Customize Back-to-School Supplies!

As summer is dwindling and kids are slowly trickling back into schools, stores still have mounds of school supplies on-hand for those last minute shoppers. When I saw what was left (and I overheard a little boy disappointed that some pencils he wanted were sold out) I thought about customizing school supplies – it can be done, right?! Enter these generic school supply items from favourite dollar store:

Plain Jane, right?! But I had a plan! Here were my materials:

• Wrapping Paper
• Mod Podge
• Clear Contact Paper
• Scissors

I started with the pencils. I cut a piece of wrapping paper to the size of the pencil and then adhered that to a larger piece of contact paper:

I trimmed the ends and began rolling the contact paper/wrapping paper combo onto the pencil. And voilà! Your pencil has a fresh new look! (Tip: use thin wrapping paper to make the rolling easier)

I used Mod Podge and more wrapping paper to decorate the outside of the notebook. I cut a piece of wrapping paper slightly larger than the cover, applied a thin layer of Mod Podge and then smoothed it all down:

After trimming the excess wrapping paper from the cover, I applied another coat of Mod Podge as a sealant and boom, the notebook was instantly upgraded!

You could use either the clear contact paper or Mod Podge to decorate the wing clips and glue stick I was planning on fixing up but I decided to use the latter. The process was the same – measure out the paper, adhere it to the surface and then apply a protective coating:

Want to see the finished products all together?!

Cute, right?!

I went for a geometric look for this mini-makeover but if you have kiddies going to school this fall, this could be the project for you! If they’re into a particular character or series and stores ran out of Paw Patrol notebooks or Dory pencils, you could easily update plain stationary items like I did with kiddie themed wrapping paper and your kidlets will be over-the-moon happy at having something customized for them!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Subscribe here!

Do you like free stuff? Me too! Subscribe today and not only will you be in the loop, but you'll get access to exclusive freebies!

Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.