10 Easy Ways to Brighten up any Outfit

Have you ever wished your outfit could be a little less, dull? I know I have! So many times I will put on the perfect outfit, only to find that it is still missing something. Sometimes, jeans and a t-shirt just don't cut it. Here are 10 ways to make your outfit stand out from the rest :)

10. Add Some Colorful Jewelry

This is the most common option, and the most budget-friendly. There are millions of pieces of jewelry, all of them adding a unique touch to your outfit. Here are a few that will stay within a budget and are wearable with both fancy and casual outfits.

 

Forever 21 necklace: $6.80

 

Forever 21 necklace, $8.80

 Forever 21 Bracelet, $4.80

Forever 21 Bracelet, $12.80

Forever 21 Bracelet, $5.80

Forever 21 Earrings, $2.80

 Forever 21 Earrings, $2.80

Forever 21 Ring, $1.50

 There are so many types of jewelry, and most of it is budget-friendly. Some of my favorite places to but jewelry are:

Forever 21: Often, I can buy tons of jewelry there for under $10, and even under $5. They also tend to have super chic jewelry :)

 Kohls: They always have some kind of jewelry on sale, and they have more fancy jewelry than Forever 21.

 Claires: Though not always the cheapest, occasionally you can snatch up a minimally priced pair of earrings or a necklace.


9. Add a scarf

 I think each girl should own at least one colored scarf. My favorite scarf is teal with peacock feathers printed onto it. I also have a purple scarf I wear quite often. If you do not own one casual scarf, I urge you to go buy one. Here are a few options:

 

Forever 21 Scarf, $8.80

 Kohls Scarf, $5

 Claires Scarf, $12


Some of my favorite places to buy these are:
Kohls: If you can hit a good sale, these are usually pretty cheap.  
Claires: I have never bought a cheap scarf at Claires, but they have some oober-cute ones. 
Wal-Mart: Though a bit odd, They have some very cheap scarves, and very bright too!

8. Add a  purse.  
One of my absolute favorites. I have enough purses to feed an army. If the army ate purses that is :) Though bags always tend to be a but pricier than other accesories, I tend to use them much more. Here are a few bright purses for under $25

Forever 21 Coral Purse $19.80

Claires Handbag $24

Forever 21 $20.80

Old Navy $10

Old Navy $24.50
Some of my favorite places to buy purses are...
EVERYWHERE!I love purses, my mom has threatened me many many times :) Now really
Mark by AVON. I love their purses though they are pricey, I like them a lot!
Wal Mart. I can almost always find a purse I like there.
Occasionally I like claires and Target, but not all the time.

7. Add some Colorful Shoes 

I LOVE SHOES! I think every female knows this to be true :) There are TONS of bright shoes that match a lot of outfits, and most of them aren't too pricey :) Here are a bunch of options that will make a pair of jeans and a t-shirt look fabulous :)

 Payless:$16.99

 Payless:$19.99

 Payless $22.99

Amazon.com $17.99 {They have about a dozen colors and I LOVE them :) }


My favorite places to buy shoes are:
Payless. The name is self explanatory 
Target. I have a size 10/11 foot, and target carries that size. There can be miracles...

6. Add some Leg-wear
What kind of leg-wear? Tights, legwarmers, leggings, all these are among the best accessories ever.  I love them. I absolutely adore adding the splash of color other then skin-tone underneath a dress. Not to mention {in most cases} it makes it more modest! Here are a few of my FAVORITE leg-accessories :)

These tights from We Love Colors are oober cute! They have 25+ different colors!$12.50

Amazon.com $16.59

Polka dotted tights, Also from We Love Colors $12.50

Payless $6.99

Payless $5.99

I also have bought legwarmers, tights, and leggings at Target, Claires, and Wal-mart :)
My Favorite places to buy these is:
Target: If you can go at the right time there is generally a good supply.
Claires. $7 for Bright Purple over the knee slouch legwarmers :) 
5.Paint your nails/Add Makeup
This one is the easiest, and it makes a huge difference. It may seem small, but it is very noticeable :) Add polka-dots or paint them two or 3 different colors and they will be noticed! Put two different colors in your eyeshadow (Be careful not to look like a fairy :)

Target $7.50

$2 at Target

$6

 

Mark by Avon $20

Mark by AVON $15

Of course, you can buy nail polish literally ANYwhere.My favorite place to buy it is Target. Target has a ginormous collection and it is OOBER-cheap.

