By Avery Ballmann | Personal editor
No matter what phase of life or space I live in, a wall collage should always pop up. This trend has become popular over the years, but unfortunately people often buy pre-made collages which can be expensive and boring.
I’m here to show you a cheaper and unique way to decorate your bedroom that is personal to you. The collages are easy to assemble and can be versatile for all. Here is a step by step tutorial on how to create one.
Stationery
First, you’ll need to gather your cheap, easy-to-find supplies: scissors, tape, and magazines/picture books.
You will need a lot of masking tape for this project so I recommend going to Dollar Tree as everything is $1.25.
For magazines and picture books, I usually go to Good will, or you can go to your favorite thrift store. At Goodwill, books range from $1.00 to $2.99, depending on whether it is a hardcover book or not. If you need cheaper books, there’s a free library in the Moody Memorial Library on the garden level. These books are no longer out of the library, so they go on this shelf for anyone to pick up. The only problem with this option is that it’s a limited selection, but I’ve had some great finds.
When I’m looking for books, I always look for the kind that goes with my room. For example, I have a lot of plants and earth tones in my bedroom, so I usually choose gardening and nature books. If you love fashion or cars, you can find books to match. The whole point of collage is to make it unique to you.
Design
At this point in the process, you have gathered all of your supplies. Now is the time to rip those books. As you go through your stack of books, peel off the photos you like, so you can refer to them to keep the design consistent. When you cut out the images, make sure you don’t like the image on the other side of the page. I’ve had so many incidents where I cut out an image and realized there was a cooler one on the back. Another tip is to make sure you have a wide variety of sizes for your cutouts. This will help you place these images later.
Now that your pictures are all cut out, place the larger pictures on the wall first, but spread them out to the height and width you want for your collage. Once you place the larger photos, fill in with the smaller and medium photos. When I glue them to the wall, I usually roll my tape into a bubble and place them in the corners. Once you start placing your photos, it becomes a game of Tetris. Not everything will fit perfectly, so I usually place a few images behind another or cut out smaller images.
Final touches
You are now done with your collage – or so you think. Take a step back and see if your collage is uniform, the right size, and full of photos you enjoy. You will notice that some sides may be unbalanced or underfilled. Luckily, this is a simple fix by adjusting the image or removing a few others. After a few days some images may fall off, which is normal if your fan speed is high or there is not enough tape, but reinforce with more tape on opposite corners or at the middle, and it should stick well.
Plug in
There are so many advantages to this type of decor as it leaves no damage to the walls, it is economical and it can be temporary or long lasting. And, at least for me, it’s really fun. If that blank wall in your apartment or dorm is staring at you, don’t buy a cheap flag or a pre-made collage; go make one yourself.
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