10 DIY Crafty College Dorm Room Decor Ideas

Have you got a kid heading off to college? Every room in that dorm will be filled with Ikea and Target items. Send them off with something that will make their dorm room stand out. Make it for them or do it together for a fun crafternoon. We got 10 great ideas that are pretty quick to make and fun to personalize.

1. Arm Knit this Gorgeous Throw – these big cable knit throws are very trendy and have a sophisticated look that will stand out in a small room. This one will be a winner with any college student.

2. Sew up a personalized Laundry Bag so they can easily transport their laundry home so you can do it. 🙂 This bag is a fast and easy project. We carry college cotton fabric of the local colleges at all Craft Warehouse stores. You can also use iron-on transfer letters to spell out the name.

College Week! Make a Laundry Bag

3. These Soup Bowl Cozies are incredibly useful and perfect for all the hot bowls that they will be taking out of the microwave while studying late. Make a few for them to have. Make sure to make them with no metallic threads and use only 100% cotton batting so that they will not have a bad reaction if they are heated up in the microwave.

Make a Soup Bowl Cozy

4. Give them the World – Light-up anything is going to be popular with the college set. It helps make the dorm room cozy and ambient. This fabric panel of earth is easily decked out with Firefly Lights that are attached to the back. The Firefly lights come with a remote that makes it easy to turn them on or off or put on a timer. You can use this method with lots of digital fabric panels we have in the stores now. Follow this link and scroll down to see a gallery of more style of light-up fabric panels.

Make your own Light Up Canvas with Digital Print Fabric

5. These Agate Nightlights are a unique item that will enhance a college dorm and give some nice soft light. Choose the agate stone of your choice, glue to the nightlight and embellish with gilding flakes around the edges. A very on-trend craft for any age.

6. String ’em up – Firefly String Lights are incredibly useful in so many ways. The thin wire is bendable so you can wrap it around a frame, a pallet, a wreath, a bedpost – anything. Firefly Lights also work great as is. Just pin each end on the wall and use it like a clothesline for photos or memorabilia. Add extra style to it by making Shrinky Dink mini-clothespins for the light string. You can print on Shrinky Dink paper, so find whatever images you like best. Shrinky Dinks can be shrunk with a heat gun, too!  No more plastic in the oven. Learn more here >

7. Shrink all the Dinks – While you have the Shrinky Dink paper out, why not make some bookmark clips, zipper pulls, backpack fobs to add to the creative fun. These would be great for all back-to-schoolers. We have some free templates on this Shrinky Dinks post that can get you started. Have a lot of cute stamps? Stamp the one you want on paper and then scan that and print it out on the Shrinky Dink paper! Or hand draw your image. Lots of options. Have some fun with it.

8. Make a Custom Letter – If your student is sharing a room with someone they might appreciate something that distinguishes their side from their roommates side. Why not make a custom initial for the first name of the occupant. You can paint pour it, yarn wrap it, add little photos all over it, cover it with chalkboard paint – there are lots of options for decoration and lots of options for letters at Craft Warehouse.

9. Decorate a Frame or Two – Send your kid off to college with a photo of the family, the family pet, or best friends in a unique and fun frame. We have lots of unfinished wood frames at Craft Warehouse. You can paint them, collage them or wrap yarn around them. This frame was made with one cake of yarn. Learn how to make a yarn wrapped frame here >

Yarn Wrapped Frame using Candy Shop Yarn

10. Create a Message Board – At Craft Warehouse we have many ways to make a message board. We have 12″ x 12″ frames with 12″ x 12″ sheets in corkboard, magnets and chalkboard. Did you know that you can make any glass frame into a dry erase board with a dry erase pen? Take any frame and put a favorite pretty scrapbook paper behind it and then use it as a dry erase board. You can also put that magnet sheet behind it and it will work as a magnet board. So many options!

Come into a Craft Warehouse store near you to see more ideas. We have lots of inspiration in the aisles that is waiting for you.

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