Some printable wrapper templates, perfect for those last minute gifts, like chocolates:
Half-used exercise books are standard fixtures at the end of the school term. It gets kind of messy with a few pages from the spelling test book, to an almost unused stack from the penmanship class. Instead of keeping these used exercise books as it is, I consolidated the unused sheets into 2 DIY bound journals, so that I can write on the the remaining unused pages.
After some tearing, sorting and hole-punching, I turned to my elementary book binding skills and created 2 journal books with the loose sheets.
This project can be easily completed in under 2 hours. Nothing fanciful here, these recycled exercise books are after all just recycled paper being bound. I did not use any glitzy craft paper or tapes. I just grabbed whatever that I could find inside my drawer. However, I still attempted a simple decoration trick with a 3.5″ diskette label, to make it look slightly “old-school”.
Things I used for this project:
– Scissors
– Hole puncher
– Linen thread & needle
– Cover paper
– Masking tape (Optional, for the book spine, if you do not want the stitches to show)
3 things that I have done since the exams ended:
01. Put the used textbooks aside till the next donation drive.
02. Dropped the non reusable activity books and exam practice papers in the recycling bins.
03. Cleaned up the study room.
I am currently looking out for activities to do in November and December. Knowing how much I love planners, I created a monthly version this time, for simple tracking of available events around town and my family’s holiday schedule.
Have you started planning your year end activities?
The card started to break up into 3 separate sheets of plastic few months back, but I continue to use the center white portion (where the magnetic strip is), without any effort to find a replacement, and secretly proud of my new found minimal style. But a blank white card is not easy to be spotted in the bag, or wallet, and get lost very easily too.
So I got myself a soft case that fits the card exactly, making sure it still fits inside my wallet. Then I proceed to spice things up with printable gift wrapper printables here (ducky theme for my girl*), and here (anchor).
The nautical one looks stylish, doesn’t it? I scaled the files smaller before printing, so that the patterns look proportionate for a small card.
Did you get anything from the mid year sale? I got myself a cotton T-shirt for $5 to try out this stencil project. I could not find freezer paper locally, but from the tutorials found online, I understand that it appears to be paper with a plastic coat. So the next best thing that came into my mind was the brown food wrapper with a thin plastic film that some hawkers still use to pack takeaways. I use this all the time for my craft work.
And it worked! I referred to these tutorials here, here and here.
A few pointers for myself to take note:
#1. Set iron on high (cotton setting) WITHOUT steam.
#2. Place a cardboard inside the T-shirt before painting to prevent color seeping through to the back of the T-shirt
#3. Let fabric/silkscreen paint dry completely before peeling off the stencil.
#4. Iron over the dried paint again to set it.
Have fun!
Have your kids been journaling/doodling more during the past hazy week? This is a second exercise book I wrapped with brown paper and simply decorated with a checkered floppy disk label.
A Kaleido-what?
While making the popup card yesterday, we stumbled upon another great paper craft on the same site to make this toy. I can’t explain how the thing works, see here for yourself. The printable template is there too. Just print it out, give yourself 10 minutes to sort the instructions out, and then impress the kids with it.
A last minute Father’s Day card made with instructions from here. The template prints on an A4 paper to make 2 cards. Neon colors are still a huge trend, so I printed mine on neon pink paper. It’s a bit tricky to cut and score the template, so I did most of the work, but once the popup step is completed, the rest is free for the kids to design and create their one-of-a-kind Father’s Day Card.
And if you are adventurous enough, there is another 8-bit “space invader” and “skull” pop up tutorial on the site too!
Journal writing a great activity to unleash kids’ creativity and we get to learn about their thoughts through their work. I buy standard exercise books from the stationery shops and re-wrap them with brown paper and then embellish the cover with a series of heart-shaped labels.
MONO and CO 