School Sparkle: DIY Crafts to Deck Out Your Dorm Room!

Hi lovelies! You all gave such amazing feedback from my School Sparkle guest blogger series, I decided to invite one of my favorite bloggers, The Caro Diaries, to come write one final post all about making this school year the best one ever! And for all of my fellow college kids, a huge part of having a great year is having a great dorm room or apartment on campus! So today, Caro will be sharing some of her favorite DIY crafts to spruce up your room!

I'm lucky enough to be entering my second year of university this year, and I know what it's like being a broke college student. When the exchange rate between your home country and the US is 6:1, broke becomes your middle name. That being said, I can't afford expensive accessories and decorations for my dorm room, and I've been forced to be creative. Dorm rooms can be boring. This is the place you eat, sleep, study and just hang out in all day every day for nine months out of the year, so sprucing it up is recommended, but managing to do it without spending big money is the challenge. So I headed on over to Pinterest (my favorite thing to do whenever I need any sort of inspiration - check out my Wednesday Wisdom posts every week!) and created a list of some great, easy and inexpensive DIY pieces to turn your dorm room into your home.


1) String Art
Nothing says home like making something creative to depict not only your state, but your hometown. Home is literally where the heart is with this cute decoration that's easy to make and adds so much character and a great story to your room. Click here for instructions!

2) Jewelry Board
There's no better way to showcase your fashion sense and style than by creating a jewelry board. Choosing fabrics that express your personality, and showing off your fave accessories add a unique touch to your room, and is also super convenient! Click here for instructions!

3) Photo Letter 
When you go to college, you're going to want to be surrounded by photos of home, friends, family and loved ones to remind you of them and provide a familiar face in all your new experiences. By buying a wooden letter and some mod podge, you can create a new dorm room accessory that's not only cute, but also personal! Click here for instructions!

4) Charging Station 
In college, you'll be using your phone, laptop, e-reader and iPods pretty regularly, and need to charge them daily or weekly. This power station transforms your charger cords into a cute little station, and organizes and pretties up the usually cluttered section. It's fairly simple to do and makes a big difference when compared to tangled cords. Click here for instructions!

5) Photo Lines 
Sticking up photos all over your room is highly recommended while you're at school. It's a great way to surround yourself with friends, family and great memories, and to keep you calm when you're so far away from home. Using twine and clothes pins, this transforms your room and empty wall space so much more than a regular photo collage or frames would. Click here for instructions!

6) Magnetic Makeup Board 
This one is super useful and adds a girly touch to any room by showcasing your own makeup. It also forces you to filter through and only keep what you actually use. It would be great to stick next to your mirror and make your daily makeup routine so much easier! Click here for instructions!

7) Crayon Art 
I've seen this one all over Pinterest and I've always loved it, so when I stumbled across this one I absolutely knew I needed to make it! It's so colorful and a quick way to brighten any room, but the inspirational word (or you can use a quote) adds some motivation daily which is always a plus when you're living away from home! The instructions sound easy enough.. but knowing me, I'd end up on Pinterest Fail! Click here for instructions!

8) Framed Weekly Calendar 
When you're in college, you HAVE to be organized. You have no mom telling you to wake up and go to your 8am class, and no one is there to keep track of the 16 credits you're taking, all those tests and projects, as well as meetings and other extra curricular activities. I love the idea of this weekly calendar in these frames because it's a sort of to-do list, which is always useful when you're away from home. Click here for instructions!

I hope you enjoy these cheap and easy DIY crafts to spruce up your dorm room! You can stop by my blog, The Caro Diaries, or find me on Bloglovin, Facebook or Pinterest for even more posts like these :) 

For more product recommendations, be sure to check out my new video showing my makeup collection and storage! Click the video link below to learn the unexpected places I buy makeup storage, the unique way I organize my eyeshadow palettes, and tons more!