As Promised More Back to School Craft Goodies

To my fellow Creative Cabana readers, I'd like to apologize for not posting yesterday. Did you miss me? I missed you! As life has it sometimes we get busy caught up in other things that have to get taken care, so naturally I was away from the computer for most of the day. However, I am back and as mentioned in my previous post "Got the Back to School Blues?" I come bringing more awesome Back to School Crafts for you, your child, your students, or whoever could use a little crafty awesomeness in their life!

Now my first two craft ideas may have seemed somewhat "universal"- Decorating book covers and Door/Locker Decorations aren't exactly a "new idea". Who knows with technology the way it is you may not even use textbooks. Some schools I've heard are using tablets to read their books on. If that's the case then you probably won't be needing to cover your e-book. Instead I've found some cute ideas that would be perfect for students (K-12 and College), teachers, and maybe even parents!

1. Design your own cork board

Having a cork board is a great organizational tool for any space and for people of all ages! I remember starting my freshman year of college and when I went shopping for dorm supplies I had purchased a medium-sized cork board at IKEA (which if you've never been to an IKEA store you're seriously deprived!).  Anyway, the cork board was very basic with a small wood frame around it and it had some small hooks on the back so you could hang it up on the wall. Only one thing missing though... COLOR and the POP factor. So my friend and I got together and spent sometime decorating the frames of our boards.

The picture to the right is how I designed my board for freshmen year. Basically I painted the trim using some pink paint I purchased at Walmart (small bottles around $0.97) and then the yellow-sparkle detail you see in the background is actually old fabric I had in a bag. Personally, I like colorful, shiny, bright objects- that's just my personality. However, the following year I changed the trim to some really cool purple fabric I had in order to give off that awesome school spirit.Now, you can design these anyway you want: paint them your favorite color, apply sports team fabric, stickers, etc. If you don't want a boring, neutral cork board get creative and design your board to reflect you.

2. DIY Study Station

Ok, I found this on Pinterest and thought this was the most adorable idea and it would be perfect for those students who need a "study space" and have a hard time focusing. You know when you're sitting in a room and while you're trying to concentrate you are suddenly amazed at how many pictures are on the wall, or how many tiles you can see in the floor? Well don't worry because what you need is a Study Station. This station simply contrstructed from large cardboard pieces can be used to enhance your work space and give you some organization to keep not just your mind, but desk from becoming cluttered. Along with this wall of cardboard space, you can attach simple pockets and storage places using construction paper, tape, or other lightweight material that can create "compartments". Creating these stations are simple- just find a large cardboard box and use the box to create a tri-fold design as shown in the picture. The rest is up to you and your little genius to decorate! For imagination purposes try finding what your child likes to learn about: Dinosaurs, Space, History, Math, etc. and you can create your Study Station around those interests making learning fun and educational.

3. Creating a Homework Chart/To-Do List

This is another great organizational craft idea that is perfect not only for students, but it's great for teachers and parents as well. If you think back to Elementary or possibly even Middle school, you might have had to do something called a Homework Chart. Basically you'd write your assignment down on a sheet or in a planner and once the work was completed your parents would sign it stating you finished the tasks. Well I have a sort of modified version of that concept. This is for your use only- no signatures required! I suggest either printing a Homework Chart or To-Do List template from the internet, or creating your own in a word-processing document. Then print it out and do not write on it, unless you'd like to add your name of course. Next find yourself a picture frame. If you print on standard printer paper you'll want to be mindful of your 8.5 X 11 dimensions. Once you find a frame you like, insert your chart paper into the frame. Now you'll need a marker (dry-erase) and an eraser because now you can use your marker to write on your frame which has your chart. It's kind of like a dry-erase board but more personalized. 

                        

                            +

 =     

                                        
So there you have it! Straight from The Creative Cabana are my Back to School craft ideas!!! I tried to pick ones that would be that would be ideal for multiple ages, so I hope you've enjoyed them! If you have some suggestions for additional crafts no matter the event, occasion, holiday, etc. Please share them with me by leaving a comment! Thanks for reading and Happy Crafting!!!

*All images except for the Cork Board image were pulled from Google. I own the image of the Cork Board as well as the board portrayed in the picture.