Tag Archives: glitter

Taking Your Workspace From Bleak to Chic on the Cheap

Due to office reorganizations and cross-country moves, I’ve worked in seven different office spaces in the past four years. None of them had similar layouts or color schemes, and all of them had different sets of supplies. Through these moves, I’ve put together a few strategies to add a little personalization to a space that is built to be one-size-fits-all.

Personalizing my office has some serious benefits for me: I stay more committed to the job because I feel at home in the space. I am happier to be at work because I am surrounded by things that make me happy. People who come to my office get much more of a sense of my personality and probably remember me better, because I make my space bright, cheery, and inviting. Also, I am way more motivated to keep my desk clean when it is cute and cheery, rather than covered in piles of paper. I even dust when I feel a little ownership over my space.

For my current office, I took on a few simple projects that made a big impact on my space. My hope was to infuse some color, happiness and whimsy into the area that I look at for eight hours a day—but I wanted to keep things simple so that I didn’t use too much work time setting it up. Most importantly, I am a university advisor, and sensitive issues often come up when I am meeting with students. I always want my space to be as inviting as possible. I want people who come in my office to feel like they know me, at least a little, from the moment they sit down.

Before

Before

After

After

My before picture is blank, uninviting, uninspiring, and cluttered.

The after is much better. Glitter! Pink! Gold! Coordinated! Neat! More functional! Common theme! I actually enjoy working in my space more because it is so bright and fun. The office is still beige, and I can’t swap the furniture, but it feels great to have things be a little more personal.

Going through these projects, there were a few things that stood out to me as being really important to avoid frustration. First, choose a color scheme early. If I were really smart I would’ve used my school’s colors, but instead I just chose colors that I really like (side note, does glitter count as a color?). Second, make sure everything is temporary. I can rip all the washi tape off cords super easily, so if anyone gets a bee in their bonnet, I can take it all off. Third, make sure to stretch your materials: this will keep costs down, and is an easy way to keep things looking coordinated.

If there are any aspects of your office that actively bother you, change those first. For me, it was the stupid butterfly mouse pad left by the last person to use my office. Not only did it make me look like one of those women who is obsessed with butterflies, but it was also covered with ballpoint pen doodles, which I felt made me look unprofessional and sloppy. When I ditched that stupidity for my DIY, subtle, and in-theme mouse pad, I felt about a million times better. It might be superficial, but I no longer felt like I was projecting cat-lady whenever I met with someone.

Most importantly, consider both form and function. The washi tape on my cords is all about cord management, so that I don’t have a tangle of black cords on my desk. It was a huge plus that they came out so cute! If you don’t use a calendar, don’t hang one up. If you hate getting glitter all over everything, I suggest you choose materials accordingly. It’s worth noting that I hung glitter wrapping paper on my corkboard behind my monitors ten days ago, and I am still finding glitter in my purse, on my clothes, and sometimes in my hair. This doesn’t bother me, but it might bother you.

Don’t forget that implementation is critical. You definitely don’t want to spend a bunch of time at the office making these things, because then your boss might see you as less committed, rather than more. On the other hand, you don’t want to look like you are stealing office supplies, so you have to be a little strategic about how you prepare for your upgrades. I made the mason jar, bunting and mouse pad at home, and then spread the washi tape application and paper gem making over three or four lunch breaks. For the glitter background, I stayed about ten minutes late to take everything down from my corkboard, and the next day came in about 15 minutes early to hang the backing and put back my papers.

Here is the breakdown of what I did in my office, with links to tutorials:

Before and After

Before and After

I swapped the supply tower for a glitter pen jar, because I never use those supplies and that tower was just ugly. I covered my tape dispenser and stapler in washi tape, added a new calendar, took all the info off sticky notes and put it on cute stationary, and a hung glitter wrapping paper on my corkboard for a seriously sparkly background.

I controlled my cords, and added a little pop

I controlled my cords, and added a little pop

No more cat lady mouse pad!

No more cat lady mouse pad!

Hung some adorable glitter bunting and created a Paper Gem Garden.

Hung some adorable glitter bunting and created a Paper Gem Garden.

All in all, this cost me $35. Here is the budget breakdown (any repeated or free item marked with an asterisk):

Project Supply Source Cost
Bunting Glitter Wrapping Paper Michaels $3.00
Mod Podge Michaels $3.00 for a small bottle
2 File Folders * *
Ribbon Michaels $1.00 for 20 yds
Corkboard Background Glitter Wrapping Paper * *
Staples * *
Calendar Pre-made Target $1.50
Paper Gems Printer Paper * *
Mod Podge * *
Washi Tape Cords, Supplies Washi Tape, Three Rolls Target $9.00
Glitter Mason Jar Mason Jar Target $2.00
Modge Podge * *
Glitter Michaels $2.00
Washi Tape * *
Mousepad Basic Mousepad Target $1.50
Leather Piece Michaels $6.00
Mod Podge * *
Gold Paint Pen Target $1.00
Paper Pad Pre-made Local Stationary Store $5.00
TOTAL $35.00

 

Photo by Andy Sutterfield

Photo by Andy Sutterfield

It’s Not Too Late to Decorate!

