Home Sign

I wanted to make a sign to show that no matter where I go in the future Kansas will always be my home.

For this project I used one of my canvas boards left over from previous projects and purple stray paint also left over from previous projects.

I printed out the letters "H" "M" "E" and the outline of the state of Kansas and taped them to my board. Then, I spray painted the whole board and let the paint dry for an hour. After the paint is dry remove the letters and your left with the outline.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Crepe Paper Mountains

Since I had some left over crepe paper for my previous projects I decided to make some mountains in my dorms bathroom.

All you need to complete this project is scissors, tape, and crepe paper. Next, take your crepe paper and cut two 24in. strips. Then, take the two strips and tape them to any wall of your choice in a triangle formation. Then, cut four strips of crepe paper 12 in. long and tape then in a triangle formation at the bottoms sides of the bigger triangle.

Finally, cut out eight strips 1 in. long and tape them in the center of the two smaller triangles in a zigzag formation across the middle of the two smaller mountains.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Yarn Orbs

Well for starters I highly recommend you to follow the directions and use the right ingredients when creating this project. 

The supplies for this project include scissors, yarn, balloons, and Elmer's glue mixed with water. Since I did not have Elmer's glue I just used the spray glue from my precious projects and it didn't turn out so great. Like I said you should probably follow the directions on this one. The glue was so sticky that when I popped the balloon the whole outer layer caved in with it.

All you need to do to create this project is blow you balloons up to your desired size. Next, dip your yarn in the glue and wrap it around the balloon. To finish, let the glue dry and pop the balloon. If you want to hang it just tie a piece of string to it and display it where ever you like.

I'm sure if I followed the directions this project would have turned out pretty awesome.  

Photo by Brooke Tuma

"Where am I" board

Here is a fun and creative way to let your roommates and residential hall members know where you are at!

Money Origami

If you guys couldn't follow along with my tutorial the link is below so you can follow the instructions with pictures.
http://www.origami-instructions.com/easy-money-origami-heart.html

Halloween 2 in 1

It's getting to that time of year, Halloween! Halloween is my second favorite holiday. Bet you can't guess what may favorite holiday is. (Hint: It's Christmas. I love all the Christmas music.)

So, to decorate my dorm room for Halloween I decided to go with simple, classy and humorous. For my DIY project I cut out bats and taped them to the ceiling of my dorm room, but here's the kicker. I also taped what my roommates and I love the most if front of the bat. So it looks like the bats are flying towards the objects we love most.

Awesome right! As you know from previous blogs I like to spice things up a bit.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

String of Lights

I decided to go with something very easy this time and just hang some lights over my bed. I ordered a 13 foot long string of LED lights off of Amazon for $9.85.

Then, I took some Damage Free Wall Hanging Hooks to hang my lights in a drapery pattern. I absoultly love my lights I use them all the time especially during movie nights!

Photo by Brooke Tuma

DIY Mason Jar Lantern

Since I had some left over mason jars and lace form previous projects I decided to make a lantern. The steps to complete this project is take your lace and wrap it around the jar. Then, take some spray adhesive so the fabric will stick to the jar. 

If you want to you can tie a bow around the top of the jar like I did to make it look a little more fancy. I got a 3 pack of flameless candles at Walmart in the Halloween section for a $1. To complete the whole project it took me around 30 minutes. 

DIY Sand Candles

I'm very happy with the results. I know candles are not a good idea for a dorm room but, the candles looked easy and cool to make. All you have to do to make the candles is go to your local craft store, I personally went to Hobby Lobby for all my supplies, and find some candle wax, glass jars, and a candle wick. Then, take and pour your different color sand wax to create your different color pattern. 

I got all the different colored 12o.z. bags of wax at Hobby Lobby for $3.99. The two jars for $4 each and the wicks for $2. It took me 45 minutes to complete both candles.

DIY Markerboard

This was a very easy project to complete. All you need is a cheap picture frame and some design paper and your finished.

I got the picture frame at Walmart for $1 and the design paper for $5. The whole process took me 10 minutes to complete. All you have to do is cut out the paper to fit in the frame. Then buy yourself a dry erase maker to write on the glass.

Very easy to complete and the finished project looks great.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Mason Jar Picture Frame

I thought it would be nice to have a family picture in my dorm room with me. Since I didn't want to be a normal person and buy a picture frame I decided to take the route and put my family picture in a mason jar full of cooking oil.

I result was amazing it gave the photo a kind of rustic look and the oil magnified the picture. Then I glued some burlap on the top of the jar and tied a bow around the top of the jar to help spice it up a little.

The whole process took be about an hour. The burlap cost me $6.45 and I got a 12 pack of mason jars for around $10.

