Crafternoon: DIY Bejewled Koozie

This was one of my projects for Hannah's big 21st! I bejewled a Cruisey for her to use on her big day!

It was such a fun gift and so easy! All you need is your koozie or Cruisey, rhinestones and fabric glue!

I still have 100's of rhinestones left over from this crafternoon (more aptly named, crafter-month):

You can find the complete project here!

If you want to bejewel your koozie, it's VERY simple!

STEP 1: INSERT A CAN INSIDE YOUR KOOZIE! This is very important--koozies tend to expand when a drink is inside vs. when it's empty! Once you bejewel it, it will not be able to expand without ruining your sparkle!

STEP 2: Cover a small section in fabric glue! I just used standard fabric glue from a bottle. I covered my koozie in 1 inch sections of glue and then put the rhinestones on.

STEP 3: Apply rhinestones! The koozie will absorb a LOT of glue, so be sure to only do a small section at a time. This strategy works much better.

STEP 4: Repeat. Often! I ended up applying too much glue in some places, so I had to be careful that gravity didn't work against me. If you do apply too much glue, just spread it out over more of the koozie and work quickly! 

STEP 5: Be patient and let it dry. Mine probably took 24 hours to dry entirely. Once it's dry, take your can out and you'll find that you koozie is extremely hard now! It's going to be a little heavy, but fun and festive nonetheless!

STEP 6: Insert your new drink of choice and enjoy! Although it's a little blurry, I snagged Hannah's bejeweled Cruisey one night since it matched my dress PERFECTLY! It was too much fun and everyone wanted their own!

Be sure to try this crafternoon out on your own--too much fun and you'll LOVE the way it turns out! If you end up making your own, Instagram (@letsbepreppy) it and tag me so I can see the fabulous results!

xxKatie

Tailgate City, USA: Tailgate Tips

Tailgate Tips

The queen of etiquette, Emily Post, once said, “The joy of joys is the person of light but unmalicious humor. If you know any one who is beguiling and amusing, you will, if you are wise, do everything you can to make him prefer your house and your table to any other; for where he is, the successful party is also.”

We want to share with you some etiquette tailgate tips!

1. Do invite all of your friends—tailgates are not the time to be exclusive. The more the merrier—especially on Gameday!

2. Don’t block the road for other cars or pedestrians. Keep those clear for everyone else trying to tailgate and enjoy the game!

3. Do have a good playlist of songs. You want it to include 90’s music, a few slow dance songs once in awhile, crowd pump-up songs, and lots of songs people know all the words to!

4. Don’t bother other tailgaters around you. Keep your games of cornhole, tossing the football, and chair set-ups within your allotted space.

5. Do plan food. The worst tailgates are the ones where the food has run out. Plan on feeding your crowd plus any unexpected guests that they might have!

6. Don’t intimidate other team fans. The occasional jest is OK, but stick to cheering FOR your team!

7. Do remember that the goal is to make it to the game. Tailgates are a great pregame custom, especially in the South, but you also want to be able to cheer your team on once the game starts! Remember there would be no tailgate without a game!

8. Don’t make your tailgate hard to find. If you’re inviting new tailgaters or people unfamiliar with the area, give them directions that are straightforward and easy to understand!

9. Do start your tailgate early enough to enjoy each other’s company! You want ample time to park, get set up, and get the grill going. This can be especially important if you live in a college town that has different traffic patterns on Gameday!

10. Don’t forget your tailgate essentials: pop up tents, tables, cutlery, sound system, chairs and your spread are all things you’d hate to forget at home!

Keep these etiquette tailgate tips in mind while you’re prepping for Gameday!

"You Make Me Wanna Roll My Windows Down and Cruise..."

I LOVED seeing this Instagram picture of a Let's Be Preppy Cruisey in action! 

For those of you who have expressed interest and don't live within deliverable limits of where I live, you can order them HERE! 

Both the pink and green are still available!

