me, the driven me, the athlete me, the planet’s protector me, the book-obsessed me, the girl-mogul me. J Then, when we find the accessories we like, we keep them, and move on to another costume, until we construct an outfit that is uniquely ours.

For example, here is what I’ve got so far. If my life were an outfit, I’d be wearing jeans for the adventurist, jeans because I’m neither a doctor nor a lawyer, but I’d have some frilly little lace things and patches of faux leather stuck all over them. I’d be wearing a turtleneck sweater covered with writings and newsprint. Plus, glasses, for the nerd, the college student and the aspiring teacher that I am. Finally, my leather cap, to remind myself of my Soviet past, and my writing J  And my outfit would be smeared with chocolate and dusted with flour all over. Because, well, I am a mom of two, and I happen to love making desert on Friday nights – if I have time, that is J

How about you, girl-moguls? Now, fast-forward twenty years. What do you hope to be “wearing?

Tell us in the comments below and we’ll randomly pick a winner for a $25 gift card to Justice!

And you can read more about Katia at her blog - http://katiaraina.wordpress.com/

DIY Candy Stripe Lip Gloss Pouch

Hey GirlMoguls – we have another cool guest DIY post from Make it Ruby – so, get out your glue gun and get going…Girls, you have a new friend named Ruby here to show you some easy steps for a variety of DIY projects for your room, clothes, school locker and more. MakeItRuby.com is a destination web site created just for you. With materials readily found around the house, you’ll spend no more than $5 on each of these simple to make projects. Best thing yet, Ruby is all about her 3 R’s -reuse, renew, and repurpose – encouraging us all to be mindful of waste and challenging us to be eco-minded bffs.

“Candy Stripe Lip Gloss Pouch”

Ruby’s Tool Kit: all purpose tacky glue, scissors, recycled greeting cards, decorative jewels, hot glue gun, Safety First: Always have an adult supervise when using a hot glue gun

1.     Renew a small plastic make-up pouch that does not have decorative accents.

2.     Recycle your old greeting cards & cut out the design directly from the cards. Attach decorative design with an all purpose tacky glue.

3.     Apply decorative jewels with hot glue. Make sure to let them dry. Your BFF will be sure to scream when she sees her sweet holiday surprise.

XOXO

Ruby