How I Decorated my Classroom For Under 25 Bucks!

Ok, first, I should admit that really I spent $50.00 BUT that's only because I couldn't pass up a rug from IKEA that was $30.00. But the rest only cost me around 25 bucks, I promise! 

Side Note: 

{I spent all week in my freaking hot classroom sweating and struggling to pick things up at 6 months pregnant but I pretty much got it all done! I am teaching summer school during the whole month of July and didn't think I'd be in any position to do a classroom at 8 months so yeah, we had to move now!}
I had some awesome helpers this week...my husband, sister, brother-in-law-to-be, and my BF, Ashley! They came in and hooked my class up in like 3 hours! 


{anyway}

I have come to realize that if I have access to butcher paper and a color printer, I can decorate my entire room and barely spend any money.  

I have been using the whole idea that you can pick-two-colors-and-stick-with-it-theme as opposed to a theme-theme (like two years ago, I did the whole monster theme from the Trends line and spent about $150.00 on borders, name tags, decorations, etc...never again) I've also done themes in the past like Hollywood, Monkeys, Ocean, etc... 

Now- it's just...colors! I chose blue and green because I already had lots of things in those colors and because well, they're pretty :) 

Here is what I bought: 
Scrapbook paper: $4.00
Fabric to make curtains and a table cloth- $12.00 
Tissue paper for pom poms- $6.00 


What I already had on hand and therefore free: 
Ribbon in my two colors (blue and green)
Book Baskets in my two colors 
Cute file folders in my two colors 
Flowers and vases in my colors 
Reading Pillows in my two colors 


What I needed to create and make or print: (all in my two colors- and cute!)
*I created all of these items on my computer and printed, laminated, and cut out! 
Word Wall Letters 
Book Basket Labels 
Cubby Labels 
Name Tags for desks 
Author Study Folders and labels 
Pennant garland (using scrapbook paper, ribbon, and a stapler) 
Pom Poms 
Curtains to hide items that aren't super cute in my guided reading area
Scrunch border for all my bulletin boards 

OK ...time for a picture review! 

Here are a few 'befores" 

Took me ALL WEEK to sort, level, and label! Whew! More on that below. 

{note the ugly color behind the whiteboard-I cover it with paper soon!}

GRRRRRRRRRRR! 

And then, three hours later after a very bossy me and very helpful friends...

TADAAAAA! As you can see, I've selected a few colors to carry me through the room. Behind the blue paper was an ugly color that I had to cover. Then, I did the scrunch paper border (free).

 More on that below. 

 Dr. Seuss Bookshelf! Oh and those are the word wall labels I made :) 

there's that IKEA rug that made me spend $50.00 instead of 25.00 hehehe

 Not quite done with this wall but there is the garland made with scrapbook paper and ribbon. Eyeball some triangles and staple away! Cheap but still cute! 

Ready to display student work! 

Ahh the scrunch border. It's going around pinterest like it's a new idea which makes me laugh because we've been doing this for years where I'm from! If you've never done it before, it's awesome because it is FREE! Here is how you do it: 

Put up your base color on the walls (I chose blue) and cut strips of butcher paper in your secondary color ( I chose brown).  See strips of paper on the triangular bookshelf!

Ball it up like a wad of paper headed to the trash!  (How cute is my little sister?)

Un-wad the paper and do what I like to call, scrunch and staple :) You may have to tuck in a few wayward strips of paper but it's very forgiving! Thanks for your help Ash! 

Staple, staple, staple. And laugh. :) 

Did you notice the pom balls?? My new obsession. 
Here is a Quick Pom Ball Tutorial (incase you haven't seen this done before- SO super easy!)  Notice the chevron and polka dots?  I diiieeeeee! Found at the local party store! 

All you need is 8 sheets of  tissue paper per pom pom. 

1) Fold accordion style. Back and forth all the way. 

2) I use a simple rubber band to hold the middle. I find that when I fluff it, it is much more flexible. Also, this would be the time to tie a string around the middle so it can be hung. 

3) Round out the edges by cutting a curve. 

Then pull one sheet apart at a time until you have a fluffy pom pom!

Also, I made lots of basket labels for baskets. I decided to do buckets organized by author, theme, series, and genre. I got this really cool bookshelf that had twelve slots. I decided that I would showcase my authors in this cool little thing! 

It was a great place to display my fav. authors all the way around! 

I love the fact that I can include my author study folders! 

I sorted my book pile mess after I took care of the authors.

lots of time spent on scholastic.com trying to figure out guided reading levels! 

some genre baskets...

and series baskets! 

The rest of my library can be found in browsing buckets (on students desks) 

aka the books that:

 a) I couldn't level because they were too random to find online or

 b) I wanted them to have exposure to them or

 c) I didn't know what else to do with! 

Also, below is my guided reading area where I'll pull small groups. That is the fabric I used to make the curtain (found at Walmart for $2.00 per yard!) and I use the term "curtain" lightly because I made it with a stapler. Sure did. I eyeballed the length, stapled the fabric, and shot it through a tension rod. Did the trick and looks decent from a distance! 

 Don't you dare even judge me! :)

Also, there is a closer look at the paper garland made with scrapbook paper and ribbon! 

So this is the longest post ever but I hope you enjoyed it! I was just so darn proud of myself for spending barely any money that I had to share. :)
Happy Summer!