4. Add a sweater

I love sweaters and cardigans of all sorts! There are SO many of these that are so chic, and really versatile! Such as these!

Forever 21 $7.24

Forever 21 $15.99

Old Navy $29.50

Old Navy $24.94

I have to say, Old Navy, Macy's and Kohls are the BEST places to buy these :)

3. Tank tops/Tight undershirts
Tanks tops and under-t-shirts are so simple, and so cute! They not only can brighten an outfit, but they make it more modest! Tanktops with polka-dots, stripes, and lace are incredibly cute with an otherwise-too-low tshirt. Some of the cutest ones are at cheaper stores like Target and Wal-mart, or in stores like Kohls.

Kohls $9

Kohls $5.99

Kohls $5.99
2. Hair Accesories
My favorite way to Brighten! There are literally thousands of options. I Love places like Forever 21 and Claires because they sell Hair accessories SO cheap!

 

Forever 21 $2.50

Forever 21 $5.80 

Forever 21 $6.80

Forever 21 $6.80
By Far My favorite place to buy Hair accessories is Claires,  They have hundreds. Heavenly
The #1 way to brighten up your outfit is with...
A Smile!

Absolutely Free!




Sincerely,


Libbi H.

Gifts For Less

Everyone likes to receive gifts, especially when thought was put into them. Unfortunately, as a teenager with no job, it is hard to spend much money on gifts. What's the solution? If you are not very artsy, and always seem to be broke around Christmas, then this is the gift guide for you!


Cheap: Movie night kit. Buy popcorn baskets, usually found at target or the Dollar Tree (Buy some like this for $1 ) Then buy any type of bagged popcorn, and insert a bag into the popcorn bucket (like this Only $2 for 3 bags) Finally, go pick out a box of candy to put in the bucket. What is your total price for the entire gift? About $3, which is less than the average cost of a matinee, or a matinee popcorn, or even a matinee candy!
Optional: Go buy a $1 movie from the Dollar Tree (Just for fun)


Really Cheap: Celebration Calendar. *WARNING: this gift, though incredibly fun and cheap, takes a lot of time, so don’t do this on Christmas Eve :).
Go to the Dollar Tree, General Dollar, and Family Dollar, and they all have $1 calendars. As long as you have pens/pencils/sharpies at home, this gift only costs a dollar for the calendar. Next, go to this website.
This is where the fun part comes in. In every day of the calendar, write down a holiday for that day. Put a note in the beginning of the calendar saying, “Every Day is A Reason to Celebrate!” Who knew that February 21th was National Sticky Buns day? ANYONE would be happy to receive this gift, and it only costs a dollar!


Free: Everyone underestimates the power of a heartfelt card. Costing no more than 10 cents for a piece of paper, this is the way to go. Simply take a piece of paper (you could also use decorated paper, about 25 cents) Fold it in half, and inscribe your message. Just because this is very cheap does not mean your words have to be also. Here is an example of a bad letter:

Dear Grandma,
Merry Christmas! Have a great year!
Sincerely,
Me

If you are going to write a letter, put time and effort into it, write at least ten reasons that you are thankful for your grandma, or your best memories, or even write a poem!
As you hopefully have seen, even if you are out of money, your gift can still get 5 stars! If you put in the time, effort, and love into your gift, then it will definitely be a hit!
Libbi H.

Battling the Rip Tide

“Are you ready to go?” you ask your roommates. You hear them say “Go ahead, we’ll be right there.” You take a step onto the hard, wooden floor outside of your hut-styled bungalow. You hear a howler monkey in the tree just above you, their screech like nails on a chalkboard. You start off on the path to the beach; you can smell the fresh scent of the palm trees surrounding you. You wave to your friend lounging in the kidney shaped pool; at seven a.m., you wonder what she’s doing in the pool. As if reading your thoughts, your roommate says, “She’s going to be safer in the pool than we are in the ocean.” Another roommate pipes in, “At least she has a lifeguard!” You realize your friend is right; no lifeguards would be at the beach this early in the morning. You think about her statement for a minute, and brush it off quickly, because the water was fine yesterday. “Yesterday there was a life guard” your conscience keeps telling you.

