Make your own cute wall art

Hey everyone! A few months ago, my school started talking to us about what we wanted to do as adults. At that point, it dawned on me that I’m growing up way too much, not to mention how often my interests are changing. I decided to make my own wall art filled with pictures of my current obsessions, so I can keep it and go back and see what my interests were at a certain point of time. I think it’s pretty cute, and I hope this inspires you to do something similar. 

You will need:

- Scissors

- Glue

- A3 paper (this will be the size of your poster, so you can use a bigger or smaller page if you like)

- A4 paper (to print your pictures out onto)

- Coloured pens

- Access to the internet and a colour printer

How to make it:

- Search the web for about 20 pictures that make you happy (I normally just go through my tumblr archive) and make sure you get some pictures of your current interests, such as your favourite actors or singers. Below are some examples of pictures I've used for my latest posters. 

Emily from Pretty Little Liars

This is just a cute photo I wanted to add

Who doesn't love sparklers?

I say this way too much...

- Load these pictures onto a Word document, (I use two A4 pages) making sure you leave a good amount of space between them. 

- Print the pictures and cut them out

- Lay them down on an A3 page and decide how you’d like them to sit, leaving a generous space in one of the corners bare. 

- When you’re happy with the layout, you can start gluing the pictures to your page. 

- While you’re waiting for the glue to dry, you can use some coloured pens to write the current month/season and year in the corner you left bare. You could also draw some hearts etc. if you want (and if there's room). 

- Tape/stick your poster to your wall, stand back and smile at your work!

That’s it!

I really hope some of you decide to do this yourself, because it only takes me about half an hour and I do it four times a year (the beginning of every season). I started doing this about a year ago, and my wall's already filling up. By the time I finish school, my whole wall should be covered with posters showing my current interests as I've grown up. I really hope you guys try this out, because I seriously think it's one of the best ways you can document your teenage years! xx

Next Week: 

Speak Now. Yeah, right now

Whoa, Katrina's posting again?? Sorry this blog hasn't been updated in ages, but things have been so hectic at school lately. But, guess what? Tomorrow is my last day of school for the year, which means I'll be regularly posting again! Yay! Oh, and if you haven't noticed (well, of course you have), I've updated the entire theme of my blog. Let me know if you like it!

So, to start things off again, I wanted to post about something I think everyone should know. Because if you don't learn this lesson, things have the potential to get pretty ugly. So what exactly is this "important life lesson?" It's to speak now. Yeah, right now.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you really like someone, but you're not good friends with them and want to talk to them more often, please listen to me when I say SPEAK NOW. No, this doesn't mean call that person up right now and express your undying love for him/her. It means that starting from today, you should definitely begin to either start making contact with this person (smiling at them when you catch their eye, or just saying "hey" as you walk past them), or try to become better friends with them (snapchat has definitely made me closer with some people). The reason I'm insisting you do this ASAP?? Because I've had a few moments where I've either been too shy or worried over what people will think of me to have the courage to talk to certain people. And trust me, this hurts more than rejection. I mean, I'd much rather feel temporarily sad because I've made a bad impression on someone, than stay quiet and feel horrible because I'll never know what would have happened if I'd only done something, anything!

On the last holiday I went on, there were a bunch of people my age there - with the added benefit of a "teens club." Normally I'm quite shy when it comes to meeting new people, but for some reason I turned into a very loud person on the first few days of this particular holiday. Long story short, I ended up in an amazing group of friends from all over the state who I'll never forget. It's also pretty safe to say that it was the best holiday I'd ever been on, ever. I mean, imagine if I'd been my usual, quiet self in those first few days of the holidays? Would I have seen them doing everything together while I'd wondered what it would be like to hang out with them?

I really hope you get the point of this post, because you know how the famous quote goes, "I'd rather have a life of 'oh well's' than a life of 'what if's.'" And as of today, I'll be continuing to post every Thursday afternoon! :D So that's all from me for now, so I'll talk to you all again next week, bye! xx

Next Week: Make your own cute wall art

Getting Motivated. You can do it!

We all know the feeling. You’ve got exams to study for and assignments to finish, but there’s a problem. You just can’t be bothered and you don’t want to. Yep, happens to everyone. Don’t worry though, I’m here to help.

