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How to Create Classroom Décor in Canva (Step-by-Step Guide for Teachers)
- Miss Gibbs
- Aug 31
- 4 min read
Setting up a classroom takes time, energy, and creativity. Classroom décor isn’t just about making your room look nice - it helps with organisation, supports routines, and creates an inspiring learning space for students.
Today, I am sharing a wonderful video made my the one and only, Michelle from Pocketful of Primary (shared with permission). Michelle is a creative, practical teacher who makes tutorials that are clear and easy to follow. By sharing her video with you today, I hope to show you how simple Canva can be for designing and editing classroom posters, labels, and teaching resources that save you time and money, all inside the incredible platform that is Canva.
To make it as simple as possible for you I have added timestamps with each heading to make it easy for you to navigate as you go through this blog post. I’ve also included my own affiliate links and teacher resources to help you get started with Canva quickly.
Alright, so let’s walk through Michelle’s YouTube tutorial on creating classroom décor in Canva, breaking it into steps with teacher tips, timestamps, and insights.
0:00 – 0:38
Getting Started with Canva for Education
Canva is free, and teachers can apply for Canva for Education to unlock all Pro features. This gives you unlimited access to templates, fonts, images, and design tools.
0:38 – 1:11
Choosing a Classroom Poster Template
Canva offers thousands of ready-to-use classroom poster templates. Pick one that suits your theme, then edit it to match your classroom.
👉 Extra Tip: You can also save time by using editable Canva décor bundles. I create these for teachers inside my Teacher Template Club and also share them on Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers. Just open them in Canva, customise colours or text, and you’re done!
1:11 – 2:09
Customising Your Poster
Michelle edits fonts, colours, and images to suit her classroom. Canva’s drag-and-drop tools make it simple to design visuals that match your classroom colour scheme or décor style.
✅ Teacher Tip: Use clear, easy-to-read fonts so students can engage with your displays. Bright colours and simple layouts also help younger learners.
2:09 – 7:13
Fine-Tuning Your Design
Michelle demonstrates how to adjust spacing, alignment, and text size for a polished look.
Why teachers love this: When décor is neat, consistent, and student-friendly, it becomes a learning tool rather than just decoration.
7:13 – 8:36
Downloading & Printing Posters
Michelle explains how to download posters as high-resolution PDFs or PNG files. This ensures your classroom posters look sharp when printed.
🖨️ Teacher Tip: Print on thicker paper or laminating for durability - this saves you from remaking resources throughout the year.
8:36 – 10:12
Resizing Files for Multiple Uses
One of Canva’s most powerful features is the Magic Resize tool. Michelle shows how to adapt a single design into multiple sizes - turning a poster into a banner, flashcards, or classroom labels.
🔄 Teacher Benefit: Create once, reuse everywhere - saving you hours of work.
10:12 – 16:39
Creating Classroom Labels from Scratch
Michelle builds labels from a blank Canva document, showing how to design custom classroom organisation labels.
Ideas for teachers:
Label trays, tubs, and shelves for easy student access
Create subject-specific labels for literacy or maths centres
Use colour-coding for reading levels or group work
16:39 – 17:10
Printing Labels
Michelle demonstrates how to download and print labels. Teachers can use sticker paper, card stock, or plain paper with adhesive.
✅ Classroom Tip: Print extras at the start of the year so you’re ready for new students, new books, or new classroom supplies.
17:10 – End
Wrapping Up
Michelle finishes by encouraging teachers to experiment with Canva and reminds us that Canva for Education is free. With it, you can create unlimited classroom décor without any extra cost.
Why Teachers Love Canva for Classroom Décor
Benefit | Why It Matters |
Time-Saving | Templates + Magic Resize make décor quick to create. |
Free Access | Canva for Education = Canva Pro for teachers at no cost. |
Customisable | Match décor to your classroom theme and curriculum. |
Professional Quality | Print crisp, high-res posters and labels. |
Versatile | One design can become posters, labels, banners, and more. |
Editable Bundles | Save time with editable Canva décor packs (like the ones in my Teacher Template Club). |
Final Thoughts
Michelle’s Canva tutorial is a brilliant guide for teachers who want to get started creating their own classroom décor, labels, and printable teaching resources.
Here are your options:
✨ Love DIY? Sign up for Canva for Education here and start creating from scratch.
✨ Short on time? Grab editable décor bundles from my Teacher Template Club, Etsy shop, or TpT store.
✨ Want fresh weekly ideas? Join my email list to get free classroom craftivity templates straight to your inbox.
No matter which path you take, Canva makes it easy to design décor that is functional, beautiful, and uniquely yours.
Join the conversation...
Now that you're feeling ready to begin creating, customising and editing your classroom decor in Canva, I would love to know what classroom decor items are you going to try and create or customise in Canva?
Let me know in the comments, and feel free to add an image too. I can't wait to see what you create or customise!
Until next time, happy creating!
Just so you know, this post does contain sponsored content through the use of affiliate links, my proud partnerships and my own products and resources and I want to thank each of you for continuing to use my affiliate links to support the work I do.
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