Back To School
The summer got away from me, but I suppose that's what summer's are for. Before I knew it, it was the dreaded back to school time. I have mixed emotions about back to school. I pine for the dog days of summer to last forever with their lazy mornings and lack of schedule. But the Type A side of me longs for the comfort of my routine to return.
My children have different reactions as well. My teenage son's emotions change with the day and his mood. One of my step daughter's is pretending she isn't having anxiety about starting junior high and my youngest step daughter is over the moon about color coordinating her school supplies for sixth grade. Which of those 3 do you think I latched on to?
You guessed it! I got to go to three different office supplies stores in search of just the right turquoise folders and sparkly composition books. The trip was extremely successful and she couldn't wait for the first day of school. The only thing missing was a craft!
She decided she wanted to make her own pencil case and had already picked out the fabric. I made a few tweaks and offered up some denim fabric as an option for a second pencil case. I didn't want to rain on her craft parade, however, she picked out a very flimsy cotton and I knew the first sharp pencil that touched it would poke right through and rain all over said parade. She also wanted to do most of the sewing. You can hand sew these if you want but we chose to break out the sewing machine since that's way more fun for a ten year old. It's hard for me not to sit down and take over but I reined it in and chose to give a lesson on how to use a sewing machine instead. Way less fun for me but, c'est la vie. I also wanted her to sew them so she could have all of the bragging rights with her friends.
As you can see, this is a pretty straight forward craft for the kids. You just cut a square and fold it over. Make sure whatever pencils, crayons, etc you want to put in there will fit before you start cutting. Close up the sides using hand stitching or a sewing machine. We got fancy and opted for zipper closures. Zippers are not for the feint of heart for sure, but they do make the project look polished. If you're going to do a zipper you can always hand sew them on but you'd have to stitch it over a few times. I can honestly say I've never done it but I assume it would work if you really anchored it on there. If you're going to use a sewing machine there are plenty of online tutorials you can follow. Just make sure you pick up a zipper foot for your machine if you don't have one. It's kind of essential.
She couldn't decide on how to embellish them to add that finishing touch. We toyed around with patches but didn't have any and were feeling too lazy to go back to the store. The next best thing was a handmade monogram. She found some complimentary fabric and cut out her initial and hand stitched it on one of them. She opted for another effect with the second pencil case and used thick embroidery thread to sew her initial onto it. This one is a little tricky. It's good to pencil or chalk the initial first since you lose a little perspective while you're hand stitching. Also, be careful of how tightly you are pulling the thread or it will pucker the fabric.
Whether you have a moody kid who's life is ruined by the end of summer or a crafty kid who looks forward to back to school shopping like it's Christmas morning, this one will appeal to both! As always, send me pictures if you take this one on :)
