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Top 5 Back to School Craft Ideas

Nerd alert: I really liked school.

Well, parts of it 😉 .

One of the best was picking out those school supplies. I’m somewhat convinced that my love for paper and pens led me on a long and windy road that ended up with a career in the prepress department of a commercial printer.

These days, just regular notebooks and pencil holders won’t do. You need to step up your back to school craft game to have the best, and I’ve been reading and pinning some really great ideas.

Here are my top five back to school craft ideas for this year:

Here’s an easy tutorial on covering composition books with a printable and washi tape to make a custom notebook.

How about some really custom pencils? Although I’m still obsessed with hand lettering with my brush pens (and iPad), I’m a pencil devotee – as long as the eraser is a good one.

This crayon design is listed as a teacher gift, but how cute would it be to make a child’s name for their art area?

Another teacher gift project that I think would be super cute (and useful) in a homework area at home. I’d fill it with pencils and scissors, not plants.

I don’t remember teacher gifts being a thing when I went to school. In fact, I’m really hoping they weren’t, because if they were, then I totally didn’t participate and that would be kind of rude/sad. But if you’ve suddenly realized that school starts this week (it does in Kansas City) and you aren’t in the mood to craft up a ton of projects, a printable card might be exactly what you need!

Red Fri Yay! T-Shirt

Learn the freezer paper stencil method of fabric painting to create a Fri yay! t-shirt | SuzerSpace

It’s been a little while since I stenciled a t-shirt. I took a side route and tried out heat transfer vinyl, and while it was fun, and I do have a lot of ideas swirling around in my mind on how to take advantage of that method, it does have a drawback to my beloved freezer paper stencil trick.

The issue is color. If you want to have multiple colors of HTV for your projects, you have to commit to a roll of each, and they are more expensive than a tube of fabric paint.

This project is actually one of my first Fall crafting projects. August starts pre-season football, which means the real start of the season isn’t far off. In Kansas City, the Friday before the first home game is a big deal. They call it Red Friday, and there are pep rallies, charity events and a big celebratory feel about the season that day. Most fans continue to wear red on Fridays throughout the season.

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August 6, 2019 by suzer I made this In the Craft Room Using my Silhouette Cameo

Hello August 2019

July zoomed by very, very quickly.

It was super duper hot, so I stayed inside and did a lot of reading, movie watching and crafting.

July is also my birthday month, so a lot of that crafting involved birthday themed items for my Etsy store. And then running around town, redeeming free birthday coupon items at some of my favorite stores.

I’m currently reading Becoming, Michelle Obama’s memoir. I had put it on my library waitlist when it first came out, and it became mine early in the month. I really like doing that – I just add books to the list when I see them, knowing there will be a long wait for a best seller. By the time I make it to the top spot in the list and I get my email that it’s ready for pick up or download, I’ve usually forgotten about it, so it’s a nice surprise.

Video wise, I’ve been bingeing The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel. I don’t normally have an Amazon Prime account, but when I went to order something very ordinary and boring for the house they offered me a free trial, so I’m using all the benefits I can before it expires.

Big plans for August?

NFL pre-season starts up soon, and I have a craft coming up for Red Fridays for Kansas City Chiefs watching.

It’s also the usual end to the heat waves of a MidWest summer, although there are usually a few hot days yet to come. But more cooking out, longer bike rides and maybe even an open window or two are coming. The downside is the darker mornings, but that means something great is coming – my favorite season of all is definitely Fall!

August 1, 2019 by suzer Now

Cool Off With A Paper Fan

Beat the heat with an easy to make paper fan | suzerspace.com

I grew up in West Texas, so you’d think I’d be impervious to hot weather. It wasn’t just “fry an egg on a sidewalk” hot there. It was so hot that Dad kept a pot holder in the car so he could grasp the silver metal transmission lever and shift out of park when the car had been sitting outside in the sun for a couple of hours.

It didn’t bother me as a kid, nor as a teen-ager. But I moved away, to several different climates, and over time I’ve really begun to more than just not like the heat. Hate is an ugly word, but I’m close.

Two choices here – be unhappy all the time, or stay inside and do a little crafting! A paper fan is an easy choice for a hot afternoon project.

This paper fan is super easy – no special cutting machines or real talent involved. If you can fold a sheet in half and use a staple gun, you are all set! (Or as you’ll read below, even if you have a little trouble with the staple gun, it will all work out OK).

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR FAN

July 23, 2019 by suzer I made this In the Craft Room

Beginner Zipper Pouch

For this month's Pinterest Challenge, I used a tutorial from Shinny Happy World to conquer my fear of zippers. I ended up with a great beginner zipper pouch.

It’s the third Tuesday of July, which means it’s time for the Pinterest Challenge. The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge, hosted by Erlene of My Pinterventures is to encourage everyone to actually try out one of the many pins they’ve saved on all those Pinterest Boards.

I took the “challenge” part this month pretty seriously. I’ve been sewing off and on since I was in my early twenties, which means that I’ve also been afraid of trying to sew a zipper since my earlier twenties.

I realize that sewing a zipper into clothing is going to be way above my skill level. But a beginner level zipper pouch looked like a great starting point.

To give myself a chance at getting this to be successful I’ve gone with a few steps that have proven helpful in the past.

I read a gazillion blog posts and watched their video tutorials.

I pinned several beginner zipper pouch projects that seemed to really be at the beginner level. So many Pinterest Pins are full of beautiful but really tricky projects and I wanted to start small.

I sourced materials that were zero cost to me so I’d only be out my time.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW THE ZIPPER POUCH COMES TOGETHER

July 16, 2019 by suzer From a Tutorial I made this In the Craft Room In the Sewing Room

Top 5 Back to School Craft Ideas

Red Fri Yay! T-Shirt

Hello August 2019

Cool Off With A Paper Fan

Beginner Zipper Pouch

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