Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration: Back to School Survival Kits

UPDATE:  I've updated this post to include pictures of the files I used to make these projects as a special gift to you to help you make kits for your kids and teachers.  Please note this is my design and while you can use it for personal projects I ask that you not use it to enter contests to to sell.

Good evening friends!  I’m so excited to share my inaugural posting on the new Stylin’ Stampin’ INKspiration Blog.  I’ve joined a fabulous group of artists on the design team and we’ll be sharing challenges, projects, techniques, and ideas with you 5 days a week.  The blog was officially launched last week and already we’re having lots of fun.  Today’s team is “Back to School” and Pam and I are sharing some fun ideas now that summer is winding to an end and the kiddos will be heading back to school.  For some reason I’m in love with the idea of “Survival Kits” right now and made some for the kids that will be at the beach with us next week so I thought I would make two different “Survival Kits” for back to school, one for my son Aidan, and the other for his new teacher.  The best part of these kits was I used My Digital Studio (MDS) to create them so they were a breeze (trust me the hardest part was finding all the contents for the kits.

For the bag topper I made the same one for each kit and used lots of fun digital elements (I’ve included the full supply list of MDS “products” used at the end of this post).  I used the search function (love it) in MDS to find all the different elements including the lined paper, paperclips, A+ embellishment, etc.  I used the recolor tool on the embellishments (i.e. the apple and the first day pencil) to add lots of color.  After printing out the toppers I cut them out and matted them on a piece of Real Red Cardstock so I could staple the bags closed.  I used the 1” circle punch to punch out the apple element and matted that on a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock that was cut out with the 1 ¼” scallop circle punch and attached it to the topper with a dimensional.

I added so much loot to the kits that I ended up having almost a half sheet of paper for each list but they fit great into the bags and added some structure to the bag.  I used the same lined paper as the bag topper and then typed the poem directly in MDS (I got the actual poems by searching the internet; unfortunately I’m not that clever!)  I used a different color, size, and font to highlight each of the items that’s in the kit for a fun twist.

For Aidan’s survival kit I used the 6x8 cello bag and for the teacher kit (since it had more “supplies” in it I used the gusseted cello bag which provided plenty of room).  I added a little extra to the Starbuck’s gift card and just stamped the coffee cup from the Perfect Blend stamp set and cut it out in Whisper White, added the coffee collar in Crumb Cake, and colored in the lid with a Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Marker.  And the best thing about these projects?  I have the files saved so if I want to make them again all I need to do is reprint them and I’m good to go and you can make 20 just as easily as one (but you’d need a lot more supplies), or I can modify them for any other occasion.

 

Back of Aidan's Back to School Survival Kit 

Front of Teacher Back to School Survival Kit

Back of Teacher Back to School Survival Kit

 

I’m really excited because now my projects are DONE (whoo hoo!) and I can relax until school starts in a couple of weeks, love it when a plan comes together.  I hope you enjoyed these projects and they gave you some ideas to help your students and teachers start the New Year off right.

Enjoy,

Diana

 

Page 1 Supply ListEmbellishments
_Designer Kits\Back to School - embellishments\Back to School - lined paper
_Designer Kits\Back to School - embellishments\Back to School - lined paper

Stamps
_Designer Kits\Back to School\Back to School - paper clips, Color = 0,0,0
School Days\School Days - A+, Color = WILD WASABI 140,166,95
School Days\School Days - A+, Color = WILD WASABI 140,166,95

Page 2 Supply ListEmbellishments
_Designer Kits\Back to School - embellishments\Back to School - lined paper
_Designer Kits\Back to School - embellishments\Back to School - lined paper

Stamps
School Days\School Days - apple
School Days II\School Day II - scissors, Color = CHOCOLATE CHIP 104,73,71
School Days II\School Days II - first day
So Happy For You\So Happy For You - good luck, Color = REAL RED 199,44,58
_Designer Kits\Back to School\Back to School - paper clips, Color = 0,0,0
School Days II\School Day II - scissors, Color = CHOCOLATE CHIP 104,73,71
School Days II\School Days II - first day
So Happy For You\So Happy For You - good luck, Color = REAL RED 199,44,58
_Designer Kits\Back to School\Back to School - paper clips, Color = 0,0,0
School Days\School Days - apple