Freshman Year Survival Kit

My cousin graduated from high school on Friday, and I wanted to share the gift I gave her for graduation. 

As I mentioned in my Money-Lei post, I loved getting money for graduation to buy stuff for my dorm room, but I realized there was a lot of stuff I didn't know I needed. This when I came up with the idea of the survival kit. When I went to school I knew I needed bedding, mini fridge, etc, but I didn't think of all the little stuff I could use. 

So here's what I included in the survival kit: 

{Magnetic Dry Erase Board, Chapstick, Lint Roller, Pencils, Whistle, Asprin, First Aid Kit, Flip Flos, Sewing Kit, Post-it Tabs, Ear Plugs, Sleep Mask, Swiss Army Knife, Pedicure Set, Notepads}

{Screwdriver Kit, Pens, Journal, Post it Notes, Tide to Go, Flashlight, Laundry Bag, Thank You notes} 

As you can see I put everything in a two-level storage container, which can also be used as dorm storage. You could also buy a hard laundry basket or a shower caddy and store everything in it. I used the storage container because I needed to ship the package 4,000+ miles. 

The great thing about this is you can put whatever you think the grad would use. I wanted to add a blanket (cause for some reason you take a lot of naps in college). You could add DVDs, a candy jar, gift cards, flashdrives, etc. The possibilities are endless! And any way you do it, it looks great!

*Note: I know graduations are mostly over, but this could be a great present for right before the graduate leaves for school in the Fall.* 

Then I just put it in a box and shipped it off. 

What do you think? 

If you make your own survival kit, make sure you share your pictures! 

Money Lei and Other Cute Gift Ideas

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Well, graduation season is officially upon us. And for those rushing to find the perfect gift, I think I have an idea for you. 

I know when I graduated I was really grateful for cash because then I could get what I needed for my dorm room. {It's not like they have gift registries for graduating!} But giving cash in a card is just boring! 

So I thought I would try my hand at making a Money Lei. 

I searched Pinterest and I found this tutorial from the blog Lil' Luna. 

{Click here for the full tutorial.} 

You will need: 

Paper - I used cardstock in the school colors

Crisp $1 bills- I used $20, but you can use however you want

Hot glue gun

Glue dots

Ribbon 

Scissors 

You start with making paper pinwheels. 

{Again, Lil' Luna has the step by step tutorial.} 

Then I just strung the pinwheels onto the ribbon. 

{Thanks to Matt for being my model.} 

*Now, I must warn you that this is time consuming. This lei takes a lot longer than the  one-straw  lei tutorial, which only took about 45 minutes. But you can definitely do it in a day, it just takes some time.* 

Here are some other cute ideas to give money if you don't want to try your hand at the lei. 

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Update: Matt Graduates!

Well, he did it! Matt graduated with his Bachelors in Social Work on April 13, 2013. 

Matt really did not want to walk, but Obachan pretty much put her foot down and walked across that stage! 

It really was one of the best experiences that I have had in the last two + years of our marriage. When we got married, Matt wasn't in school and really didn't plan on going back until we were back in Georgia. But after a couple months living here we realized we were going to be in Hawaii longer, and Matt decided to go back to school (maybe with a little help from me). 

Matt found a program he loved and the rest is history. He is officially done! 

I am so so proud of him!

Here is graduation in pictures for those that didn't get to make it: (and there are a lot of them)

Social Worker Wives 

Bishop Kinghorn 

The graduation was great and the lei giving was even better. A couple days before graduation Matt said he wanted a 'nerdy' lei. So off me and Jake went to Wal-Mart to look for nerdy stuff. 

The night before graduation, Matt and Jake went to a concert and I put together the 'nerdy' lei. This lei was complete with action heroes and a stuffed Yoda. I think it turned out great. I also had all my students sign a blow up floaty with all their well wishes. 

After graduation we went to Cholos for a celebration lunch. 

{I also made a well wishes lei. I had everyone that couldn't come to the graduation write a little note to share with Matt. Then I made a lei out of the messages. I think it turned out great! Thanks to those that wrote the messages!} 

Here are pictures from the graduation banquet the night before: 

It really was a great weekend!