Just a few short weeks before our son will be off to College. Are you tired of me mentioning that yet? I’m actually excited to see and hear his enthusiasm and his spirit light up for the next journey in life. Makes me smile and delighted that we have raised such a fine young man ready for his new independence. I have said that as well, repeatedly:)
I do believe God has a funny way to prepare Mother’s for this day though. He has been a real pip this summer. Full of independence and on the go go go. Hardly ever home anymore, and who needs to check in with Mom? Not Alex! Ok enough about that.
Today, I am sharing an outdated Memo board re-purposed for his College dorm.
The thrifty team of gals I work with every month also have some fabulous ideas. I had to sit out last month because we were on vacation. We have since added a few new gals to the thrifty team.
My previous thrifty makeovers
I bought this memo board years ago at a Goodwill store in South Florida. You see, at the time it was very fitting with palm trees. I had it on my desk for some time and used it every day for notes, bills and what not. When we moved to the Carolina’s it got tucked away and brought back to life when I started selling Scentsy. I no longer sell Scentsy so the board was tucked away once again. I don’t get rid of too much and am happy for that because this memo board is going to be useful to our son on his desk in College. At least I hope it is. No guarantee’s…but it will look cute if nothing else:) You know I am going to decorate his Dorm!
You can see where the original ribbon was. I then recovered it as mentioned above when I was selling Scentsy to this look
It was happy and cute no doubt. Surely, nothing I could send our son off to College with though.
I found some Clemson University fabric on line for dirt cheap and ordered a yard of it. It is really simple to recover these memo boards. I cut the fabric to size, went about an inch over on each side. Then wrapped it like I would a gift and stapled it using my staple gun. Just like when I reupholstered our kitchen chairs back a few years ago. And I also reupholstered my desk chair in burlap you can see.
Being now a Southerner it only seems appropriate to have a Monogram. You can check out my Southerner’s and monograms post when you are finished up. I found it interesting myself. The A initial is wood and I used purple craft paint. You can find these large letters at Walmart in the craft section. The craft paint is usually near by in the same section.
Some more Clemson goodies.
I think I have gone a bit overboard with the College apparel and accessories. Instead of using ribbon
I used twine instead . Seemed a bit more “manly”. Alex really liked his new memo board. I really hope he uses it. 
Thanks for stopping over today. If you are new here, I would love to see you back again.
Don’t forget to check out the other thrifty gals.
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Redhead Can Decorate/
Debbiedoos/Domestically Speaking/Bliss Ranch
Setting for Four/Petticoat Junktion/Our Southern Home
And please come back when you have more time to
Check out my galleries.
Diy gallery (burlap, mod podge, stenciling and more)
Tell him I have a beer bong he can buy, he will need it at college.
LOL!!~~~ I am sure he will find one.
Oh, I’m just kidding about the beer bong. Tell him to get a “call mom” tattoo.
Most colleges have vending machines in the bathrooms, so don’t worry mom.
Lets see…. what other horrific college tidbits can I comment on………
Yes, Debbie, God does prepare Mom’s for college separation. I loved seeing our children’s independence grow during their first semester in college. Our daughter’s brother-in-law is the Assistant Athletic Trainer at Clemson.
Oh WOW!~ Our son does not play sports. However, he is in the Clemson Tiger band this year. They wanted him and gave him a little $$$ to join so he did. He is a Trombone player.
This is so clever, Debbie! I love it! Good luck, Alex!!
It is so hard when the first one goes off to college. My husband and I cried most of the trip back home. I found out years later that he had a 911 number on his cell. It was my cell number. Now both our sons have graduated from college. Although I would love to have them back as children, I thank the Lord daily for the wonderful men they have become. Your blog is so encouraging. I’m not very crafty, but I enjoy seeing all the projects you accomplish. Thank you for taking the time to blog and showing us “how to”. Have a blessed day, Joi
Thank you Joi, and thank you for your words of encouragement. I keep telling him I will not cry. He bet me $10.00 I will. I must win that $10.00 lol!
This board (all three) boards are great. You can just fix up any thing, can’t you? I love seeing how neat and new it all looks. You’ve inspired me a bit; I bought an old night stand many years ago, with the idea of painting it. “You can’t paint that nice wood” said my hubby. OK, so it went into the shed with all the other junk we have accumulated over the years. One day not too long ago, he says “I fixed the broken leg on that old night stand”; I couldn’t wait! When I saw how he had fixed it (dry wall screw right into the leg; leg now crooked!) I said to myself “just watch me…..
