Back to School

You can use your trusty fiskars tools, and a few of your craft supplies to customize and create items for school. That's right, summer is coming to an end and school is starting back up. To help you prepare the fiskars design team is here to share several great crafting ideas to send your child off to school in style!

A few tips to get you started:

* Keep wear and tear in mind. Items that are going in and out of a backpack frequently should have plenty of adhesive and be designed so that elements won't tear off. Flimsy items are best left for projects that won't have so much friction and use.

* Get your child involved! Have them help you pick colors, products to use, and even let them help you craft. Time together plus craft time is a good thing!

* Keep it simple. A simple idea crafted with plenty of love will be cherished.

Designer: Katrina Simeck

My son is starting middle school, and is “so over” cutesy themed school supplies. He loved the idea of this old school book cover…with some modern style. To dress up the plain cover, I tore one edge of a piece of patterned paper, rounded the opposite corners, and inked the edges. Next, I layered a strip of patterned paper on top, allowing it to wrap around the spine of the book. The Sun Circle Border Punch made it easy to create a sunburst, allowing a circular stamp from Lil Davis to fit neatly inside. This was the perfect spot to add a touch of school spirit…a pawprint punched with the large Furry Friends punch. Go Catamounts!

(Supplies: Sun Circle Border Punch, L Furry Friends squeeze punch, Round the Corner Punch, Noveau Collection 12” Trimmer, Lil Davis Designs: Globetrotter patterned paper, Noted Clear Stamps, INK by Steph: Charmed collection patterned paper, Other: brown ink)

Designer: Patti Milazzo:

Here’s a simple reversible headscarf design where style and versatility are combined to help your up-and-coming fashionista accessorize with ease.  If you’d like to make several at one time, gather a variety fabrics (fat quarters are great for this project) to mix and match color combinations that coordinate with your daughter’s wardrobe. 

For this scarf I used 3 fabric patterns – red, green and yellow for the trim.  I layered 2 of my fabrics (green and red) on my cutting mat and cut 15” squares with the Comfort Grip Rotary Cutter.  Then I cut the 2 squares in half diagonally using an acrylic ruler as my guide to create 2 sets of triangles (4 triangles in all).  I set aside 2 of the triangles to combine with other fabric patterns later.  I took the 2 remaining triangles (red and green) and placed them together with right sides facing each other.  I pinned the pieces together and stitched along the length of the 15” sides of the triangle.  From the longest side (approximately 20” long) I turned the triangle right side out so that both patterns were showing.  Here’s where I found Fiskars 12-in-1 Sewing Multi-Tool’s stuffing attachment to be handy in pushing out the corner of the scarf without damaging the fabric.  In fact, I found this tool with all it’s gadgets to be super useful all throughout this project – just a few of its features include a thread cutter, a seam ripper (oops!) and even a magnet to pick up stray pins. 

Once the triangle was right side out, I ironed it to press the fabrics flat.  For the yellow trim used to tie the scarf: I cut a 2 1/2” x 36” strip of fabric; folded it in half along its length with the right side facing in; then pressed with an iron.  I sewed along the edges and turned the tube inside out using a safety pin (also in my Multi-Tool!!!).  I again folded the tube along its length and ironed it.  Then I tucked the longest side of the triangle into the open side of the folded fabric tube and pinned it in place.  The last step was to stitch along the length of the yellow fabric to secure the tie in place. 

(Supplies: 12-in-1 Sewing Multi-Tool, 12-97937097 45 mm Comfort Grip Rotary Cutter, 12-87327097  6.5” x 24.5” Easy to Read Ruler, 12-83717097 18” x 24” Cutting Mat, 9997 7097 Non-Stick #8 Bent Scissors, other- fabric)

Designer: Stacey Kingman

When all the backpacks are in a pile on the playground, this tag will easily identify Cody’s with his hand-lettered name in yellow on bright red felt. The tag actually holds  a felt card holder that is a great hiding place for lunch money, little notes from Mom, or kid “business cards” to share with friends.

This card holder is so easy to make. Start out using the Easy-to-Read Ruler and cut four pieces of felt to 3” X 4”. Using the photos and cutting mat as a guide, cut three of the pieces to make the parts of the card holder. Sew the bottom two pieces of the card holder across the diagonals. Sew this piece to the full-size felt piece around the lower three sides. Sew the flap to the top. That’s it!

Now freehand cut the name letters and glue them to the solid side of the card holder. Punch a star out of cardstock and use this as a template to cut out a felt star. Using embroidery thread, stitch the star to the card holder flap as shown with eyes and a smile, making sure you leave space below the stitching for the flap to fit inside the holder like an envelope.