Recently, in a "Cruisey" state of mind, I've been rocking out to "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line. They were actually in Columbia last week but I had a meeting to go to and couldn't make it over to where they were playing!

Enjoy your last day of crusin' since most of us have the day off!!

xxKatie

They're Here: Let's Be Preppy Cruiseys

They arrived yesterday!

I AM SO HAPPY! The front side features nautical flags of L-B-P for Let's Be Preppy and the back features the name and URL if anyone asks where you got it from! (...because they will!)

I want to make them available to everyone, so you can order them

HERE!

They will be available, first come, first serve and will be shipped on the Friday of the week that they are ordered! I am so excited for y'all to see them and use them on your campuses and tailgates! 

My friends and I wore Cruiseys all night last night to the Dierks Bentley concert we attended! Left and right people were checking them out and wondering where they were from!!!!

Obviously, as you can see, there are pink Cruiseys and green Cruiseys and in the Etsy store, you'll find two listings: one for each color!

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to The Cruisey team for everything they did! Their product has been SO POPULAR that they're currently totally SOLD OUT! Check them out on Facebook for their updates!

xxKatie

Get Nauti with The Cruisey!

Everyone knows I have a thing for koozies! That's no secret. But now a hands-friendly koozie? Um, yes, sign this girl up! See that pink one? YEP, that's MINE! These wonderful creations are brought to us by The Cruisey!

It all started out in Annapolis, so clearly I was going to like it already!

These koozies come equipped with an AWESOME lanyard, and mine is hot pink, see below:

When the creators sent me an email, this pick was their favorite too!

The Cruisey koozies are all over Annapolis!

Ella, a staple of Main Street in Annapolis, even gives her endorsement of The Cruisey! Clearly she's telling us, "Yachta, yachta, yachta!"

What's more Annapolis than a Nauti Crusiey COVERED IN OLD BAY?! Pretty much nothing. #TotalMarylandMove #MarylandProbs #AnnapolitanProblems

Anyway, you can find The Cruisey ALL over:

Facebook

Twitter

Website to place your own orders!

I'm about to place an order for at least one in every color!!

xxKatie (and The Cruisey team!!)

Keep Calm and Carry a Koozie

This is only a VERY SMALL part of my koozie collection! In fact, many of these have matching pairs in different colors and I even have doubles or triples of a lot of them! I'm all about koozies, but I always feel like I'm missing one:

(P.S. Don't you just love that they're already around Diet Coke cans?!)

So, as you can see, I'm looking into getting Let's Be Preppy koozies made! I haven't picked a vendor yet, but I've been talking to many different ones to see who has the best deal, best colors, best fonts, etc.!!

I do need to know though, who is interested in them? I want to make sure that enough people want one before I place and order!

Please tweet @letsbepreppy or vote in the poll on the Let's Be Preppy facebook page if you would be interested in getting one!

Do you like? Would you use a LBP koozie? Are koozies big at your school? They're SO BIG here!

xxKatie

Official disclaimer: this post is to gauge interest! I'm not making any immediate promises, but I have looked into official designs!

Loggerhead Apparel!

I am so excited to introduce y'all to Loggerhead Apparel! Not only is this a fabulous product from the Palmetto state, but it's fun, serves a great cause, is made in the USA, AND is geared toward Gamecocks!

Sara sent me an AWESOME package full of Loggerhead swag as well as my own polo to don at any Gamecock event!

This is the Garnet and Black Loggerhead polo that I now proudly own! It will match great with any of my garnet skirts and just screams Gamecock. (There's even a line for Clemson fans, but well...it is Clemson after all...just kidding Clemson fans! The orange and purple stuff is pretty fun!!)

Not only did I get a polo, but I have a rockin' koozie, set of croakies and enough stickers to give all my friends! (Everyone be on the lookout when I get back to school--totally being serious you can have as many as you want!)

Anyway, Loggerhead donates 10% of all sales to sea turtle and ocean wildlife conservation causes. Not only do I love that being from Maryland where we're all about Bay conservation, but I know sea turtle conservation is a major initiative in Charleston too! 

