9 Cute Ways to Personalize Cheap School Supplies
Personalized school supplies don’t have to break the bank. With these nine easy projects, you can have your own unique school supplies at almost no extra cost. Most of these projects only take a few minutes to complete, so you can totally revamp your school supplies in just one day! Check out our step-by-step tutorials below to get started personalizing your school supplies today!
Personalized Notebook
Tools and Materials:
- Notebook
- Painter’s tape
- Paint
- Paint brush
- Craft knife
- Mod Podge
- Decorative paper
- Scissors
- Letter stickers
Step 1: Paint the Spine
Tape off the edges of the spine. You can use the black binding as a guide for this part.
Then paint the black binding in the color of your choice. I wanted a calming pastel colored notebook, so I went with a pink pastel color.
Once it was painted I removed the tape and touched up the edges of the paint.
Step 2: Add Decorative Paper
Add a layer of Mod Podge to the front cover of the notebook.
Glue on a piece of decorative paper. To make it easy to fold the corners, cut out squares from the top right and bottom right corners. Then fold over the cover and glue in place.
Then fold over the cover and glue in place. Repeat this process on the back of the notebook.
Step 3: Embellish
Embellish the notebook using gold letter stickers, or really any sticker of your choice.
Decorative Mouse Pad
Tools and Materials:
- Spray glue
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Fabric
- Iron
- Hot glue and glue gun
- Pom pom string
Step 1: Prep Your Materials
Measure and cut out a circle from the cardboard. Iron the fabric to get rid of any creases.
Step 2: Glue
Spray a layer of glue onto the cardboard round and press the fabric into place.
Give it time to dry and the cut off excess fabric.
Step 3: Embellish
Using a hot glue gun, glue the pom pom string along the edge of the mouse pad. This should also cover any uneven bits of fabric.
Enjoy your one-of-a-kind mouse pad!
Floral Pen
Tools and Materials:
- Pen
- Floral duct tape
- Craft knife
Step 1: Prep the Pen
Unscrew as much of the pen as possible. This will make it easier to apply the duct tape to each part and remove the excess without it becoming a sticky mess.
Step 2: Wrap with Duct Tape
Wrap each part of the pen with the floral duct tape. Then, using a craft knife, carefully cut away any excess.
Step 3: Put It Back Together
Once you have covered everything with duct tape, reassemble the pen and enjoy! You now have a pen that looks like it cost ten times what it actually did!
Pom Pom Pencil
Tools and Materials:
- Cardboard (cardboard from any box in your pantry will work well)
- Scissors
- Yarn
- Pencil
- Contact paper
- Craft knife
- Pencil-top eraser
- Glue gun
Step 1: Cut Out the Ring
To make a pom pom, you need to start with a ring shape around which you will wrap the yarn. Trace two concentric circles on a piece of cardboard, and then cut out the outer and inner circles, leaving you with a C shaped piece of cardboard. Repeat this so that you have two identical Cs.
Trace two concentric circles on a piece of cardboard, and then cut out the outer and inner circles, leaving you with a C shaped piece of cardboard. Repeat this so that you have two identical Cs.
Repeat this so that you have two identical Cs.
Step 2: Wrap with Yarn
Layer the pieces of cardboard on top of each other. Then, wrap the yarn around the cardboard until you’ve built up a few layers across the entire C. The more you wrap, the fuller your pom pom will be.
Step 3: Cut and Tie
Cut the yarn along the edge of the cardboard. Don’t worry about everything being even, we’ll fix that later.
Then slide the two pieces of cardboard slightly apart and tie a piece of yarn around the center of the pom pom.
Step 4: Remove the Cardboard and Trim
Cut away the cardboard and trim the pom pom so that it looks even.
Step 5: Put It All Together
Wrap a pencil in contact paper and remove the excess with a craft knife.
Then cut off the tip of a pencil-top eraser and hot glue the pom pom in place.
Now you have a stylish, one-of-a-kind pencil sure to turn heads!
Tassel Paper Clip
Tools and Materials:
- Cardboard
- Embroidery floss
- Scissors
- Paper clip
Step 1: Make the Tassel
Lay a piece of embroidery floss across the top of a small piece of cardboard.
Then, wrap the embroidery floss crosswise around the cardboard multiple times. The length of the cardboard will determine the length of your tassel.
Tie the top piece of floss and slip the tassel off of the cardboard.
Tie another piece of floss around the top of the tassel.
Trim the end of the tassel and trim to your liking.
Step 2: Attach to the Paper Clip
Slip the tassel onto the paper clip and enjoy! This project is so quick that you can make one in every color of the rainbow!
Desktop Calendar
Tools and Materials:
- Decorative paper
- Number and letter stickers
- Large shape punches
- Single hole punch
- Two pieces of wood
- Binder rings
- Drill
Step 1: Create the Calendar
Start by punching out your shapes. As long as they are large enough to accommodate your number and letter stickers, then any shape will do.
Then punch a hole at the top of each shape big enough for the binder clip.
Using stickers, or a pen if you like, create the calendar. You’ll need one for each month, and then zero to three and zero to nine, 26 pieces in total.
Step 2: Create the Stand
Drill three holes into the top of the long side of one of the pieces of wood.
Glue the two pieces of wood together to form an upside down T, with the side with the holes at the top of the upside down T.
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Notebook
- Notebook
- Notebook
- Notebook
- Paper
- Paper
- Paper
- Paper
- Fabric
- Fabric
- Fabric
- Fabric
- Yarn
- Yarn
- Yarn
- Yarn
- Scissors
- Scissors
- Scissors
- Scissors
- Hot Glue
- Hot Glue
- Hot Glue
- Hot Glue
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?