Altered clipboard ♥

Hi everyone!

Well, the summer is winding down. Beach weather is almost gone...I'm not ready to give up my flip flops and shorts yet, lol!

Any way, I've been preparing for the past few weeks to go back to school. In an effort to stay organized when I am collecting anecdotes about my students, I decided to try something different. In the past, I would use a notebook to collect anecdotes. However, more often than not, I would put the notebook down somewhere and forget where I would last place it. Also, I would put my pen down and not be able to locate it for a while.

I decided this year I would us a clipboard and have several areas in the room with a little hook designated for the clipboard. This way, I could hang it in more than one place and still keep a track of it. I also decided to alter the clipboard in some bright cheery colors so I could easily spot it in my classroom.

Here it is!!

I first painted the edges of the clipboard black. I used three sheets of card stock from Die Cuts with a View (DCWV) from the Grade School Stack. I only had the 8 x 8 pad available because I was unable to find the 12 x 12 stack. That is why I wound up painting the border black. After the paint dried, I sealed it with a layer of mod podge. I also painted the entire back of the clipboard black and put a layer of mod podge on top of that as well.

After the  mod podge dried, I cut two strips of the card stock from two of the three sheets. I cut them at 2 3/4 x 8. The apple pattern and the top and the diamond patter at the bottom are the strips I cut. The middle sheet with all the stripes is a full sheet. I layered the apple sheet and the diamond sheet on top and adhered everything with mod podge. Once the sheets dried, I put a thin layer of mod podge to seal everything.

I took four ribbon and cut them in half, then threaded the ribbon through the hole at the top. I hot glued some buttons on the top of the board. To keep my pens in place, I covered two binder clips with some of the leftover paper using my ATG gun for the adhesive.

I hope you like it! I am working on some other projects for use in my classroom. Stay tuned for more projects...coming soon!!! ♥

A Homespun Affair - September Edition

Hello! It's time for another edition of A Homespun Affair! I hope you have enjoyed all of the editions in the past! This edition is just as full of projects and inspiration like the others!

This month I decided to create a 3D apple since it's the season to go back to school. I myself will be going back to work in a few days, so this project was very appropriate! You can get all the directions on how to create this 3D apple in this month's edition of A Homespun Affair. The paper used comes from DCWV (Grade school paper pack). 

I used the outer layer of an apple from the cartridge Potpourri Basket. I hid the inner layers using my Gypsy. 

Check out how I used this same apple three different ways! 

Instead of making a full apple, keep it flat and adhere it to the front of a mini album or mini notebook for a splash of color and a touch of texture.

I used the same technique to make this mini apple as a tag for this backpack. The backpack was made using the Campin' Critters cartridge. The twine holding the apple comes from 3 Girls Jam. 

I hope I have inspired you to be become creative! And if you decide to create a 3D apple of your own, link it back to my blog! Also, don't forget to check out this month's challenge at A Homespun Affair.