Cages Or Wings?: Dorm DIY: Let's Put a New Coat of Paint On This Lonesome Old Town

Hi, everyone!! Today, I have a few new inexpensive back-to-school DIY projects to share with you! I am including two different projects in today's post because both are incredibly quick and easy. So, without further ado, let's get started!

My first project was spicing up a plain backpack with some fabric paint. I am totally a backpack girl. I find that carrying a backpack is the simplest way to carry a load of books, clothes, or even a laptop around campus. However, if I am going to carry the same accessory on a daily basis, I would like it to be a representation of myself and my personality. Last school year, I went green on my backpack purchases, using a backpack made out of recycled rice bags first semester and a backpack made out of a recycled Lay's potato chips bag second semester.

Unfortunately though, the rice bag backpack ripped rather early in the school year and the chips backpack proved to be too small for my chorus and voice rep binders (which are music major essentials). Thus, I decided I needed to get a new, larger, and more sturdy backpack for the coming school year.

I went on the ever-wonderful Amazon.com to find a new recycled pack, but the total cost of the bag with tax and shipping ended up being too much money for my frugal college student wallet to handle. I also found this adorable bag:

which is both adorable, large, and ecofriendly. However, it was out of my budget as well. So, I grudgingly decided to settle for this backpack at Target:

Though it is admittedly cute (clearly I've hopped on the cute bird pattern trend), it was slightly smaller than I had hoped for, and I wasn't looking forward to feeling super generic when other people had the same backpack this school year.

But then, AC Moore came to the rescue yet again! My mom saw in the ads that AC Moore was selling backpacks for a mere $5!! My little sister and I scrambled to the store the next morning to pick up new backpacks. I was so excited when I saw that they came in plain colors, hoping I could tie-dye or add an adorable iron-pattern to give it interest. Unfortunately, they were 100% polyester (which doesn't take most common dyes and will melt if ironed) so I couldn't, but fortunately, I found the cutest $2 butterfly stencil that I have ever seen. I purchased the backpack, stencil, and fabric paint for $10, less than half of what I spent on the now-returned Target backpack. I then patterned the bag with cute butterfly designs, and I am in love with how it turned out!! I can't wait to carry it around on campus!! Take a look:

My younger sister also bought a plain backpack to carry around her high school. Being the talented artist that she is (I'm going to do a post about her artwork soon), she used her medium of choice (Sharpies; always Sharpies) to draw her own edgier, freehand design. She's not quite done yet, but doesn't it look awesome so far?

My second project involved making my boring, white-framed mirror a little more interesting. I got this mirror from Target two years ago for $4:

... the problem was, it looked like it cost $4, which I was not a fan of. Also, dust collected so easily on the white frame and made it look so filthy, that something needed to be done. I had some leftover gold spray paint from my magnetic makeup board project and another, yet to be discussed project. I planned to use it to dress up the plain white frame. I covered the mirror with newspaper to shield it from getting painted and then began to spray my gold. After covering the front of the frame with the paint, my little paint can decided to be empty. Thus, I improvised, using the turquoise enamel from my jewelry holder project to sponge paint around the frame, filling in any white spots. I actually loved the way this turned out, even though it was unexpected. The gold and turquoise look positively regal together, while the spongy texture adds a bit of character and quirk. Take a look at the end product!!