So, what exactly is your goal? Whatever it is, just make sure it’s realistic and if it’s a large goal, set yourself mini-goals that lead to it. Secondly, what are you going to do to achieve that goal?

For example, your goal may be to update your wardrobe. Set yourself a weekly/monthly clothing allowance, and stick to it! You could aim to get at least one new piece every few weeks, over three months. By the end of it, you will have your desired goal and possibly extra spending money. Win-win!

Now, this is the part where you groan. You know what your goal is and what you have to do to get it, so now you actually have to do something to achieve it (Oh no, too much effort? I know what you mean). A lot of people say that they don’t have/can’t find time to do what they want, but…

You can’t find time, you have to make time.

That’s my little secret. Also, if you have a boring goal, then you can reward yourself at the end! Yes! You can have a picture of your goal or write it down and keep it somewhere you’ll always see it, like in your purse or next to your bed. You create your own motivation.

There may be a time when your progress towards your goal gets interrupted, but you need to look through that problem and go back to what you were doing previously. You can do it!

I hope you all achieve your goals and have an amazing weekend! xx

Taken from: My second tumblr (I'm on holidays! :D)

My Crazy Camp Adventures

This is going to be a little different to what I'd typically post, mostly because this is going to be about my real life. (What!? Katrina has a life outside the internet? Believe me, I'm shocked, too)
Last week, I went on school camp to a little town right next to the ocean. And don't let the location mislead you, because we didn't go tanning and swimming all day... Just read on :)

On the first day, we drove to a little caravan park and had lunch, then we were dropped off at the entrance to a 27km track through the rainforest (no!). And to top it all off, most of us had backpacks weighing about 13kg (NO!). It was okay though, because we only walked 8km on relatively flat ground. (Actually, don't tell anyone but I pretty much died, shh) But in reality, the whole walk was much easier than what everyone made it out to be.

The next day, we got up at 5:30am, packed up our entire camp and left by 7am. In my opinion, this was by far the hardest day for the whole camp, mostly because there were So. Many. Hills! I was a bit sick, but I was still pretty happy with the speed I walked at - And I think some expert deep heat massages helped everyone's muscles to feel a lot better ;) -

The last day of the walk!!!! Today was basically just 4km's of going up one massive hill, before nearly tripping down the other (very steep) side. Also, our "parkour" (jumping over rocks with our backpacks on) helped pass the time. After we finished, we all went back to the caravan park and showered (finally!), then went into town and ate our way through McDonald's - hey, I'd just gone through 2 days of eating nothing but muesli bars!

The next day, we left our trek bags at the caravan park and swapped them with smaller backpacks because... we were going to an island! And instead of travelling there on a boat like normal people, we kayaked about 5km to get to the island. It was super fun, but my shoulders are still sunburnt :(. That afternoon, we had heaps of fun burying people in sand/coral, and just hanging out on the beach in general. It would have been nice if we stayed for longer, but we still had to go home the next day (I still loved it and had so much fun!).

On the way back from the island, I made a terrible decision by convincing myself that I'd be able to steer the kayak. After getting a little too close to everyone else, some of my friends thought it would be funny to flip up our steering thing (yeah, I forgot the name), causing us to go backwards for a while until I realised what was wrong. After this, I decided to keep well away from everyone else - and ended up bumping into a stationary yacht with 200m left to paddle. Yeah yeah, laugh all you want - but it's hard to steer with your feet! (Oh, and we saw a dolphin about 10m from our boat - seriously!)

Sadly, this isn't my photography... but this view is amazing!

Aaaaand that was my week! If I had the chance, I would live it over again because I had so much fun and I absolutely loved it! :) - I know I've left some inside jokes in this post, but I know a few of my friends read this blog. - The things I'll remember the most about the camp include...
- One of my friends running down the street with a McDonald's bag on his head :')
- Watching massage trains :')
- Finishing the hike without any scratches or sprains
If you liked this week's post and want to hear more about my "adventures" and whatnot, leave a comment! Other than that, that's all from me for now and I'll talk to you next time, bye xx

Next Week: Getting Motivated. You can do it!

