Personalized Back to School Pencil Box

It is getting to be time to think about back to school! Helping your child be successful this year can be as simple as helping them to be more organized. As a former teacher, I know that many children do not understand how to have their desk arranged, their tools in order and all ready for the task ahead. Too many children spend the better part of every lesson in search of a paper, book or pencil that they need for the class. Of course, then they miss vital instruction and become frustrated as they try to complete activities for which they haven't absorbed the information they need.

You can help your children avoid this by actually teaching them how to organize their school belongings. An important tool for this task is a pencil box to hold their pens, pencils and erasers, pencil crayons and markers. Did you know that a Stampin' Up! Wood Mount Stamp Case is just the right size for this job and you and your child could work on personalizing it so that your child is excited to use it.

Now, mind you, I'm a fine one to talk about a messy desk, because as soon as I'm finished this blog post, I need to go into my Craft Cave and bring order to the creating chaos that has built up over this past week!! So I understand how the kids lose sight of this. But I also know that having a place for everything and everything in its place is vital. So let's take a look at how to make a personalized pencil case courtesy of Stampin' Up!

• Each of these Wide Stamp Cases has a sleeve on the outside into which you can slide an embellished piece of paper which will give you the personalized look. The case is 7 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 1 1/4", so it's big enough to handle pencils, pens and pencil crayons and markers.
• I chose a piece of the new Into the Woods Designer Series Paper available Sept. 1 from the new 2015 Holiday catalogue for its fall colours and themes, but any Designer series paper or cardstock would do. Choose one that your child particularly likes but not a really busy pattern. The School House Designer Series Paper from the Annual Catalogue is available right now and would be appropriate as well.

• Cut a piece of paper 6 15/16" x ll 3/8" to fit inside the sleeve of the case. Then, using the colour scheme of the DSP series, stamp, die cut and add some embellishments. I used the stamp set, Be the Star, because it has great encouraging sentiments and images that you can stamp and die cut with the coordinating Stars Framelits, for ease of assembly.

• I used some of the sentiments and stamped them in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink right on the design paper, and stamped and die cut the images to add on. I backed the images with cardstock cut with the next largest Star Framelit to add emphasis and I also used the Medium Star Punch to create an extra star for the name plate.
• The name plate is die cut using the Lots of Labels Framelits on Whisper White and backed with a coordinating colour from the Designer Series Paper palette. The child's name is die cut using the Little Letters Thinlits, as well as the word Pencils on the spine of the case.

If you like the idea of this personalized pencil case and you would like to help your child make one, there are two ways of doing this:

1. If you live in my area, register today for my Mom & Me class this coming Saturday from 1 - 3 pm.
2. If you don't live near me, then make sure you are signed up to receive my monthly newsletter and you will get a bonus photo tutorial with step-by-step instruction and a list of supplies and measurements. The newsletter comes out Aug.31 and you can sign up for it here:

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An Open and Shut Case!

As a retired teacher with 25 years experience, I can tell you how important it is for your child to learn some organizational skills for success in the classroom.  Looking for missing equipment such as basics like pencils and pens and erasers causes untold delays in getting work completed and also is the Number One Procrastination Excuse used by kids everywhere!



Not every child is a natural at organization.  In fact, very few are.  It is something, however, that can be taught and facilitated with a little help from Mom and Dad.  A simple pencil case can make a big difference in a child's ability to have the right tools in the right place at the right time, and saves them the frustration of a major search every time a pencil is required. (Quite often, as it turns out!)







And does Stampin' Up ever have a great solution for you!  Our new full size wood mount stamp cases would make terrific pencil cases.  And what is so cool about that is that they all have an outside sleeve that holds the labels, so they could be decorated uniquely for your child.

Taking that thought one step further, your child could totally participate in creating the design for their own pencil case.  The sleeve protects the label so the artistic efforts of you or your child would not be destroyed the first time they are shoved in a desk, and the label can be removed and changed with the seasons or for any sort of whim or idea, helping to keep your child motivated during the year.

I was looking for something other than a card to make for The Paper Players Fall themed challenge #157 - Anything But a Card, so this project would fit the bill perfectly.

I used Crisp Cantaloupe for the background paper.  This is from the In Colour 2013/15 In Colour Designer Series Paper Stacks.  It has a different design that you can see from the inside of the case.

I used the Autumn Accents BigZ die to cut out various fall leaf and acorn shapes in Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and Coastal Cabana, then embossed them using various embossing folders including Perfect Polka Dots, Chevron, Stripes and Woodgrain folders.

The name is created using the ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers stamps inked in Baked Brown Sugar and punched out using the Petit Pennants Builder Punch..  I've added an accent of a Naturals Designer Button and some loops of Linen Thread.   The splotches on the background are created using a stamp from Gorgeous Grunge in Coastal Cabana ink. (The photos are not as bright as usual because the flash created a glare on the plastic of the sleeve.)

I am planning to show you a more masculine design later in the week, so keep your eye open for that.  I think this might make a great Mom and Me class near the end of the month.  Let me know if you'd be interested!

Stamps:  ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet & Numbers (c130565); Gorgeous Grunge (w130514; c130517)
Paper:  2013-15 In Colour Design Series Paper Stacks (130136); Regals Core'dinations Cardstock (Cajun Craze) (129955); Early Espresso (119686), Coastal Cabana (131297), Whisper White (100730) and Crushed Curry (131199) cardstock
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Coastal Cabana (131175) and Baked Brown Sugar (131174)
Accessories:  Naturals Designer Buttons (127554), Linen Thread (104199) Full Wood Mount Stamp Case (127551)
Tools:  Textured Impressions Embossing Folders: Perfect Polka Dots (117335); Stripes (123128); Chevron (127749); Woodgrain (127821); Petit Pennants Builder Punch (122361); Autumn Accents BigZ die (127812); Big Shot (113439); Stampin' Sanding Block (129367)

Autumn Accents BigZ Die

Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set

Naturals Designer Buttons

Petit Pennants Builder Punch

Regals Core'dinations Cardstock

Stampin' Sanding Block

Big Shot

Chevron Embossing Folder