I’m gonna paint it now!!!! I really turned out cute; going out on the front porch for the summer.
Good luck Alex; college will be great. You should feel proud; very proud. Proud of Alex and proud of the good parenting that went into preparing that young man for his future. I hate to tell ya, but I think you’re gonna loose that bet.
No way, I refuse to lose. I am grabbing that $10.00 and running as fast as I can to the car LOL. Then I will cry HA!~
You are so funny!! Love it!!
Love the new memo board and the colors. I think I will be a mess as well when my oldest goes off to college 🙁
That turned out great! It IS a bittersweet time when our fledglings leave the nest and expand their horizons, but I know you’ll all do well. Treat yourself with a bit of extra care and fun because it’s wayyyyy harder on the parents than the kids! (That is until you find out time with just you and hubby is such a bonus!) Your son is an intelligent and talented young man. He’ll do fine and I wish him a great Freshman year!
Yes I know he will for sure! It’s a really exciting time for him. Thanks for your kind comment. I do have a younger one at home so that is a bonus. In fact, I just told him yesterday..”Jack just think now you will be my favorite son” He laughed so hard. He said, yes I always knew Alex was. Sooo not true, but you know how siblings are.
It’s SO hard not to cry, I think it upsets them more!! I think I held it together until we left. We were up there for the whole weekend so we had a little time to get used to her being there before we said good bye. 🙁
I know! I am acting all tough but inside I am really NOT!
Love the board idea.
As a mother I must warn you: do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch Toy Story 3 before taking a child to college! I did, and I cried through much of the movie. I still tear up when I view it.
We headed our first child off to college from South Carolina to Florida. I was excited to see her spread her wings and fly (I had been her home-school teacher since 8th grade and needed to know that the work paid off)! Although she had health issues and returned home for a semester, God grew her and she met her husband while in college. What a blessing!
As moms (and dads) we do all that we can to train and guide our children. Sometimes what we teach does rub off, sometimes it’s good that it doesn’t—as we have not yet reached perfection and we don’t always do everything right. My mom used to say that she often prayed for God to overrule any mistakes she made in her child-rearing. I’ve found myself praying a similar prayer. Each child is unique and uniquely gifted. Above all, every child is a precious gift from God.
I hope your son thrives at Clemson. I married a fantastic Clemson grad! =)
Oh Shery, that is beautiful! Yes, I agree, and have faith that God will lead him in the right direction. It’s just natural to worry. He has been such a good boy his whole life and I just hope we instilled the best we could and he finds not only the sense but my voice in his head LOL!
Debbie, I love how you personalized this for Alex…I’m sure he will use it! I know it will be hard when he leaves home…there’s always a hole in the house for awhile…but you’ll settle into your new normal and so will he. And it’s okay to cry…xoxo
Yes, it will be a new normal for sure. I am thinking it will be harder on Jack more than any of us!
Great job Debbie. Love the new version; perfect for your son’s dorm room. However, I bet that your son wins that cry/not cry bet! This transitional time is so hard for us moms. I speak from experience, and I am still a “weepy” mom.
Not many have much faith in this bet LOL! hmmmm..I may have to show you all up.
This is such a fun idea for a college bound student Debbie!! I know you’ll miss him like crazy – I still miss our oldest and he only has one year left to graduate….but he comes home frequently to get his laundry done lol! Hugs!
I absolutely love it, Deb! We have one more year until Cam goes to college, so this really hits home!!!
Im sure the new fabric will fit his style much better 🙂 Hang in there girl his life is a new adventure and try to enjoy it with him!
This looks amazing – absolutely beautiful. Wishing the best for both you and your son during this exciting albeit difficult time!
Thanks so much Georgia!
Love it Debbie… the memo board that keeps on giving!
Love the Clemson memo board Debbie. It’s a joy seeing your kids grow up but there’s a little sadness thrown in there too.
What a fabulous idea!!! My son is heading to Erskine to play golf in the fall. It was going to be Clemson until he got this academic/golf scholarship to Erskine. He didn’t want those golf years to come to a close. It’s going to be a hard transition for me! Come see me if you have time when visiting. I’m about 20-25 minutes from Clemson. Go Tigers!