DIY: Rustic PSU Home Decor

We’re finally back at State and now that we’ve all gotten settled in, it’s time to start showing some school spirit around the humble abode. The “rustic” home décor look has been extremely popular lately and we have a few easy ways to not only get the look yourself, but to do it on a budget while adding a PSU twist. What better way to welcome football season than to show your PSU spirit at home?

Welcome Home Penn Stater Sign

Photo by Danielle Gallo

What you’ll need:

Wooden sign ($5 at Michaels)
Sharpie paint pen
Sheet of white computer paper
Pencil
Laptop/ monitor screen
Tape

What to do:

Find an image you would like to trace onto your sign. For this part we used the PSU logo. Size the image on your laptop or monitor screen to the size that you would like it to be on your sign. Tape a white sheet of computer paper to your screen (you may need to turn the brightness all the way up) and use a pencil to trace the image. Once you’re done, flip the paper over to the blank side and apply a layer of graphite by using the side of the pencil to scribble over the entire sheet. Once you’re done, tape the sheet to your wooden sign with the scribbled side facing down and trace over your image a second time with the appropriate amount of pressure in order to transfer the image to the wooden sign.

**If you want to free-hand your own design you can skip this part!

Lastly, use the Sharpie paint pen to fill in your traced design or draw your own! The paint pens give the sign a rustic, distressed look. You may need to do a few layers if you’re using lighter colors like we did.

Nittany Lion Paw Print Coasters

Photo by Danielle Gallo

What you’ll need:

Tree trunk spheres ($2 each at Michaels)
Sponge
Paint (white & blue)
Sealant
Pencil
Paint brush

What to do:

These are so simple. The hardest part is finding similar sized tree trunk spheres. First lightly sponge the wood with white paint. Give it a few minutes to dry, and then start working on the paw prints. We free-handed a paw print sketch on each coaster and then filled them in with blue paint, but you can also follow the stencil instructions above instead. Finally, be sure to seal the coasters with a sealant to protect the paint from ware and water damage. We suggest you follow these steps on both sides of the coaster.

Penn State Wreath

Photo by Danielle Gallo

What you’ll need:

Wooden wreath ($7 at Michaels)
Ribbon
Wooden letters
Hot glue gun
Scissors

What to do:

Lace the ribbons however you want around or through the wreath. Be creative! Use a hot glue gun to fasten them in place on the wreath. Use a generous amount of ribbon to tie a large bow, and pull it tight. Allow for about a foot of extra ribbon to hang out from the bow on each end. Attach the main part of the bow to the wreath where you would like it using the glue gun. Decide where you would like the excess ribbon to fall and attach them to the wreath loosely with the smallest amount of glue. Use scissors to cut triangles out of the ends of the ribbon. Lastly, hot glue the wooden letters to wreath wherever you would like them. We bought our letters already white, but if you would like to paint them or add glitter we highly recommend it!

These easy DIYs are so easy to do and we promise that your friends will ask you where you got them. Just remember that all of these DIYs are suggestions and you can alter them however you’d like.

If you recreate any of these DIYs, or come up with your own PSU décor crafts, we would love to see them! Please take a picture and tweet us at @ValleyMag.