Many students at the high school have jobs on the weekends or after school to earn some money before college. Most students, however, can’t say they are self employed. Senior Lauren Donaldson earns extra money by making decals for everyday objects like water bottles, phone cases and cars.

“I started making decals in hopes of making some extra money to pay for college,” Donaldson said.

Donaldson found inspiration and was able to start making decals thanks to the help of the people around her.

“I got started thanks to my dad helping me pay for most of the supplies I needed,” Donaldson said, “and I got my inspiration from my aunt because she has a Cricut and makes super cool designs for everyone, and I thought I could do that, too.”

Although Donaldson has enjoyed making decals, there are struggles she’s had to overcome to be able to do so.

“I have faced many struggles, most being the cost of all the supplies I need for each design,” Donaldson said. “There’s also the struggle of juggling making decals, work and school. It takes up quite a bit of time, but it’s very fun and relaxing, so I really enjoy doing it for people.”

Making the decals takes time and effort, and it takes a lot of work to make sure that each one comes out perfectly.

“I make my decals with a Cricut Explore Air 1. First, I find out what the customer wants me to design for them, then I use the vinyl I have to create it for them,” Donaldson said. “Then I clean the surface of the object I’m putting the decal on to make sure there isn’t anything that will affect how long the decal lasts on the object.”

You can check out Donaldson’s work and order some for yourself by going to @lauren.donaldson_decalco on Instagram.