back to school notebooks

with school officially underway, we had a week of fun back-to-school projects over on the Crate blog this week.  the DT came up with some awesome layouts, beautiful home decor, and creative organizational/DIY projects.  a couple of us even whipped up some gifts for teachers. 

when i think about teachers, the first person that comes to mind is my most favorite teacher--my mother!  she's now a retired elementary school teacher but when she was working, i always remember that she kept a lot of lists.  i'm sure it's no easy task for a teacher to stay organized so i made up a few simple notebooks to help them out.

i mainly used the DIY Shop collection for my notebooks, with odds and ends from Random, Story Teller, and Party Day.  DIY Shop has so many academically inspired coordinates that it will work for any school subject you need--English, Geography, Math, Science, etc.  if you check out the Crate blog, you'll also see a lot of the *brand new* Flea Market by Maggie Holmes used this week.  i know you don't want to miss that!  

this notebook style is very basic; simply trim your paper around a small pad, fold, and glue.  so simple.  i love keeping notes on index cards and have become a little obsessed with them, actually.  {i went out today and bought a whole assortment of different-sized index-like cards.  can't wait to make all kinds of things with them!}

  

you can buy index card pads, but i didn't have any so i made my own--also super-simple to do.  gather a stack of cards and brush basic glue across the top edges of the card.  i used Martha Stewart decoupage glue with binder clips to hold all of the cards together until the glue was dry. {tip:  give it about 30 minutes to dry, just to be safe, and a little goes a long way.}  when it's all done, you have yourself a little notebook! 

and if you're going to give a gift, i say, wrap it up nice!

this one is my favorite, likely due to the subject matter.  English/reading/writing (especially creative) were always my strongest subjects when i was in school.  that's probably because both of my parents LOVE to read.  and i have a wild imagination (thank you, anxiety) so i'm pretty good at coming up with elaborate plots and stories.  what if...

this is a quote from William Wordsworth.  it's so poetic.  i don't write creatively much anymore, but i still love the idea of writing; i love my vintage typewriter (which belonged to my late grandmother); i love my thesaurus (which was a gift from my other late grandmother).

instead of index cards, i used library cards for this notebook; perfectly fitting.

vintage maps and globes in such lovely colors!  

and a quote from Dr. Seuss, geographically speaking! 

the wrap for these notebooks is simple:  a glassine envelope, black twine, a washi covered mini clothespin, and a small assortment of matching tags.  it's simple, but it's a nice extra touch.

math...my worst subject!  my worst subject, yet i like this notebook with that bold and bright yellow tag on it!

just for fun, i also turned some DIY Shop wood clothespins into magnets.  these were so easy to do--honestly, they took about 5 minutes.  

you know i love my clothespins and these are no exception.  using the days of the week and time of day are a fun and stylish way to stay on top of things--whether they're a gift for your child's teacher or they're to help YOU stay organized...soccer, PTA, play dates...the school year brings on a hectic schedule for a lot of families so here's an easy way to make sure everyone knows what's going on and when it's happening.

all i did to make these was add a strip of magnetic tape to the backs of the clips.  trust me when i tell you that anyone can do this!

how about giving them to your kids for their lockers?  parents and teachers aren't the only ones who need to be organized... 

  i had a long, wonderful chat with a new friend the other night.  among other things, she reminded me to "live in the present."  with that in mind, i invite you to take the message in this picture to heart...today; make it count!

and one more thing before i leave...i just want to thank you all for reading this blog.  i know i don't post as regularly as i'd like to, but i do appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to stop by.  i'm so happy to have our craftiness in common with you!