College: Birthdays on a Budget

Hi Everyone! I know I've been slacking, but here I am and ready to do some college posts. I am a sophomore science students ( Undeclared currently, probably a Chemistry major and a Environmental Science and Math minor ( if I can fit it)). Last Thursday was my lovely roommate, Nicole's, 20th birthday. We threw her a surprise party on Saturday, but I thought I would show you what I did to make her actual birthday special. I am indeed, your average college student, so this was all done with minimal purchases. 

The sign is chalkboard paper that I had left over from last semester, with colored chalk at the dollar section at Target. Let me tell you, the dollar section at Target is absolute gold. When you see something that could be potentially cute, just buy it, I promise it's worth it. I bought this table mat there last year, as well as the brown paper flagline pictured below,  as well as the washi tape and letters used on it. It looks super cute, but only cost me $3.00 to make. The cups and bowls were Nicole's and the plastic utensils were our housemates. My housemates and I also scoured the Dollar Tree for surprise party supplies.  Unfortunately,  I don't have decoration pictures from that, as most of my friends do not know I run a blog and felt a little weird whipping out my camera as we decorated. 

 I cut this little flowers to add a little detail to the breakfast table.

 I tied a blanket around a chair to give it a little more of a "throne" look.

Also, I would like to apologize for the pictures,  It was like 1 am when I took these. 

I hope you enjoyed my post! I hope it inspires you to make an effort for a person you love on their birthday, even if you're on a budget. I'm hopefully going to post some of how I decorated my dorm room next ( once  I clean it).
Thanks for reading, go check out my instagram ( shameless plug) @idosodeclaire
P.S. Here's a bonus pic from Nicole's High School Musical Surprise party ( Yes, that is a fetus Zac Efron)!