Yeah, that's right. This cork board makes people want to party.

A dorm isn’t a dorm without the staple brown cork board on the wall. You post reminders of exams, pictures of your friends, phone numbers (of that hottie you just met!), and other important info on your life.

Problem is that the ugly brown cork board is a little bored. I know it doesn’t match the rest of your gorgeous room decor, so here is an easy and creative way to transform that ugly board into an artistic and functional piece of wall decor.

What You’ll Need:
*2 Sets of Cork Tiles: You can find these at Wal-mart, Target, or any office supply store. They usually come in sets of 4. You can make your cork piece as big as you want, but I usually use 8 tiles (so, 2 sets).
*Spray Paint: Use any color you want. The spray paint will be for the background color of your piece.
*Art Paint: Again, choose any colors you want. This paint will add accent colors and design on the cork tiles after they are spray painted. Skip this step if you prefer to have a plain color cork piece!
*Ribbon: Use any color/design you want. Just make sure the color of the ribbon goes well with the paint colors.
*Small paint brushes

Easy Instructions
1. Outside in an open area, lay down some newspaper so you don’t make a mess. Lay out the cork tiles on the newspaper. With the spray paint, paint each of the cork tiles in a side to side, up and down motion until the entire tile is painted. Don’t overdo it – just make sure the color of the cork doesn’t show through the spray paint. Set aside to dry.

2. Now that your cork tiles are all painted, feel free to use the other paint to add designs on top of the tiles. Draw stripes, circles, flowers, swirls, whatever design you choose! You could also paint a letter on each tile to spell out a word or your name. Let that beauty dry.

3. Now it’s time to hang your creation. Using the adhesive stickers that came with your cork tiles, place the cork tiles on the wall leaving room between each tile (big enough for the ribbon you chose). I usually put 2 rows of 4 tiles to make a rectangle, but you could also make a square of 4 tiles, an asymmetrical pattern, or whichever looks best to you.

4. Finally, tack ribbon to the wall between your tiles so it creates a border around all the rows of your tiles. You don’t have to do this step, but it adds color and makes the tiles come together as an art piece instead of just a bunch of tiles on the wall.

5. You’re done! Now add pictures, posts, and anything else you put on your normal cork board, which is not so normal anymore.

Have no fear my decorating minions, get your hot glue guns ready and lets get crafty!

Let’s Make… Picture frames! Posters are so…mainstream. Everyone has them. Why not hang your own pictures in personalized frames?

 This is an easy craft. You can find ready-made frames for cheap at any dollar store, walmart, or craft store. All you need to do is decorate with fabric, sequins, or little plastic accents…things you can again find at walmart or a craft store. Just apply them with your hot glue gun…and there you have it!

Let’s Make… Beaded curtains!  This project will take a little more time to finish, but it allows your mind to go to a zen-like place while you do it.

You will need: Beads! Fishing line and a tension curtain rod.

First measure your door frame and decide how thick you want your curtain to be. Thicker curtains call for more beads. Cut your fishing line to fit, and then start stringing your beads (this part takes awhile).

Once you’re done stringing all your beads,  apply them to the rod and hang. Put a dab of hot glue over the part where the beads are tied over the rod to keep the steady. There you have it!

Let’s Make… A bulletin board! Tired of all that random paper that you acquire but are to pack-raty to throw out? Make a bulletin board! You can do one of two things for this: buy a pre-made board and just paint the frame, attach some beads, or glue fabric to the edge with your hot glue gun — or, you can cover a piece of plywood with fabric (hot glue the fabric down) then crisscross ribbon over the fabric to stick notes and pictures inside.

The most important thing is to have fun doing these projects!  College can be stressful, crafting shouldn’t be.

[Crafty photo from craftzine.com]