Personalized School Work Boxes - Part One

So, the kids' sitter is off this coming week and I was at Walmart alone on Friday. What did I end up with? A couple file boxes, two huge packs of scrapbook paper, spray adhesive, ModPodge, file folders and three canvases. For those that don't know me well, crafting is NOT my thing. But, I was caught at a weak moment and just started throwing stuff in my cart for two projects. (Initially, I had grabbed two three ring binders for the girls and some sheet protectors and was going to call that good for this project.)

I was actually able to get started on my first project this weekend as Tom was gone for a golf outing. I have seen this posting by I Heart Organizing on Pinterest many times. She put together file boxes for each of her boys with folders for each year. I loved that she put the school picture on the front of each folder. Her post also includes free printables for the file folder cover sheets and labels. I'll be working on this in the coming week as my printer is not yet set up.

In the meantime, I decided that I wanted to take this one step further and make personalized boxes for each of the kids. Before you give me too much grief, no, Jack does not have any masterpieces yet. But, one day he will and his box will match the girls'. (And, I've contemplated adding a folder for important papers - shot records, doctor visits, etc.) I decided to document the whole thing with photos so I could share it here with you good people...

Here is the box I started with. They were $5 at Walmart this week. It's a nice plastic box with a latching lid. It's not too big and not too small. I think one file folder will be appropriate for each years' papers, report cards, etc.

I started by letting the girls pick out the colors they would like for their names. Here are Josie's choices.

OK - take that back - she picked other colors first and I guided her in another direction. I decided to use the orange she originally chose as a template. I realized that the kids have a lot of the same letters and it was silly to continue to recreate the correct size and look of the letter. Plus, it became more of a "font." It also allowed for me to have a messy template - it took a few tries to get the letter looking the way I wanted it. This will make more sense in later steps.

My model with one of my templates.

Once I had the template cut, I traced it BACKWARD onto the actual page I wanted to use. There are two reasons for this. One, I had textured paper and I wanted the texture on the outside. Two, which I guess is really the same as one, I didn't want trace marks on the side that would show.

I was worried the girls would get in the way, but they managed to keep themselves busy. (Jack was napping.)

Here are all of the letters for Josie!

Then, I placed them on the box the way I wanted them to look. I couldn't really come up with a great way to mark their location, so I just took a picture.

I used spray adhesive to get them to stick to the box. I will caution you - it does not take much! In fact, I'll likely be redoing Josie's because I used to much and there is adhesive everywhere. Learned my lesson and Tessa and Jack's are much better.

I sprayed it in my sink and over newspaper just in case. (You can see the junk in this picture. It does NOT dry clear.) For Josie's I may try ModPodging over it to see if that hides the imperfection. It can't hurt anything.

And, the finished products!

Now, I have to keep these templates and figure out what else I can do with them!

Stay tuned for part two of this project. I haven't decided if I'll be using the free printables or making my own. All in all, a VERY easy project which is just what this girl needed!