September Favourites ♡

Hey Hey! That's right - my monthly favourites are here yet again! So let's skip the intro and get straight into it, shall we? :)

Beauty Favourites
For those of you who don't know, lip balm is by far my favourite beauty product, ever. The Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms are super good quality, and come in a range of pretty shades (I own the rose tinted one). These take literally no time to quickly swipe on your lips as you run out of the door, and the right colour can make you look much more polished.

Secondly, paw paw (or is is papaw?) ointment has been my love for months now. It can be used as a lip balm, clear mascara, brow gel or even a highlighter. Yeah, I know - What!? Since the formula is nearly transparent, it can easily be used in your everyday routine without being detected as makeup (if you have a no-makeup rule at your school like I do).

Casual Favourites
Yeah, I know The Hills is pretty much old news by now... But I absolutely love it! I watched one episode to see what the big deal was about (and because LC stars in it), and next think I knew I was already onto the second season. Scripted or not, this show is super addicting!

Ever since I got some black high-top Converse shoes from some very generous friends on my birthday this year, coordinating outfits with shoes has been so much easier. Whatever you're wearing, these can easily be slipped on and still look cute! Plus, since they're enclosed, they are appropriate for just about anything you do. (I actually wear mine to theme parks so I don't have to keep slipping them on and off between rides)

My favourite song lately has been "R U Crazy" by Conor Manyard. It's seriously catchy and I think it's Conor's best song yet!                                                                                       Oh, and just to be fair, "Better Be Mine" by Cody Simpson isn't my favourite song at the moment, but it's still pretty amazing so I think it deserves a special mention :)

I'm actually away camping right now, so I've had to quickly write this on the weekend. Next month, there'll be heaps more favourites, I promise! xx

Next Week: My Crazy Camp Adventures

Finding your Signature Scent

Anonymous asked, “I need a perfume that I can wear every day, because I have no idea!!”

Well, normally people break perfumes up into four groups: woody, oriental, floral and fresh. These are the basic four, but click here if you'd like to see a full list of perfume categories. Figure out what type you like first (ask your mum and friends if you can sniff some of theirs, or for their personal opinions) before you go shopping. Go to a store with a lot of different perfumes available for you to choose from.

Tell a staff member about what type of perfume you’d like, (tell him/her about one of the four groups I mentioned earlier) and they should be able to help you. If the store has some coffee beans, it’s good to sniff them because it clears your nose before you try on your perfume (if not, sniffing your bare skin works just as well, if not better!). Also, make sure you leave a minute or two between fragrances so your nose doesn't get confused.

Once you've chosen your perfume, it’s good to ask for the larger version because it’s usually better value for money. Forget about the price - perfume is worth it, because it'll make you super happy knowing you now have an amazing signature scent!

Keep your perfume in a cool place away from direct sunlight, so it lasts longer. Keep sending in your questions! xx

Taken from: My second tumblr (I'm in the middle of exam week, and I'll start writing more original posts soon!)

Next Week: September Favourites ♡

First World Problems

Although first world "problems" aren't actually real problems, they're so easy to relate to that everyone loves talking about them. I mean, it's not like I can't post about them at least once on this blog! (And Yemi said I had to) So without further ado, here's a list of what I think are some pretty common first world problems.

- Finishing 3 seasons of a TV show in 3 days and wondering what to do with your life

- When your cookie is too big to fit into your glass of milk

- You reach your post limit on Tumblr or Twitter for the day

- When you look amazing, go out and see no one you know. Then, when you look horrible it's like a reunion.

- When you're singing really loudly and forget the words to a song, then just sit there mumbling to yourself

- There're nowhere to put the sticker from your apple

- I don't know what I want for my birthday, and everyone keeps asking me

- You stuff up your waterproof eyeliner and it takes 5 minutes to get it off

- When your favourite singer/band is touring and you can't go because you have to travel on an hour-long flight to get to the closest city that they'll be playing at.

- The TV remote is way over there... But you're way over here

- YouTube loads the advertisements perfectly, but has trouble buffering a 10 second video

- When you see a really cute, single guy but can't think of anything to say so you don't talk to him (or maybe that's just me?)

- McDonald's is so cheap and easy to reach, but you know you'll feel super guilty afterwards

Why can't my glass just be a little wider?

Of course, there's problems that are much more important than the ones I've just mentioned. So grab a straw, suck it up and appreciate how lucky you are to have the amazing life you do! :) Bye xx

Next Week: Finding your Signature Scent