Dorm Room Arts and Crafts

Scrapbooking paper is a really, really good investment. I bought a whole bunch a few months ago, and I’ve since used it to make cards, the flower mirrors, and another junk mail art. I intend to use it to make decorated lanterns, and dry erase picture frames. I’m sure as I go, I’ll find even more uses for my scrapbooking paper. It is really, really useful to have a few pads of it, so I’d suggest going out and buying some from Michael’s. The cost will diffuse itself across products as you go along. So it’s definitely worth it.

How I Made My “Junk Mail Art”

Materials:
Old magazines
Scissors
X-acto knife
2 pieces of posterboard any size
Glue stick
Tacky glue.

Instructions:

1. Cut up magazine strips. Use lots of color or no color however you want to do it.

2. Paste (with glue stick) them onto posterboard one in any way. You can put them all in one direction or all in different directions.

3. Decide what you want your poster to say/be. Trace it on to posterboard two. Then cut it out with x-acto knife.

4. Use tacky glue to glue posterboard two onto posterboard one.

5. Use scissors and x-acto knife to trim.

How I made my “flower mirror”

Materials:

Circle Mirror- any size. ( I found mine at target. I bought a pack of 7 in 3-inch 6-inch and 9-inch diameter)
Scrapbook paper or cardstock (Go for 67 lb cardstock- it’s easier to use)
Scissors
Glue- tacky glue or hot glue
Paper towels

Steps:

1. Make a template by folding a paper towel in half and trace half the design you want, then cut. The first paper towel will yield a design 11 inches tall. Cut the next paper towel to 8 inches before cutting the design. Cut the third to 5 inches, and the last to 3 inches. You’ll have different size design templates now.
*Note- you can make your design rounded on top or pointed. I chose to go with pointed up top.

2. Cut out 8 of each size on the paper you want.
*Note- you can make these all the same color or all different colors. Either way the effect will be out the same.

3. Cut a circle the same diameter as your mirror, and lay out the pattern you want around it.

4. Start with the smallest petals and work your way out as you glue the petals to the mirror.
Note: I used eight petals in each size around, so in order to place them evenly, I made a circle with crosses in it and double stick taped it to the back of the mirror. Then I lined up the middle of the petals with the line and glued.

5. After gluing all the petals allow to dry (if you use tacky glue it takes about an hour. Makes sure it dries on a flat surface)

6. If the petals do not stick straight up after gluing, you can fold them in half to give them more rigid shape.

You’re finished!!

Next year, I’ll be living in a dorm for the first time in my life. I like having personalized touches. I like having things that no one else will have, so I’ve been searching google and pinterest for ideas of what I can make to make my dorm room my own. For each project that I post, I’ll post instructions (how I did it), pictures, and my original source of information.
I am cheap, very cheap, so I’m going to do this in the most cost effective way possible, and include tips and tricks on how to get everything in the cheapest way possible.
Now. A little bit about me. My name is Karen and I’m going to be attending performing arts school next year. I am not very artsy. I cannot draw to save my life, but I am very creative. I can see things and know I can do it in a different way(as long as there is no drawing involved). I love color, and I don’t think that anyone who decides to try these projects should do them exactly as I do.
Do your own thing, and if you do try it out send me pictures. I think that there are a million different ways to do the same thing and each shows the makers’s personality.
This is just my way of doing things.