WEEKEND INSPIRATION: Back to School Ideas

TGIF friends! It’s the last Friday of the August and for many of you, your kids already headed back to school. My son starts back on Monday and my social media streams are full of photos & posts of the first day of school – from the first day of Kindergarten all the way college move in day. I thought I’d stroll through my archives and reshare some ideas that you can use as your kids head back to school or throughout the school year.

Having a map handy is such a great way to remember where all the states are and using the map to pin places you’ve been is a fun family activity.

WEEKEND INSPIRATION: Back-to-School Dorm Room Ideas

If you have a college-age kid heading back to school, you may want to use some of these great ideas I’ve rounded up. A lot of the inspiration photos of dorm rooms floating around are not realistic. Dorm rooms are tiny. I have dozens of friends who’s kids left for college last year when my son did. We compared note and photos, texting back and forth. My son lucked out and his school offered dorm rooms that had a little more breathing room than most. He had his own large closet and he and his roommate shared a bathroom with the two guys in the next room. Even still, squeezing everything into a small space is a challenge. If you have a boy, these ideas will still work – just change up the color scheme.

INKLING: Printable Back-to-School Labels

Before you know it, it will be back-to-school time. And if you have little ones, you’ll want to label everything! I created this full sheet of small “This Belongs To” labels. They’re the perfect size for pencils, pens, sharpeners and even books.

Homework: Back to School Ideas to Make Life Easier

Where did the summer go? It seems like a minute ago, the entire summer was ahead of us. I had big plans. I was going to get refreshed, organized and ready for fall. And then in a blink, summer is almost over and I’m not refreshed, organized or ready for fall. Oh well, like it or not, fall is around the corner and it’s back-to-school time.

I love all the back-to-school inspiration. I’m in awe of darling bento box lunches with sandwiches in the shape of animals and wonderful embroidered lunch bags. But for me, I need easy and make-life-easier type projects. Back to school means getting organized and ready for the hectic schedule.

I’ve rounded up some ideas that are easy to achieve and some that will make life a little easier as the school activities take over our lives.

Inkling: Inspiring Notebook Round Up

It’s back to school time and that means it’s time for school supplies. I always loved getting brand new school supplies. I especially loved getting new notebooks, binders and composition books. All those blank pages ready for me to be neat and organized all year – or at least that what my intention was. Now a days, you can buy notebooks with pretty designs but it’s so much more fun to diy! Here’s a round up of some beautiful and inspiring notebooks.

Extra Credit: It’s almost Back-To-School time

This post brought to you by White Cloud. All opinions are 100% mine.

I know we’re only a little over halfway through summer but it’s starting to happen. The words “back-to-school” are starting to creep into my brain. If you have kids, is it happening to you? Are you starting to make mental lists or even written lists of what you need to get.

Inkling: astrobrights paper

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.


Chances are you’re familiar with AstroBrights papers. From crafts, school projects, flyers, booklet covers and more, Astrobrights have added a burst of color to many, many projects throughout my life.


AstroBrights papers come in 23 bright colors, so your ideas are extra bright!. Even a touch of the vibrant paper can add pizzazz to a simple project.


Since it’s almost back-to-school time, I wanted to use Astrobrights to liven up a plain composition book. I started by covering the book in white cardstock. Simply glue a piece of cardstock to your book cover and trim.


Next is the fun part. Use a large circle punch to punch out several Astrobright circles. I used a 1 inch circle punch.

I love the colors! Even these little circles are bursting with color!

Glue your circles onto your book cover. I used a regular glue stick for the circles.

 

This composition book is ready to go back-to-school and to be filled with creative, bright thoughts! 

And speaking of back-to-school, AstroBrights papers is currently running a  Back-To-School campaign called "Give a Brighter Year". The campaign launched on July 16, 2012 and will run through September 10, 2012. Visitors who “Like” the campaign page and submit a short online form will be entered into a sweepstakes to win school supplies worth $30,000 for the elementary school of their choice. Wow!! What school couldn’t use some school supplies.

In addition to the sweepstakes, Astrobrights is running a bi-weekly design challenge for all skill levels for a chance to win Astrobrights Paper and other great prizes. Check it out here on AstroBrights papers.

I hope your day is bright and happy!

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

Sew & Tell: back-to-school pencil bag

It’s that time of year. If you have kids, then it’s back-to-school time. The lazy days of summer are over and it’s time to get back to the hustle and bustle of school schedules and activities.

I've used this fabric before to make back-to-school themed projects. The fabric is a cotton muslin with blue-green lines that run horizontally.

A simple red stitch creates the writing paper margin.

I stitched up a few of these simple bags to use as pencil holder bags. Super easy - I opted for no zipper so a cute red binder clip keeps the bag closed. The bags can be used as a pencil supply bag or gift bags to hand out to friends at school.

A smaller size bag is perfect for post-it notes and stubby pens.

Yes, ready or not, it is back-to-school time. I hope you had a great summer filled with relaxing summer memories.

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Upcycling: Back-to-school pencil cans

It’s nearly that time of year again – back-to-school. And that means it’s time to get organized. I threw out all my son’s dried up pens, stubby-broken pencils and bits of who-knows-what.

I found cans in my cupboard of various shapes and sizes. I simply washed them out and covered them in a variety of paper using spray mount. Here’s a trick: to help your decorative paper stick to the cans, wrap the can in another piece of paper with no glue or spray mount, than place a few rubber bands around the can. Once the spray mount is dried, remove the rubber bands and outer paper.

The square-shaped can doubles as a full-year calendar. I included clothes pins for homework reminders and a ruler on the large can. The small can works for paper clips, rubber bands or the inevitable…stubby pencils.

Hopefully, we can stay organized at least through October.