You forget it when you friend starts to run toward the beach. You taste the ocean breeze; you feel the cold sand between your toes. Realizing it is a haven for sand fleas, you run faster, leaving only your footprints behind. The water’s edge, like the edge of a canyon, is tempting you closer. You take a small step into the raging beast, and you can already tell this won’t be fun. The green, scratchy seaweed feels like sandpaper against your legs, and the sea is colder than the night before. Your friends are just ahead of you; and you feel the wet, squishy sand, between your toes. You duck down so a wave will wash through your hair; your friends are doing the same. You look to your right, your friends are about five feet away, but you don’t think much of it. You keep looking over at your friends, and fail to realize how far away they’re getting. You look back to the shore, and notice that all but one of your friends are already back on the shore, and you’re a lot farther out than you planned.

You turn around to go back because it’s not safe anymore; the cooing newborn has turned into a screaming toddler. You take a step, and go under the formidable waves. Now you start to panic, nothings there! You try and take a step again, and realize you are in a rip tide! “Don’t panic, don’t panic.” You coax yourself; even though it would be easier to find a penguin in Hawaii. You remember reading a book that said, “If you are ever caught in a rip tide, swim parallel to the beach.” You start to swim parallel to the beach and realize that it is to no avail. Your friend yells out to you, “Come back over here!” Exasperated, you look at her across the raging waves, and start screaming like a banshee. Of course, she can’t hear you over the roar of the waves. You can feel the salt stinging your eyes and nose. You cannot get back without someone’s help. You are treading the freezing cold water, and wishing you would’ve swam in the safe, lifeguarded pool. You keep drifting farther and farther from the shore, which is now a palace, fit for the finest of kings. You can see the gorgeous palm trees, the weather-worn driftwood, and even the road back to your bungalow.

Your friend makes her way over to you; you feel her cold, wet hand, much more like a prune after this long, torturous affair. Then, she starts to panic. Now both of you are screaming louder than the howler monkey, but your friends on the shore are too busy talking to hear you. Your arms give out like a limp noodle, but you still keep trying to make your way through the waves. The waves, as far as you’re concerned, are playing catch with you as the ball. You get about a foot towards the shore, when the rip tide pulls you back into the cruel waves, like a yo-yo on a string.

You start giving your farewell address to your friend, when you get an idea. Albert Einstein would’ve been proud of you. You could use your soaked t-shirt to propel you back to the shore. It works! Your t-shirt then becomes the only thing between you and the ghastly waves. Your t-shirt is using the once cruel waves to soar you back to the shore. When your friends finally take notice of you, they ask, “What took you so long? You feel the sudden urge to throw them into the rip tide, and then you would ask them “What took so long?” You start back the gravel path back to your hut. You decide to go swimming in the pool, only waist deep, just to be safe. The pool water is crisp and cool, yet warm. You just sit there for a while, and then join in with your friends.

After you get out of the pool, take a shower, and dry off, you decide to go and swing on the hammock. You feel the soft fabric against your skin, and hear the rain’s music against the roof. You hear your friends talking in the background, and you can see them sitting in the bungalow. Your friends just didn’t enjoy the rain as much as you; you loved the fresh, clean smell rain made when it dove into earth’s crust; and the feel of the raindrops on your skin. It sounded like a little girl hitting a xylophone ever so softly. You think perhaps you will read a book, but then decide to reflect on the day.

You think back to the beach, and how close you came to death, you are so relieved you decided it was time to go back when you did. What if you had kept going deeper and deeper? You realize you might be at the bottom of the ocean if you hadn’t felt the urge to go back. You know how a person can start wading into sin, and then go a little deeper, and deeper, until the sin swallows them. When they try to get back to God, it gets harder and harder because their sin just pulls them away. Usually, when someone realizes how deep they are in sin, it is too late to turn back. And that’s why Jesus came down to earth, and put himself into our sin, so that he could help us get out of it, even if it meant sacrificing His safety. You remember that He is the only way back to the Father, the only way out of our sin; without Him, we would still be battling the rip tide.