Hello Homecoming!

Homecoming weekend is almost here! Winona clubs, organizations, teams and students all love showing off their purple and white pride on campus! But—it can get tricky to stand out when every student is going to the same place to purchase his or her spirit wear. So this homecoming I’m challenging everyone to get in touch with their crafty side!

T-shirts are always the go-to spirit wear item, but making your own is a great way to stand out and save money! An off the shoulder top with a pop of detail is perfect! What you’ll need to make the tee is: a purple or white t-shirt, cute ribbon (about an 1-2 inches in width), scissors, and a ruler.  To start off, cut the neckline of the tee to the amount that you want for the off the shoulder look. Then, cut vertical slits at the top of the shirt around the entire neckline. Then, using the adorable ribbon that you picked out, weave it in and out of the slits of the shirt until it gets back to the starting point. Finish off by tying the ends of the ribbon together to make a perfect bow and your stylish homecoming tee is ready to go!

Another tee idea is to bead the bottom. Take your plain t-shirt and cut slits vertically about 3 inches from the bottom all the way around the t-shirt. Slide on white and purple beads and knot the end. It takes a little bit of time, but the end result is so cute and festive!

Another DIY project to add to your tee could be a tutu skirt! Go back to your ballerina days and make yourself a brand new tutu with some purple and white tulle fabric, an elastic band or ribbon for around the waist, scissors, and you are ready to start your skirt. You cut the tulle fabric into strips, whatever length you’d like the skirt to be, and then tie them in knots around the entire elastic or ribbon band. Once you’ve completed tying, your skirt is complete!  It is so simple and you can even add some sparkly fabric in there as well to add a bit more glitz!

Your homecoming outfit is almost complete, but now you may want to add some accessories! Flower headbands are in! You can wear it several different ways and keep for the rest of the season! Your supplies list consists of: a stretchy, thin headband, some flowers without the stems (fake), hot-glue, and if you want to add some sparkles, gems, or glitter, go for it and add that on too! Hot glue each flower onto the headband all the way around and if you do decide that want that extra pop with sparkles, you can add them on the flowers or directly on the headband! It’s totally up to you! Let your completed headband sit overnight to make sure the flowers are stuck on there, and in the morning you are ready to wear your homecoming halo!

If you know me, you know no outfit is complete without a manicure. I love special events because it gives me a chance to paint my nails to fit the theme. There are plenty of ways to paint your nails to show your Winona pride. I usually go with an accent nail of the mascot. But purple nails with a white accent nail or white tip takes less time and looks cute, too!

Now, you will be all ready to get crafting for your homecoming week! Each of these ideas are super simple and fun to make. You will be wearing a one of a kind outfit for homecoming and who knows, maybe next year you’ll be taking classmates’ orders to make their spirit wear, too! You can add your own style and get a chance to be creative! Have a wonderful homecoming!

Go Warriors!!!