I get so many emails from sweet teachers asking me to give them a classroom makeover.  I wish I could travel all over this country and help people with this overwhelming task!  Truth is, it’s very difficult to travel with all of my “stuff” to decorate.  I’ve done it before and it’s the hardest thing ever!  I’ve literally had to pack an ENTIRE classroom into one suitcase before…let me tell you, it was brutal!

With that said, I WANT to do a “real” room makeover here and there, but I know that it’s so much easier if I stay close to home and have access to all of my supplies.  Real classrooms are a bit tricky because, like this classroom, I only have a short time to decorate and I’m limited to the amount of hours that I’m allowed in the building.  I need to be able to get in, decorate quickly, and get out before students arrive.

Abby is the PERFECT candidate for a classroom makeover for a few reasons…

1.  Abby has a small classroom  2. She doesn’t have a lot of clutter in her room  3.  Her school is in my neighborhood and I can get there in a couple minutes.

So, when Abby and I discussed the possibility of  a Schoolgirl Style makeover last August, we quickly started to brainstorm ideas for her classroom theme.  Abby has great taste, but unlike me, Abby doesn’t like anything “girly.”  Abby is drawn to traditional and classic designs AND she doesn’t like bright colors.  I was SO excited about creating a classroom that met her personal taste AND wasn’t too cutesy for her 4th grade students!  We came up with several ideas, but ultimately, we were inspired by…

Tommy Hilfiger!

I created a red, white, and blue plaid pattern inspired by Tommy Hilfiger as the starting point.  I then added coordinating patterns for a clean, summery, Americana inspired classroom!

Introducing County Fair!

We decorated with a classic red, white, and blue color scheme with chalkboard accents…

Our first step to transforming Abby’s room was to hide a boring wall in the back of her classroom.  We transformed this dull space by stapling black fadeless bulletin board paper to the entire back wall.  I wanted it to look like chalkboard without damaging the wall with paint or glue.  Stapling paper worked perfectly and it’s easy to remove when Abby decides to change her theme!

We used accents of this sweet gingham throughout her classroom!

We also brought denim into our color scheme by sewing valances to hide clutter throughout her classroom.

One of my absolute favorite details of Abby’s room…striped awnings on her bulletin boards!  I used striped wrapping paper from Party City and covered a 3-fold presentation board with the paper.  I added white Bordette and red glitter tape on the sides of the board for an added detail.  I then stapled the entire presentation board to her bulletin board!  So easy!

Wicker baskets are the perfect addition to the design!

I used black fadeless bulletin board paper around the top of the classroom walls.  This space is typically bare in classrooms and it shouldn’t be used for reference materials because it’s not at the children’s eye level.  This is the perfect space to create something decorative aunique!

A message center was created in Abby’s classroom using my Chalkboard Organization In Style collection…

I need to give credit to Juliet Poirer ( her child is in Abby’s classroom) for the creation of this back wall.  I found a quote that I loved and had Juliet copy it on the black paper.  She actually free handed this!  Once she finished writing it, we stapled it to the back wall.  This is an amazing focal point!

We criss-crossed pennants over the rug area!

We used coordinating papers and my Organization In Style collection to create cute supply storage!

I LOVE this detail…we used Abby’s wagon and created a “book mobile!”  Abby planned to use this to transfer library books back and forth.  This is SO cute!

I like to find an area in classrooms where students can find any supplies they need.  In Abby’s room, we chose an empty counter for our designated supply spot.  I added my chalkboard labels from my Organization In Style package as an added detail.

If I could do it all over again, I would paint these old, rusty file cabinets.  Like I said, my time was limited and I didn’t have any time to spray paint them.  Instead, I used a blank alphabet card and covered as much as I could.  This at least brought some pattern and detail into the room.  I then added a chalkboard label from my Organization In Style package to label each drawer.

I used the striped wrapping paper on Abby’s metal shelves.  She knows I’m not crazy about these, so I needed to dress them up a bit and disguise the industrial look.  I had my hubby cut foam board to fit on each shelve, then wrapped in coordinating paper.  It looked SO much better with this added detail!

I added a few touches of sparkly glitter in Abby’s room in random places!

We used twine and clothespins to display “PRIZE” work…

Red tickets and ribbons are the perfect accessory in your County Fair theme!

We used the black paper to display the district’s Character Education traits (to pull in the curriculum) and reinforced those traits on the ribbons!  We also thought it would be fun to add the year her class will graduate!  I really LOVE this!

I love the flag jar with tinsel…just another way to add some sparkle!

This is the view from the hallway…

We found that using a white oil pastel or a white paint pen works great to write on the fadeless bulletin board paper.

I adore this old, vintage Coke crate purchased from Etsy!  I used this as a clever way to store supplies!

I found these wooden Coke caddies at Kmart on clearance.  I bought one for each table to hold student supplies.

I laugh every time I see this picture!  What was I thinking?  It was suppose to say 2022, not 2012.  Yep, I was tired!:)

I used all sorts of fun ribbon in glitter, polka dots, and stripes to create this piece!

Sweet daisies wrapped in coordinating paper (I used a soup can) is such a cute detail to add throughout your classroom!

 Giveaway!

  Now’s  YOUR chance to own this beautiful collection along with your bulletin board paper and border from Pacon.  Plus, I’m going to give you coordinating lanterns, daisies, or poms to hang in your room too!

I’ve teamed up with Rachelle and Natalie from What the Teacher Wants to offer you an amazing prize package!

Are you following Rachelle and Natalie yet?

I adore this dynamic duo!  I can’t imagine sharing a blog, but these girls do it and they are AWESOME!  The two of them have such a great chemistry and it shows in the amount of followers they have!  They DO know what teachers want and have created quite the following!

These two women are beautiful on the inside and out!  They literally inspire thousands of teachers on a daily basis!

I would LOVE for you to stop by their blog, take a look around, and make sure you enter our BIG decor giveaway!

Here are the prizes:

– COUNTY FAIR full digital collection from Schoolgirl Style

-Fadeless paper from Pacon

-Coordinating border from Pacon

-Poms, daisies, or lanterns from the Schoolgirl Style Shop

Over $100 value!

Click HERE to head over to What the Teacher Wants blog…

Let’s Go Shopping!

Photography: E.C. Campbell Photography

COUNTY FAIR classroom decor: Schoolgirl Style Shop

Fadeless bulletin board paper:  Schoolgirl Style Shop

border: Schoolgirl Style Shop

paper daisies:  Schoolgirl Style Shop

silver buckets:  Target

 white paint pens, ribbon, flowers: Michaels

ribbon, wicker baskets:  Joann Fabric

Red and white striped wrapping paper: Party City

Chalkboard easels, glitter stars:  Hobby Lobby

Message Center & Black Chalkboard labels:  Schoolgirl Style Shop (Organization In Style package)

Coke crate:  Etsy

coke caddies:  Kmart

flags, bunting:  Walmart

Blue book baskets, black book baskets:  Dollar Tree

white file folders in Message Center, paper: Staples (I used a high gloss photo paper for best results)

Most items are editable and can be personalized for a custom look  (Type in your student’s names and customize classroom labels…perfect handwriting every time!)