Life Update: Summer Break Plans

This summer so far has been, and is going to be, the busiest summer yet. After finishing my sophomore year of high school with a stressful week of finals, I didn't get any breaks. I moved straight into the next week (this past week) with more classes. Drivers-ed. Anyone that has taken drivers-ed before would understand when I say that it is the most annoying and boring thing ever. The class consists of long lectures, bad quality movies from the 80's, and a really awkward social environment. Luckily the classes only take up about half the day, so there is still sometime to enjoy the break. But this past week the weather has been unbearably hot and I spent most of my free time packing for camp.

That takes me to the main point of this post. On sunday, in 2 days, I will be going of to camp for 2 months. I have been going to the same camp for seven years now and I love every minute of it. I love my friends, the activities, the energy and just overall the whole experience. 

What this means though, is that since I will be away for so long, I won't be able to blog. Two months will go by until I can add anything to this website. But, what I will be doing is coming up with a ton of ideas and planning what the fall is going to look like for Sixteen Once. I will ask around for some feedback, and I will definitely take a ton of pictures at camp. The possibilities are endless!

By the time I get back it will already be the end of the summer which means that if I do any summer look book type of posts they won't be very relevant anymore. I might do one when I get back but I will try and figure something out that will be more interesting and current to read.

Now that you have read this far you are probably sick of me just going on and on about my life, so here are some photographs I took last summer. They will give you a look at what I do and where I go, and also probably will look very similar to what photos will look like this coming summer. Before you see them thought, keep in mind that they are really old and my photography style has changed and I look kinda different so don't judge :P

HAGS

(one day I might post a video of me singing if you want, so comment and tell me if that interests you)

Don't miss me too much

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: Love You Better Now - Ed Sheeren

DIY: Custom Laptop Skin

I recently had to throw out my laptop case because it was beginning to crack and got really dirty. I also threw it out because I started to get tired of the plain blue case I had before, so I decided to try something more creative. 
A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon a video on youtube that somebody made explaining how she made her laptop skin. It seemed like a really cool idea so I decided to go for it. The website I used is called DecalGirl Which does custom skins for all types of devices. On the website you can upload any photo you like and the prices are pretty affordable, especially since they give you a 15% off coupon if you sign up with your email. 
I made a collage on photoshop, instead of just choosing one picture that would always be on my computer. For those who are familiar with photoshop, the dimensions advised by the website are 4992 (width) x 3328 pixels. If you don't have photoshop than some helpful alternatives to making a collage are GIMP, PicMonkey, or Paint (PC program). I can't explain these since I am not familiar with them, but the steps are really basic so each of these programs will have the capabilities.
After I made the collage all you have to do is follow the websites instructions, with is basically just picking the right device and uploading the picture. 
One other really great thing about the website is that when you order the skin you can pay through amazon or PayPal (if you choose) and then the shipping is really quick. 

Here is a 'step by step' in picture form (the collage part is for people using photoshop b/c that is what I used):

1. Open a new document in photoshop with the correct dimensions: 
4992 (width) x 3328 pixels

2. Add photos and just have fun designing whatever you want.
my final collage turned out looking like this

3. Save as jpg.
(don't forget to flatten the image)

4. Go to website and click on 'Create Your Own' at the top of the page: 

5. When you click on it, you will have to choose your device:

6. After that, I think the rest is pretty clear. then, days later you can enjoy the final product:

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: We Are Young - Fun.