It's back to school time, so I wanted to share a few fun projects to ease you back into the school year -- whether you are a teacher, student, parent OR need some gift-giving ideas! First, how about a customized dry erase board?
With Ellen's 12" Crystal Clear Plastic as an overlay, you can put together any type of of customized background you wish! Then just use a dry erase marker on top and there you have a beautiful dry erase board that can be used for:
- Teacher's classroom
- Student dorm room
- Family message center
- Shopping list keeper
- Calendar (see below)
- Locker art
The uses are endless! My background was made with Graphic 45 papers. I wanted to die cut the cherry paper with a 12-inch border but wanted a continuous cut all around. But if you don't have a 12-inch die cut machine, that's hard to achieve. The solution? I placed the 12-inch die along each side of the 12-inch paper (on the reverse side), using it as a template and traced it with a pencil, then cut it out with scissors in one continuous piece!
The cherry border edges were inked and adhered to the green background. For a quick embellishment, I die cut every other size of the Nested Blossom set, starting with the largest, using more Graphic 45 papers. What I've discovered with these fabulous vintage papers is that most of the die colors are the same throughout the different collections, allowing for easy mixing of patterns and collections!
Next, I lightly misted the papers with water, crumpled them up, and then flattened them back out to dry. Once dry, I stacked them together and machine stitched them in the center. Then I threaded a piece of twine through the center of the paper, knotted it on the back of the flower and taped it in place. The other end of the twine was also knotted and glued to the end of a dry erase marker, using Glossy Accents:
I also covered the dry erase marker with decorative paper, to match the board.
TIP: To make the paper easier to adhere to the pen, first roll it around the pen so it takes on that shape, then apply decoupage glue on the inside of the paper. This will make the paper more pliable and easier to wrap around the small diameter of the pen. You can use rubber bands to hold the paper in place until it dries.
To assemble your dry erase board, you can place the background papers, with plastic on top, in a 12-inch frame OR you could attach the two together at the corners with eyelets and use the holes to thread ribbon through, to use as a hanger. (Here, I have it held in place on my 13-inch magnet board that has a red background).
Think about using photos in your background, too -- this clear plastic is acid-free!
Below is how I set up the board to use as a calendar, by just drawing a grid and adding the dates. To make the calendar dates easier to erase and replace each month, you can draw the grid on the back side of the plastic, then write the numbers on the front. I think these would also be a great gift for a student, in a little smaller size, so they could put it in their locker!
Supplies:
- Paper: Graphic 45 Times Nouveau Collection-Hey You! & Bees Knees, Fashionista Collection-Le Fleur & Buttons A La Mode, Playtimes Past Collection-Life's a Ball!
- Accessories: Crystal Clear Plastic, Spellbinders Heirloom Scroll Large Border & Nested Blossom dies, Royal Coat Decoupage Glue, Ranger Glossy Accents, Dry Erase marker
My next projects use more of the Crystal Clear Plastic, this time as protective overlays for a tag and bookmark:
This plastic comes with a protective blue backing on each side that should be left in place when die cutting, trimming , or scoring it:
For the name tag (which can be used on a backpack, lunch bag or locker), I cut a piece 2-3/4" x 8" and then scored it in the middle (at 4"), to fold in half. This plastic cuts and scores beautifully! The insert I made for the tag uses Becky Olsen's new All Things Considered School Primer stamp set from Cornish Heritage Farms. This set is sized for ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) but works wonderfully for tags, notecards and scrapbook pages, too.
I stamped the writing paper with Adirondack Raisin (stamped off once) onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and trimmed it. Then I stamped the cursive alphabet with Adirondack Espresso ink and cut out each letter to spell my youngest daughter's name. The girl and apple were also stamped with Espresso ink and colored with these Copic markers:
I cut out the images and adhered them to the writing paper, then layered that onto more Graphic 45 paper. This insert was then put into the folded plastic, a hole punched in the top, and twill tied through to keep it closed.
The bookmark was made a little differently, since I wanted it to be a little thinner, totally flat AND I just wanted to try something a little different!
After stamping and cutting out the images as above (this time, using a 3/8" round hole punch to punch out the letters to spell my oldest daughter's name) and adhering them to the patterned paper (cut to 2"x6"), I used Martha Stewart's Zig Zag edger punch to make decorative ends from more coordinating Graphic 45 paper. Then I applied Glossy Accents around the edges of the paper, and to the circles that make up the name, and pressed the cut clear plastic on top of the paper. Once dry (the Glossy Accents will dry clear), I punched holes in both ends and tied more twill ribbon through them.
Aren't these little book elves adorable? I thought they were perfect for a bookmark! I colored the punched letters with the lighter blue Copic marker shown above and then used the darker blue around the edges. I thought they turned out looking a lot like typewriter keys!
More Graphic 45 papers were used on the backs of the tag and bookmark:
I hope these projects give you some ideas for back-to-school or gift giving!
Thanks for visiting today! ~ Sharon Harnist
Supplies:
- Stamps: CHF School Primer ATC set by Becky Olsen
- Paper: Graphic 45 Playtimes Past-Alphabet Games, Fashionista Collection-Fashionista & Buttons A La Mode, Communique Collection-On the Dot, Neenah Classic Natural White cardstock
- Ink: Ranger Adirondack dye ink-Espresso & Raisin, Distress Ink-Brushed Corduroy & Antique Linen, Copic markers (colors shown above)
- Accessories: Crystal Clear Plastic, 5/8" Sand Twill, Martha Stewart Baker's Twine & Zig-Zag Edger Punch, Ranger Glossy Accents
