Quick & Easy Dorm Decor Ideas!

Hey there! I know it's been a couple months since my last post, but the summer just flew by between vacations and college prep.  You might have guessed since my last posts in June were about high school graduation, I'll now be moving on to a couple posts on dorm room decor and organization. But, I've also got a couple more ideas for party planning and dance team mom duties that I'll sprinkle in as well.  Anyway, as I look at the giant pile of things to move to Oregon State, I must say my oldest daughter and I might have had a little too much fun with all the preparation, because now we have to find a way to fit it all into the cars we're taking!  So, before I start shoving it all into said cars I thought I'd share two quick and easy dorm decor ideas...which happen to be really inexpensive, too!

First, on a recent trip to our local Ikea we found this cute little candle plate/dish above (find it here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80239979/) for only $4.99.  It was too cute to pass up since my daughter and her roommate went for a pastel, feminine vibe for their dorm decor.  Of course, we had to switch it up a bit and use it in an unexpected way.  We decided to use it as a wall hanging for above the head of their beds and affix their monograms to it using Cricut metallic vinyl.  For those of you who don't own a cutting machine... get one now! Or, you could of course just order a monogram sticker from someone on Etsy.  Here's the finished product, which we added a little gold ribbon hanger to.  It's also nice that the plates aren't too heavy, because they will be hung by a Command Hook in the dorm. And, as we all know...you can't poke holes in dorm walls!

Ikea Hack...Candle Plate turned Wall Hanging!

The second project idea is a floral wreath.  Nothing ground breaking about this one, but it turned out really pretty and will be the perfect finishing touch for her gallery wall above the side of her bed.  The extra nice part, it was really inexpensive to make as compared to buying one pre-made and we could customize the colors to match the canvas' that it will be hung with.  So after a quick trip to JoAnn's where we scored a large bunch of 5 silk peonies for only $2.50 (end-of-summer sale), and then to Dollar Tree for the rest of the flowers and the foam wreath form we wrapped up this project for only $6.50 (minus the hot glue, which I already own)! 

 Here's some tips for success: 

1. Beware of ugly. I'm sorry, but some of the silk flowers at Dollar Tree look like they cost $1. So, choose wisely to keep it classy and soft looking.  We grabbed the pink peonies, and hydrangeas in two colors that are delicately colored and simple.
2. Use five large blooms to ground your wreath in a pleasing symmetry; varying their angles to keep it natural looking.
3. Use an awl or similar tool to pre-poke the holes into the styrofoam wreath where the flowers will go to avoid breaking the plastic stems.
4. Pull the flower heads and leaves off the thick plastic stems, and cradle the leaves at the base of the flowers to frame them.
5. Use hot glue in the pre-poked holes before placing the flowers in them to ensure a secure hold.
6. Start with the large blooms, then fill in the spaces between with the smaller flowers. Don't go in a strict pattern or it will look funny, spreading out the colors more naturally will give you a better effect in the end.

Without further ado, here's our pretty little wreath...can't wait to see it up on the wall in Weatherford Hall!  Move-in is this Sunday!