Jenny Lou Creations: homework stations

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Simple Crafts - Personalized Pencils

I stumbled upon these adorable personalized pencils the other day and knew I had to make some for my craft table! This simple craft will be a great way for your kiddo to keep track of his or her pencils at school too. Grab a pack of plain yellow pencils, or any pencils you want to cover up, some glue or modge podge, a brush and some scissors.

The first thing you've got to do is head over to The Girl Creative and print out the template for the pencils. The author, Jackie (a guest blogger I believe), designed these too cute covers just for back to school. Be sure to take a look around the blog for some other fun ideas and recipes.

Cut out your pencil covers using scissors or a craft knife. Hold one of the covers to one of your pencils to check the fit and trim the end to fit.

I used modge podge to attach my covers, but white glue or tacky glue should work too. Brush the back of one of the covers with your glue and then line up the edge with a pencil. This part is a little tricky...roll the pencil just a bit and make sure the edge of the paper is stuck down and straight. Finish rolling your pencil bit by bit, running a clean finger along the pencil as you go.

A few tips...I used modge podge and it dried fairly fast. Be sure to do one at a time. I used two pieces of paper for my workspace. One for applying the glue and one for rolling. Make sure you hands are clean and free of dry glue when you roll and don't rub too much. You probably want to start with un-sharpened pencils to make it easier to cut the strips for a nice even end. The only made in the USA pencils at the store were pre-sharpened, so that is what I went with. I'd also suggest looking for pencils with flat edges like the ones pictured.

Aren't they super cute? I'll be sharing more fun projects I find, including a very special teacher vase/container soon. Don't forget to leave a thank you on the original blog post for The Girl Creative! I'll be adding some ready to ship items to my shop today and tomorrow, including Back to School Owls so be sure to visit!

Monday, August 11, 2014

Homework Station Inspiration

Since it is back to school season, I've been seeing lots of homework stations pop on pinterest. I'm gradually working on my craft area, so I'm always looking for fun looking, organizational ideas. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite homework stations from around the web for inspiration!

Dual Homework Station

Photo from Better Homes and Gardens

The colors in this one caught my eye. I love the light blue and white combo and I'm thinking I might incorporate it into my own space. I especially love that they re-used an old book shelf to create a dual work station. It gives your kids a bit of privacy to keep them on task and their own spaces to stash books, papers and other homework goodies. The baskets on the side are perfect for items the kiddos might be sharing. The best part though is that it takes up a small amount of space. Check out the info for this one over at Better Homes and Gardens.

Rolling Homework Station

Photo from 4men1lady.com

The globe caught my eye on this one. A second look revealed it was made out of an old library cart. I love themeing for the use of the cart is delightful. The two lower shelfs are individual spaces for each child and the top space is shared stuff. This one moves. They can spread out their workspace in a convinent location that day and move it back to the storage place when finished. And since the cart is made out of metal it is magnetic! Note the little reading timer. Great idea! Check out the details over at 4 Men 1 Lady.

Portable Station

Photo from The House of Smiths

This miniature homework station is awesome! The creator has so many things fit onto this little tray and even a bit of inspiration! I'm loving the chalkboard top containers. I'll be using that one for sure. The size of this one is the best feature by far. It all fits neatly onto a tray you can tuck away when not in use. The blogger that made this one was actually participating in a mystery challenge. She got a box full of mystery items including Krylon paint and was challenged to make something useful and pretty for her home. There are detailed instructions over at The House of Smiths if you'd like to re-create some or all of this one.

Seat Sacks Station

Photo from Scissors and Spatulas

Black and white is something else I really like. (Note the bit of blue thrown in...see a theme?) These homework seat sacks and are marvelous idea. I love how they use a typically un-used space to keep all the papers and art books contained when not in use. The blogger gives you a rundown of how she came up with them and at one point she was selling them as well for the non-crafty folks out there. It looks like it may have been a while since the last update so I'm not sure if that is still the case or not. Visit Scissors and Spatulas for more information.

I hope you picked up some fun, inspiring ideas for your kids' homework station, art desk or your own craft space!