Crafty Back to School Activities

Why bother shopping for the same school supplies that everyone else has too? It is so much more fun to make your own. Creating personalized back to school supplies is a great activity to keep your kids from boredom at the end of the summer. Provide the necessary craft materials and your kids will be busy for hours designing funky school supplies that no one else in their class will have.

Custom Locker Mirrors

Personalize your locker with a custom mirror featuring your name and favorite activities. Draw two circles, squares or any shape you like, in the same size, onto a sheet of craft foam. Make the shapes at least 6 to 7 inches around. Cut the shapes out using scissors or a craft knife. Draw a 4 inch circle in the center of one shape. Use a craft knife to cut the center out of the shape. Lay a small mirror in the center of the solid shape. Place a line of glue around the cutout shape and place it over the solid shape with the mirror showing through the center. Decorate the front of the craft foam, around the mirror, with alphabet stickers and miniature paper piecing embellishments. Allow the glue to dry. Flip the mirror over and place self-adhesive magnets on the back of the foam frame to hang inside your locker.

Pen "Pals"

Use air-dry clay to turn an ordinary ballpoint pen into a friend for life (or at least the school year). Roll a ball of clay into a thin, flat sheet. Wrap the sheet of clay around the pen and gently press along the seam to seal the clay. Create a mouth, a nose and eyes using small balls of clay. Use small craft embellishments such as feathers, pipe cleaners and beads to add hair and accessories to your pen "pal." Allow the clay to dry over night or as directed on the packaging. Paint your pen "pal" using acrylic paint in a variety of colors. Allow the paint to dry and then spray the pen with two coats of acrylic sealer.

Personalized Pencils

String your name in beads to prove your pencil is your own. Cut a piece of string or pipe cleaner to a bout 8 inches long and tie a knot in one end. Place the beads onto the string or pipe cleaner in the proper order. Feel free to add decorative beads to each end however you please. Place a small glob of glue inside an eraser head and position it over the eraser end of the pencil. Wrap the end of the string or pipe cleaner around the bottom of the eraser head and tie a knot in the end of the string to secure it to the pencil. Add a small drop of glue to the end of the knot to seal the string.

Source:
Kaboose: Back to School Crafts
http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/back-to-school/school-crafts.html