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The Crafty Gator: DIY Apartment Decor

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter.

It seems like all I see these days are continuous Facebook statuses begging people to sublease an apartment for summer. If you’re one of the lucky few who waited this long to score a really great deal and plan on moving up from a dorm to your very own (subleased) apartment, this craft is for you. Going from a single room with limited wall space to multiple rooms can be scary when trying to decide how you will decorate, but I have the perfect triple-canvas DIY project that will add some class to your new space!

Supplies:

  • Three 8-by-8 canvases
  • Black spray paint
  • White spray paint
  • Stencils
  • Doilies
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue
  • Black regular paint
  • Paintbrushes

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Picking a color scheme is the most important part of this project. I will be staying in an apartment where the living room theme is already red, black, and white, so I continued the theme by choosing black.
  2. Next, pick two awesome stencils. I went with a damasque and flower stencil because they look nice together.
  3. I spray painted each 8-by-8 canvas all black, and I chose white spray paint for the designs.
  4. Carefully place the stencil in the desired place on the canvas. I chose to do the damasque stencil twice in a vertical line, so I had to wait for it to dry. Make sure the stencil is firmly in place by using tape, so it won’t move as you’re spray-painting. You don’t want those awful blurred lines.
  5. Sometimes, you might get that effect anyway. To fix it, take regular black paint, and carefully paint over the areas with mistakes.
  6. For the next stencil, I used hot glue to create the flower. Just use your hot glue gun to fill in the parts of the stencil for a see-through vibe. Be careful not to burn yourself; hot glue is not usually used to fill in large areas.
  7. For the last canvas, I bought some doilies, randomly placed them on the edges of the canvas, and used the white spray paint again to create a lace-like effect. Before spray-painting, make sure the doilies are firmly adhered to the canvas and will not move.
  8. Wait for all of the canvases to dry.
  9. Now, place them in either a vertical or horizontal line with the hot glue canvas sandwiched between the damasque and doily canvases.
  10. Sit back on the couch, and look at your beautiful new masterpieces!

Happy Crafting!XOXO,The Crafty Gator 

Cara oversees Her Campus Media's community department and serves as strategic lead for the expansion, development and management of all HCM communities, including the Her Campus Chapter Network, InfluenceHer Collective, College Fashionista, Spoon University, Campus Trendsetters, alumni and high school. She works closely with company leadership to develop new community-related sales offerings and the Integrated Marketing team to support all community-focused client marketing programs from end to end. Cara has experience working with high-profile talent, such as Jessica Alba, Andrew Yang, Amber Tamblyn, Aja Naomi King, Troian Bellisario, Jessica Marie Garcia, Nico Tortorella, Nastia Liukin, Rebecca Minkoff, Cecile Richards and Samantha Power, as well as brands like Coca-Cola, L'Oréal Paris, The New York Times, HBO, Uber, H&M and more. Having been a part of the HC family since 2011, Cara served as Campus Correspondent of the HC chapter at the University of Florida where she studied journalism, women’s studies and leadership. A New Yorker turned Floridian, Cara has a Friends quote for any situation. You can usually find her with her friends and family at the beach, a concert or live sports event or binge-watching Grey's Anatomy or Sons of Anarchy. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @thecararose.