For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with Christmas. Not just the day, but the entire holiday season—there’s something so special about this time of year that puts me in a jolly mood.  I love the giving and loving spirit of people during this time, I love driving through neighborhoods, seeing them all lit up. I love getting together with family and friends. If I were to continue, it would go on for pages! But aside from spending time with my loved ones, my favorite thing to do is decorate.

As we grow up and move away from our childhood homes, there may be holidays we have to spend away from family and friends—for me, this is my first Christmas away.  And even though it will be difficult, I know I can still enjoy Christmas and Christmastime by surrounding myself with beautiful embellishments to lift my spirits. One thing that always brings me such joy during the holidays is sitting in a room lit with Christmas lights with the scent of a fresh Christmas tree.  Add some hot cocoa and a Christmas movie, and I couldn’t be happier!

Since those of us in our 20s usually don’t have buckets of money to throw at things like Christmas decorations, especially during this time of year, this is how I plan to decorate and save money while doing so.

For me, one essential decoration is, of course, the Christmas Tree.  I’ve found that real trees are far cheaper short-term than artificial trees if you shop for a good deal, even though they only last one season.  You can go to a hardware store and find real trees as cheap as $25 for a 6’ tree. Now, if you’re planning on investing in a tree to continue using year after year, then artificial is the way to go, but expect to pay more upfront.  I personally prefer to get a real tree.  It’s so much fun going and picking one out, even though I just go to Home Depot and not the forest to chop one down, but hey, it’s still fun. And oh, how I love the scent of a real pine tree during Christmastime—why spend money on buying sprays and candles when you can get the natural pine smell for free from your tree!?

This time of year, practically every store you go into has aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations—I’ve seen stores selling Christmas decorations since September!  But if you’re looking to decorate on a budget, be aware of where you are shopping.  It may be easiest to go to Target and get everything there, but they do not always have the greatest deals: I also check out places such as IKEA and the dollar store… yes, the dollar store!  You can find some great things like wrapping paper, bows, garlands, stockings, and great little stocking stuffers that other stores tend to mark up.  Michael’s is always one to have great sales during this time of year for quality products.  If you’re more of a DIY type, Michael’s is definitely the way to go.

If you enjoy decorations but aren’t much of a decorator, invite friends and make a night of it.  Every year, my family would put our Christmas tree up together.  We would make a big fun evening out of it, with snacks, eggnog, music and Christmas movies.  Last year when I moved to LA, it was the first time I wasn’t home to decorate my family tree, so I decided to keep that idea going by inviting my friends over.  I got a bunch of ornaments and paint pens, and we spent the night designing our own ornaments, stringing popcorn, and hanging them on the tree. Creating your own ornaments is not only inexpensive, it’s a perfect way to personalize your tree.  Year after year you will hang the ornaments and think of the memories creating them.  It’s really simple and fun—and for those of you who think you wouldn’t be good at it, it’s really a lot easier than you think.  You can buy glass balls or plastic (plastic is cheaper, but I prefer glass).  Grab some permanent markers, paint pens, glue, fake snow, glitter pens and really anything else you can think of!  One of my favorite ways to decorate an ornament is to draw a design, like a snowflake, with glue and sprinkle artificial snow on it.  It takes a plain decoration and makes it much more festive.  I also love taking off the top of the ornament and pouring artificial snow or Epsom salt in it.  Or simply use permanent markers, glitter pens, or paint pens to draw designs on it.  Last year, my friends and I signed one of the glass ornaments and dated it.  That one puts a smile on my face every time I see it.

I also love to hang garland around the house, but instead of plain bows of evergreen, I like to spruce up my spruce by twisting them with sets of lights. I also like to add extra Christmas color to my garland with berry garland. The little red berries pop, adding a nice festive touch.

If you don’t want to go all out, you can always add small accent pieces scattered around your place. Candles and hand towels add a little something extra that’ll get your holiday spirit up! They even make Christmas cookie candles, so you can make it smell like you just baked, even if you haven’t gone near your oven in months. (But, like with the smell of a fresh pine tree, you can always opt for the real things and bake some fresh cookies instead!)

Decorations can be subtle or extreme, but all are fun. It’s a chance to express yourself, so go out there and get creative with it!

Photo by Rob Adams

Photo by Rob Adams