Once the bowl game gets a little closer, I'll be hosting a giveaway with Loggerhead Apparel too! Y'all will love it, I'm sure of it!!

xxKatie

704: Port Southern Giveaway!

"Fine Clothing with Southern Hospitality" is the slogan of Port Southern. Not only is Port Southern both of those things, but they're a friendly company too! I had so much fun emailing back and forth with Elizabeth and she was gracious enough to offer LBP readers a few options!!

One winner will get the ultimate Port Southern Prize Pack:

1. Dress

2. Hat 

3. Koozie (they come in 2 colors!)

4. Croakies (they come in 8 colors!)

And TWO winners will get another Port Southern Swag Prize Pack:

1. Hat

2. Koozie

3. Croakies

You have TONS of ways to enter this giveaway again today! 

1. Follow Let's Be Preppy (1 entry)

2. Like Let's Be Preppy on Facebook (2 entries)

3. Like Port Southern on Facebook (3 entries)

4. Follow Let's Be Preppy on Twitter (4 entries)

5. Follow Port Southern on Twitter (5 entries)

6. Tweet at @letbepreppy and @Port_Southern about the giveaway! (6 entries)

Good luck y'all!! And don't forget, you can keep entering all the other giveaways this week too! This one will end Thursday night at 11:59pm! Hope each and every one of you had safe and happy Thanksgivings!!

xxKatie

Summer Essentials

Summer is good for warm weather, hanging out with friends, rockin' playlists and tanning. Here are some of my top choices for summer must-haves! They apply to girls and guys so keep that in mind!

1. White shorts: not only are white shorts flattering on nearly everyone, they make you look very tan. Find a good length that you like and voila you're set! I stick with the classic 5'' Chino shorts from J. Crew. Good length for me, crisp white color and durable! For guys, this can be adapted to khaki, just as versatile for summer days!

2. Koozies: you can't go through summer with a sweaty beverage. Koozie's keep your drinks cold and your attitude chill. Keep one (or 3) in your purse before you go out. I often coordinate mine with my outfit. Yep, happens.

3. Boat shoes: Since it's summer you need a pair of shoes you can throw on at a moment's notice and not have to worry about how they look or where you're going. Boat shoes can get wet, dirty, and keep you dry. They look cute with shorts, skirts and  capris. You basically can't go wrong tossing on a pair of Sperry's even if you don't know what the rest of the day my hold!

4. Sunglasses: Running around, day to day, sporting and sunning from the early morning hours into the night, sunglasses are a must. And there for so are croakies. Since I've gotten my Chums (different than your typical croakies but still "sunglass retainers"...) they haven't left my sunglasses! My favorite brands are Costa del Mar and Ray Ban for everyone.

5. Swimwear: Ladies and gents, swimsuit season is upon us! Embrace it with wild patterns, the brighter the better! Animal prints, floral prints, plaid, and polka dot--rock them all! I find swimsuits all over the place from Target to Victoria's Secret to Belk. They sometimes take a little more trying on than other swmsuits, but it'll be worth it once you find a brand you can stick to! Maybe you'll even be able to find your own teeny tiny yellow polka dot bikini!

What are your summer essentials? Something you can't go without??

xxKatie

Koozie Kollection

During this past week, my koozie collection has just about doubled! Here's part of the collection that I could track down:

I'm loving the colors in this!

These two are thanks to my fave Lilly stores: The Pink Crab and Pink Sorbet!

These guys are my southern collection: Southern Tide, Coast, High Cotton Ties 1, Vineyard Vines (my most recent acquisition from a trunk show at Britton's of Columbia) and High Cotton Ties 2

These are all my koozies from school! I'm missing one from Homecoming last year that I loved because it had nautical flags of USC because our theme was Anchors Aweigh!

What does your koozie collection look like? A lot? A few? Have a few faves?

xxKatie