Diva DIY: Message in a Bottle

We all know that the standard college dorm room can look a little drab, and not everyone has the budget to recreate their dream dorm. But that doesn't mean that we can't do little things to brighten up our living space a bit. This week's Diva DIY project will help you do exactly that.

Project: Glass bottle photo frame
Difficulty level: Easy

Step 1: Gather your supplies. All you need for this project are a clean, dry glass bottle, a photo that you want to display, and a long, thing rod (a pen or pencil will do). I used a soda bottle but any kind of glass bottle or even jar would work, and colored glass would be pretty cool too.

Step 2: Make sure that your photo is the right size and will fit nicely inside the bottle. If it isn't, you can trim it with scissors.

Step 3: Roll up your photo and put it into the bottle. Use the rod to adjust the photo until you're happy with the position.

And you're done! A unique way to display your photos and add some personality to your room.

Try making several and putting them on a windowsill or another source of light for added effect.

Credit: Wendan Li (CC '12)

That's it for this week's Diva DIY - have fun creating!

Hoot Holds a Swap

Credit: Anna Cooperberg Gonzalez (CC '12)

Who doesn't love a clothing swap? Here at Hoot, we certainly embrace the practice, which is why we decided to partner with Green Umbrella to hold a Green Clothing Swap to help our fabulous peers find new clothing in an eco-friendly manner. The swap, which took place on Saturday, November 14th, marked the launch of this here blog; I must admit that is was what I can only refer to as a great success (Check out our Columbia Spectator coverage here).

Credit: Anna Cooperberg Gonzalez (CC '12)

Students (and a few professors!) brought in their gently used clothing and then had their pick of the garb that others had contributed. In short time, Lerner West Ramp Lounge was transformed into a little nook of what resembled a sample sale, what with students trying on items and checking themselves out in the mirror. However, we'd like to think we were much less stressful than any sample sale in the city- we offered cute snacks like M&M-covered pretzel squares, and fellow Columbia organization Feel Good was on hand to whip up yummy grilled-cheese sandwiches.

Credit: Anna Cooperberg Gonzalez (CC '12)

Of course, I won't fail to mention that we offered a bevy of super raffle prizes, among them La Falaise cruelty-free bath sets, a gift certificate to chickdowntown.com, and the style guide Closet Confidential by talented blogger Winona of DaddyLikey. Our winners and guests, who received La Falaise soaps as well, went home happy and certainly with a few new items of clothing to try out. All the unclaimed clothing we donated to the Broadway Presbyterian Church.

We do hope you can come to our next event; we're not letting any cats out of the bag yet, but we'll keep you posted on everything going on here at Hoot.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Alma's Lucky Day

Credit: Billy Hathorn

One of our first ideas for the blog was a photo shoot with Alma Mater, a bronze statue by Daniel Chester French that sits in front of Low Library. Indeed, Alma is well taken care of at Columbia, as she always remains in shining brilliance, rain or shine.

We, at Hoot, have the utmost respect for our mother goddess (also known as the mother soul of our lovely academic institution) -- and we wanted to treat her to a designer makeover for the image to be used as our blog header. After all, who wouldn't want to be draped in Hermès scarves and Prada bags?

Credit: Anna Cooperberg Gonzalez (CC '12)

So, on an early Saturday morning, we trekked over to our dear Alma with bags of our very best clothing and accessories, from Jimmy Choo bags to Christian Louboutin pumps to Missoni knits. One student thought we were selling the clothes, and tried to buy a pair of Betsey Johnson pumps!

Credit: Noel Duan (CC '13)

As we started carefully climbing Alma and draping her in stylish ornamentation, representatives of the Columbia University Department of Public Safety arrived, questioning our motives and telling us to stop defacing this revered statue.

We collected our items and left Low Steps shortly afterward.

Unfortunately, they didn't buy our argument that giving Alma a Chanel bag was far from statue defacement. What's chicer and more respectable than Chanel, after all?

About Hoot Magazine

Credit: Anna Cooperberg Gonzalez (CC '12)

Hoot magazine is a fashion, lifestyle, culture, and arts publication conceived in Fall 2009 by a group of students who are passionate about celebrating the diversity of the Columbia University campus community through fashion publishing. The Columbia University community, comprised of over 25,000 talented students, is full of artistic, entrepreneurial, and journalistic talent -- and we are proud to be a part of it.

We are an entirely self-sufficient and student-run quarterly publication, and we provide valuable experience in all aspects of the publishing industry through our entrepreneurial efforts. We are currently working on our inaugural all-color glossy print issue, set to be published in early February of 2010. Our blog is consistently updated with information about our upcoming events, glimpses of behind-the-scenes at Hoot, and anything and everything pertaining to the fashion-savvy Columbia University student.

No matter what you are studying at Columbia University, whether it is journalism or biochemical engineering, we hope you will join us in celebrating fashion and creativity on campus, in New York City, and throughout the world. We are always looking for more writers, bloggers, copy editors, models, photographers, illustrators, event coordinators, webmasters, graphic designers, layout designers, public relations directors, and stylists. No experience necessary -- just email info [at] hootmag.org!
Interested in aspects of fashion design, fashion marketing, or fashion public relations that aren't related to Hoot? Check out CU Couture, Columbia University's first and only fashion club. Email cucouture [at] gmail.com and join the Facebook group for more information.