To make the “business cards,” print out name and address information and cut them to 2” X 3”. Mount the printed pieces on a piece of patterned cardstock that is 2 ¾” X 3 ¾”. Make a few of these to put in the holder and watch the playdates fill up the calendar! Put the holder in a clear luggage tag and attach to a backpack with the bead chain. If  I had made this for a girl, I’d probably add a big bow to the chain. Have fun!

(Supplies: 12-74187097 Squeeze Punch Twinkle, Twinkle XL, 12-98937897 12-inch Portable Trimmer, 12-33897097 Tape Runner, 99217097 Spring Action No. 5 Micro-tip Scissors, 12-88717097 Easy Squeeze Glue Gun , 12-88807097 Easy Squeeze Glue, 12-97937097 45mm Comfort Grip Rotary Cutter, 12-83717097 18” X 24” Cutting Mat, 12-83727097 6.5 X 24.5” Easy-to-Read Ruler, Cloud 9 Design : Max’s Backyard Patterned Paper, Other – Felt, solid cardstock, red thread, black embroidery thread, clear luggage tag, bead chain)

Designer: Stephanie Ackerman
Starting school for the first time is a big occasion for such little ones. Kick off the beginning of the school year with a very sweet little doodled lunch/snack box complete with magnetic flash cards & cute little flower magnets. 

This box can be used to bring snacks, lunch or maybe a special something to “share” with the class.  Help your little one adapt to their new surroundings by including a  little love note and secure it to the inside of the lunch box lid with a flower magnet!
To create the lunchbox first cover the front with patterned paper. Using a sanding block, sand all creased edges in a downward motion until white core of paper is exposed.  Do this to all edges and lightly tear away excess. This technique will cover the areas that need to be covered perfectly. Repeat for back panel of lunch box as well as inside of box and sides.  TIP- laminate inside pieces for easy clean-up!

Using a fine tip pen, doodle in icons, letters, numbers & shapes right onto patterned paper (see above photo). If you choose to cover the top handled portion of your lunchbox, use a lightweight piece of scrap paper to make a template. The easiest way that I know how to do this is to  “cut, measure & crease”.  Start by placing the edge of the paper to the front edge of lunchbox.  Using twisting & turning motions and your fingers or bone scrapper as a “creaser”, try to imprint the hardware shapes onto the paper as you move it around.  Sounds confusing, but once you make a template, you will have it for future projects.  Apply adhesive to pattern paper piece and gently place on top and around lunch box handle. 
Cut 5 patterned pieces of paper measuring approx. 3 ¾ x 2 ¼.  Spell out days of the week, fun snack food names, etc. using Lil Davis Castaway Stickers.  Laminate cards for easy cleaning.  TIP- if laminated, you can write fun little notes to your student with a dry erase pen! Finally, for a fun surprise inside the box, glue a coordinating colored flower onto a magnet and place a coordinating button to the center.  These magnets will attach themselves firmly to the inside lid of the lunch box. 

(Supplies: 12-9908 7097 12 inch Portable Rotary Trimmer, Squeeze Punch Corner Rounder, 12-31337097 Eyelet Setters/3 piece, 12-33897097 Tape Runner, Pop Up Glue Dots, Classic No. 8 Scissors, C9 Patterned Paper – Sunrise Smoothy Collection, Lil Davis polka dpaper & alphabet stickers, Heidi Grace Aqua Flowers & Brads, Other: Metal Lunch Box, portable laminator, white & black pens, scrap cardstock , sanding block, scrap ribbon.)

Designer: Valerie Salmon

Your children will be the envy of their classmates when they go to school with this very cool wallet-size photo book to hold photos of their favorite buddies.  Pick your favorite Li’l Davis products, chipboard, stickers, ribbon, and a few basic tools to create a custom little photo holder that is as neat as the photos your children will be collecting.

Purchase a wallet-size photo book to alter. Cover the front and back with coordinating vibrant papers, stickers, ribbon, and rub-ons.  Use a paper edger & decorative rotary blade to create fancy borders.  Make sure to add stickers and rub-ons to customize it.  You may also add the child’s name on it for an even personalized design.  What child would not want this?

(Supply List: 12-9902 7097 Desktop Rotary Trimmer, 12-99147097 Scallop Rotary Blade F, 98887097 Softgrip No. 5 Micro-Tip® Scissors, 12-92147897 Clouds paper edger, Li’l Davis Designs “Castaway” papers, stickers, chipboard, rub-ons, & foil-rimmed shape, Heidi Grace Designs “We are Family” ribbon, Other:  Wallet Photo Book, button) 

At any age- there is always a way to send a little crafted love to school. From decorating an item to creating something from scratch, a little time can create a one of a kind item that will be appreciated all school year long.

By Fiskars Design Team