Dorm Decor Under $10

One of my absolute favorite things about beginning a new school year is decorating my dorm room. Your dorm room or apartment is a great way to express your personality and show off those awesome interior-decorating skills. If you’re a broke college student like I am, you’ll also want to save every dime you can in the process.

I change it up every year. For example, my freshman year I went for a classic navy, white and coral theme. This year I opted for a more bohemian, eclectic style (Boone has obviously rubbed off on me).

Two of my most recent obsessions have been tribal print and elephants. So when I saw this canvas on Pinterest  I knew it was time to put my artistic ability to the test. I have gotten so many compliments on this versatile canvas that I wanted to share it with all you collegiettes. 

A few things you will need are a canvas (any size, but I prefer something smaller and more square-shaped because it’s much less time-consuming), a black paint pen, acrylic paint in any color, an elephant stencil, a paint brush, a pencil and a ruler for drawing the lines. I borrowed most of these supplies with the exception of the teal paint, paint pen and canvas, all of which I purchased at our local Michaels (still confused as to why we have a Michaels and not a Target…). Combined with the weekly 40% off of one item coupon, the total came out to about $9.50. Not too bad for a cute decoration, right?

First, I’m going to use the picture of the canvas from Pinterest to free hand the designs with pencil onto the canvas because it’s fairly easy to make mistakes. Then, I trace the designs I drew in pencil with the black, fine-tipped paint pen.

After the paint pen dries, I position my elephant stencil in the center of the canvas and use a paint brush to fill it in with acrylic paint. Note: it will take multiple coats of paint to cover up the black tribal print.

Finally, after the paint has dried, you have your finished product! Enjoy all the compliments you’re going to get on the new addition to your room! Here’s a picture of mine hanging on my wall. Underneath is another craft I did where I used a string tied to two command strip hooks and mini-clothes pins to attach the pictures.  

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