At first I thought that is was a good idea but, then I realized that if this thing breaks it is going to be a heck of a mess to clean up!

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Spray Paint Leaf Art

This by far was the easiest DIY project I have done. All I needed was a canvas, spray paint, and a tree branch. I recommend you do this project before the leafs fall of the trees or you won't be able to find a leafy branch. 

To complete the project place you branch on top of the canvas and spray paint over it. Boom! You're left with an out line of a tree branch. Like I said very easy. The canvas cost me $2.97 and I used spray paint from previous projects.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Light-Up Letter

For this project all you need to do is go to your local craft store and hope you can find a build you own letter light kit. I personally went to Hobby Lobby to find my kit.
It cost me around $12 for my kit. I got the letter "B" because my name starts with a "B". I recommend you get the letter that your name starts with or if your name too starts with a "B" then you too are a awesome person like me!
To help spice up my letter light I took some spray paint from my precious projects to give it some color. Then finished it with a light coat of sparkle spray paint. It took me around an hour to complete.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

 

Crayon Melting Art

I've always wanted to try melting crayon with a hair dryer. Well now I've finally done it. It did not turn out how I would have hoped but it still looks pretty awesome. This is something that takes a lot of time. I completed it in about an hour and a half. What you need to complete this project is canvas, glue, crayons, and a hairdryer. The crayons cost me $2.94, the canvas $2.97, and if you're not a girl and don't have your own hairdryer they cost anywhere between 30 and 100 dollars. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how long you want to wait for the crayons to start melting.

If you want to see the step by step process watch the youtube video below.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Video courtesy of Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgk0j-XSjGo

Tape and Spray Paint

For my next project all I needed was two canvas panels that cost me $2.97, tape that also cost $2.97, and spray paint. I got the sample spray paint at Hobby Lobby for $3.27 because it was cheaper than buying the full can at Walmart. Remember I am on a budget.
This by far is the best project I have completed. It turned out wonderful and it only took me 35 minutes to complete.
All you have to do to create this project is first take your canvas panel and spray paint the whole panel. Let it dry for about ten minutes. Then, take you tape and put in on top of the dry paint to create any pattern you want. Finally, take a different color of spray paint to spray over the taped part. Let dry for another ten minutes. Walla! The finished project.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

StickyNotes

As I was looking online for my next project for my dorm room, I came across an idea where all you have to do is take sticky notes and cover the wall with them. All you need for this project is some sticky notes and a wall to put them on.

I thought to myself, this is going to be easy and fast to do, man was I wrong. I started off strong sticking to the design pattern I wanted. Then, it got to the point where I just wanted to get done and it progressively got worse as I continued down the wall. It many not have looked the best when I got done, but it did give the room some more color.

It took me about an hour to complete the project, with the help of my roommate. The sticky notes were remarkably cheap, costing me a little under $2.00.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Here is a website for some more sticky note projects.
http://www.nobiggie.net/25-post-it-note-diy-ideas/

Creative Door Tape

I found on Pinterest a way to make your dorm room door look like an apartment door. All you need for this project is any size/color/pattern of tape(any brand you desire), scissors, and a door!
The instructions on Pinterest said you should measure from the left and right side of the door so you can get the tape placed in the center. Since I did not have a ruler I just eyeballed it and hoped for the best.
The result was better than I expected. The design was shifted to the left and wasn't exactly centered in the middle of the door, but it still looked decent.
The tape cost $2.74 and it took me about 20 minutes to complete.

Photo by Brooke Tuma

Here is a link to more designs using tape.
http://pencilshavingsstudio.com/2012/04/decorating-with-washi-tape/

Jail Bathroom

As I was looking on Pinterest for my first DIY project for my dorm room I decided to try a project where I tape Crepe Paper on our bathroom wall. All you need for this project is some tape, Crepe Paper, and scissors. I recommend you use a sturdy step stool to tape up the streamer and not the toilet to stand on FYI, I had to learn the hard way:)
After I got done and stepped back to look at my accomplishment I realized I turned our bathroom into a jail cell. Then that night after all of us took a shower the heat and steam caused the paper to start sagging.
Besides the fact our bathroom does kind of look like a small jail cell, I was pleased with the results. I recommend everyone try this project because it was affordable, easy, and fast to complete. The Crepe Paper I got at Party City for 89 cents and it took me about 35 minutes to complete the whole project.

Photo by Anna-Marie Turner

Hi I'm Brooke and one thing I have in common with all college students in America is we are all broke. I've noticed my dorm room is pretty plain and it needs to have more color on the walls. Since I don't have a lot of money I have decided to turn to cheap DIY projects and share my thoughts and experiences with everyone.