DIY Back-To-School Classroom Folders

It's Back-to-School time again, and if you're looking for a way to brighten up the classroom in a BIG way with a SMALL budget, these DIY Classroom Folders are just the ticket!  

Save $$ money $$ with just a few supplies, since all you need is this fun pack of EXTREME 3D PUFFY™ PAINT and those dirt-cheap folders in bright primary colors that you can pick up anywhere....even the dollar store.

Get creative!  Everybody loves Puffy Paint, and this kit will be so much fun to paint the folders with, the kids will even want to help. 

 "Read Every Day" 

For this folder I used a red colored folder and wrote the word "RED" on one side and then used the acronym to write the words Read Every Day.  Then I cut out green construction paper for the corners and glued them with Aleene's® Tacky Glue.  Next, just add a few fun embellishments and you're done.  It dries super fast, too.

"MINE"

I really had fun with this one!  I cut a funny monster shape from pink construction paper and glued it in the top left corner of the purple folder.  Then painted some crazy teeth, and an eyeball.  The monster outline is in blue, and then I drew the word "MINE" in blue with a black arrow drawn from the monster to the word.  Mine, mine, mine, mine.....  :)

"Writing"

My short stumpy pencil was cut from yellow and pink construction paper and glued to the left side of the purple folder.  I outlined it with red and black paint, and added blue squiggles of writing from the pencil point at the top and right edge of the folder.  To finish it, paint the word "Writing" in white.  

"Bee Smart"

I especially like this one.  The little bumble bee is cut from black construction paper with a circle cut-out for the bee face.  After gluing it onto the folder, I drew the face and antennae with a black crayon.  Then I painted the white stripes across the bee body.  Now write the word "Smart" with red paint.  To finish, paint the wings, ends of the antennae and a bumble bee trail with black.  Bzzzzzz...

"Stuff To Always Remember"

Here's another acronym with the word STAR to use for the words "Stuff To Always Remember".  I started by cutting a star shape from yellow construction paper and gluing it to the green folder with Aleene's® Tacky Glue.  Then I painted the word "STAR" in red along the left side of the folder.  Next I finished the words in blue, outlined the star in white and painted black beams from the star.  How fun is that?

There are so many variations you can create when making your own classroom folders with EXTREME 3D Puffy™ Paint!

I know you'll have tons of ideas and probably better than mine that your kids or students will love and be inspired by.  I hope you have a wonderful school year, and keep being crafty and creative!

See you in the next post! 

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DIY Sunglass Case

When Scott and I were in Amsterdam this year, we were so excited to go to the Van Gogh Museum.  It was a tremendous experience, with the beautiful works of Vincent Van Gogh including masterpieces such as Almond Blossom, The Bedroom and of course, Sunflowers! 

After the tour, we ended up in the museum store where I found this little fabric rectangle in a plastic pouch for cleaning your glasses.  The pattern on the fabric is a print of Sunflowers, and I thought it would be fun to have, since I probably clean my glasses about a dozen times a day.... I know.  

Neat freak.

 Then I got the idea that the fabric would be perfect to make a little pouch for my sunglasses.  Plus, it would be handy to have a pouch made from the same fabric I can use to clean my glasses.

All I needed was a good adhesive to glue two sides together, right?  So I reached for my stash of super-duper fast and easy to use Aleene's® Instant Tacky 1/4" Double-Sided Tape.

Now if you don't have one of these glass cleaner cloths, you can pick them up in tons of stores, usually by the cash register.  Or, you can cut a piece of fabric or felt into a 6 x 7 inch rectangle with pinking shears.  Step #1 is to apply the tape on one of the short ends of the fabric (6-inches).  Then cut a piece of tape 3-1/2 inches long and apply from the corner, half-way up the longer side. It kinda makes an "L" shape.

Step #2 is to peel off the red liner from the tape.  

So far, so good :)

Step #3 is to fold the fabric in half and press the edges of the pouch together firmly with your fingers to insure the adhesive is set.
That's all there is to it, and I love my simple little glasses pouch.  It fits in my skinny cross-body bag, I use it all the time, and I think it's a great idea for a stocking stuffer or teeny gift for someone.

I hope you are enjoying my DIY journey and keep coming back for more ideas, tips, how-to's, and projects to 

craft, create, and decorate.

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DIY Father's Day Burlap Banner - Washer Panache!

Father’s Day is coming up, and I thought it would be fun to send my Dad a burlap banner made with washers, burlap fabric and Aleene’s® Easy Squeeze Turbo Tacky Glue.  Even if your Dad has everything he needs, he can always use a reminder that he’s loved, right?  And I wanted a handmade gift that I could put in a priority envelope, and then ship it from California to Oklahoma.  So this is perfect! 

Here’s what you’ll need.

• Aleene’s Easy Squeeze Turbo Tacky Glue
• Burlap Fabric and Red Felt or Corduroy
• Metal Washers in 2 sizes
• Scissors, Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat
• Upholstery Needle
• Yarn and Twine
• Tassel Maker or Cardboard
• Chalk

Step One:  Cut 5 triangles, 7 inches wide and 12 inches long from the burlap.  Here’s a tip…. To prevent fraying, be sure that the selvage (finished edge) of the burlap is at the top of the triangles.  Now cut a rectangle 7 x 12 inches from the burlap, and a 7inch heart from felt or corduroy.

Step Two:  Glue around the edges of the heart and glue to the center of the burlap rectangle.  Glue the washers onto the fabric to spell “WE” and “DAD”, making sure that the glue comes up around the edges of the washers to hold them securely.  You can also squeeze additional glue around the edges after you have them all in place. 

Step Three:  Sew across the tops of the finished pieces to hold them all together, using a large upholstery needle and yarn.

Step Four:  Make tassels.  Of course, I simply had to add tassels to my Father’s Day Banner! Wind yarn 20 times around the 4-inch tier of the PattieWack™ Tassel Maker.  

Tie it at the top, bind the neck, cut the bottom and pull off the tool.  

And it looks pretty cool to bind the neck with heavy twine.  Follow the photos to loop, wind, insert, pull and then trim for a perfectly seamless binding.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have ANY questions 

feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

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