Giving School Supplies a Mixed-Media Makeover

Though I’ve been out of school for over 20 years, there’s something about this time of year, when students and teachers return to the classroom, that always gets me excited. My siblings always counted down the days until we would go back-to-school shopping for new clothes, but it was the trip to our local big box store for supplies that I looked forward to the most. My brother and sister would toss the required materials into the basket without much thought while I examined pens, pencils, notebooks, and folders with great care, knowing the right supplies would set me up for a fantastic school year.

I still find myself shopping for school supplies each year, though now I use them in my office and in art projects. I jump at the opportunity to stock up on notebooks, pens, and anything else I might need. I purchased a few notebooks this year knowing that I could do something to jazz up their covers to better suit my style. To do this, I applied several layers of gesso to the notebook covers, letting each layer dry thoroughly before adding another. Next, I used paper punches to punch circles from my stash of paper scraps and then used a gel medium to adhere the circles to the covers. To add interest, I outlined the circles with pencil and used my finger to smudge the graphite. Finally, I repurposed sentiments I had included on a previous project and adhered them to the cover. Though I’m keeping these for myself, these would made a great gift to give to your children’s teachers, and the steps are easy enough that little ones can make them themselves.