DIY School Supplies – Fun Crafts for Back to School!

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Well we do love school supplies. And we particularly DIY School Supplies. I have always enjoyed getting ready for back to school – as a child, and now as a mother too. And I particularly LOVE Back to School DIY ideas. There are so many fun and quirky things you can make, that are great for school, as well as for desk organisation – whether you homeschool or go to traditional school. To pencils cases, to pencil toppers and of course bookmarks (how we love bookmark crafts!!).

Back to School DIY Ideas - Stationery Crafts ! Oh how we love stationery and getting ready for Back To School.There are so many fab School Supplies DIY Ideas out there, you could be craftingw ith the kids all summer. So. Get ready for Back To School with these great Back to School DIY Ideas for Kids. From Pencil Toppers, to Bookmarks, DIY Pencil Cases and Notebooks, to colourful back pack charms! Enjoy.

This post was originally created as a “challenge” and others were encourage to share their ideas.. I have now collated all the Back To School DIY ideas for you browse as at your leisure. A great way to get crafty this summer AND get ready for when the new school term starts.

(PS I think you may like some of these Stationery Crafts for yourself too.. they are not just for kids!!)

Get a taster of some of these crafts in our 5 School Supplies video running on Auto Play! Enjoy!

DIY School Supplies – Make some Pencil Holders with us

DIY Pencil Topper Ideas

DIY Notebooks – perfect School Supply DIYs

As I child, I used to LOVE getting brand new plain notebooks and then personalising them to my hearts content. Here we go a step further and make some notebooks from scratch too!

  • DIY Art Journal Notebook (easy!)
  • Easy Notebook Decoupage
  • Emoji Mini Notebooks made from one sheet of paper
  • Two tone mini notebooks (rainbow or pokemon style)
  • Paper Bag Notebooks – this is super fun and clever craft for you to check out for back to school! Love it!
  • Cereal Box Notebook DIYs by Creme De La Craft – these are the notebooks showin in the bottom right hand corner in the image just above. Cereeal boxes have just the right kind of cardboard that is perfect for making your own notebooks as your DIY School Supplies!
  • DVD Case – notepad and pencil case by Dawn – this is a clever DIY School Supplies craft, as you it is not JUST a notebad, but also a pencil case and you can add other bits and bobs, such as sticky notes etc.

Desk Organisation – Pencil Holders/ Desk Tidies etc

  • Toilet Paper Roll Castle Desk Tidy – ok, so this was a little bit of a more involved craft, but oh my, did my kids love it at the time. It was easy to make (just required a fair bit of painting) and was so cute in the end. We worked with the (random) colors we had.. that said, you could probably leave the toilet paper roll unpaided – this would look quite castle like too! Such fun together time with the kids as we got organised to get back to school!
  • Washi Tape Tin Can Pencil Holders – this is a great one for older kids, esp teens! As you can pick up some lovely patterned Washi Tape/ Tape and quickly upcycle a tin can!
  • Recycled Art Caddy by Morena’s Corner – these look super cute and would actually make a great back to school teacher’s gift for a primary school teacher!
  • Recycled Phone Book Pencil Holder by Chica and Jo – love love love this DIY, as it is such a quirky and innovative idea! That said… I am not sure how many phone books are still “out there” these days, so not sure if this can still be made. I do think it is fun though, and worth a share!
  • Colorful TP Roll Desk Tidy via Fun Crafts Kids – combine toilet paper rolls and a shoebox for this super colorful craft. The shoebox is a clever addition to give support and structure. This would be great in a classroom setting – as you could pain the loo rolls in the colors of the pens you would like to have in them.
  • Fabulous Papier Mache Robot pencil pot by Art Cabin – these are worth a peak as they are so fun and creative!
  • Juice Carton “City Scape” Pen Pots via Fun Crafts Kids
  • Simple Jam Jar & Bakers Twine Pencil Holders by Crafts On Sea – a super quick and easy craft!
  • Magazine Weaving Paper Pot by Inspire Imagination Through Creation – a great upcycle. This could be done with newspapers or magazines! Definitely one to add to the newspaper upcycle round up!

DIY Paperweights

  • Crayon Rock Paper Weights (so colourful and fun to make)
  • Ladybird Rocks via Fun Crafts Kids
  • Hedgehog Rock Paper Weight by Free Kids Crafts
  • Dad Rocks Paperweight by Crafts by Amanda
  • Glass Paperweights by All You – UPDATED: I am really sorrt this project is no longer available, but as I shared it in the image above, I wanted to let you know. That said, you can check out a very similar procees for making you own glass paperweights in this YouTube Video.
  • Button & Resin Paper Weights by Lil Blu Boo – these are very cute.. my only “but” these days, is that resin is pretty toxic and of course these are effectively a plastic craft.. so maybe be mindful when working with resin in the future.. is it really necessary? I am not sure!
  • Yarn Wrapped Rock Paper Weights by Parents – the original post is no longer available, but you can check out an image from this colorful craft over here.

Easy DIY Bookmarks

Ah I did say, I love bookmarks! Mainly because they are so fun to make and such a great little gift – be it to a family member, a teacher or a classmate. So here is just a very SMALL selection of the wide DIY Bookmark collection here on Red Ted Art, which includes literally over a 100 Corner Bookmark Designs too. Something for all occasions!

DIY Bookends

  • Dinosaur Bookends by Doodle Craft Blog – these would look amazing in a primary school classroom!
  • Record Bookends – a super fun craft for old scratched records. There are lot of tutorials out there now for making these, but here is a YouTube video for you to try!

DIY Pencil Cases

  • No Sew Pencil Roll Up – a simple make that requires no sewing. This is great for keeping pencils neat and tidy, but can also be used for paint brushes (or make up brushes) or crochet hooks and knitting needles!
  • Measuring Tape Pencil Cases by Punk Projects UPDATED: I am VERY disappointed to say that this tutorial is no longer available. I loved it so much. Boo hoo! That said.. I found an alternative one here!!
  • DIY Capri Sun Pencil Case by Mum in The Madhouse – I love these, as they are a super clever upcycle. When I was younger, I loved quirky “upcycles” with branded items like this (less so now as an adult! Ha. But kids will love this!).
  • Pringles “Pencil” Pencil Case by Sparkling Buds
  • Plastic Bottle Pencil Cases by Doodle Craft Blog

DIY Keychains and DIY Zipper Pulls/ Back Pack Charms

DIY Craft Supplies

DIY Gift Wrap Ideas

DIY Card Making Ideas

Like bookmarks, I have 100s (I think it is 100s! Ha), of Handmade Cards for you to make. Again, something for all occasions. But I have picked out some here that I think are lovely for Back to School and for Teacher Appreciation week too!

  • Apple Teacher Thank You cards by Domestic Goddesque
  • Scrap Material Cards (Hearts, Christmas Trees and Bunting) by Happy Hooligans
  • Stencilled Bird Card by Crafts Unleashed – UPDATE: unfortunately this blog is no longer available, but I have left the reference so you can still use the image for inspiration (image bottom left)
  • Simple washi tape and scraps thank you cards by True Aim Education
  • Printable Thank You cards by Handmade Kids Art – UPDATE: again this is no longer available.. Boo… But I love the quirky idea of adding a QR that links to a gift, or a thank you video or anything you like really! So have left it here for inspiration!
  • DIY Pencil Cards for Teachers by Artsy Craftsy Mom
Over 75 Stationery Crafts - for stationery lovers - from book ends, to pencil pots, to paper weights and pencil toppers

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Need more inspiration? Take a look at this other Back to School Crafts post:

Over 30 Stationery and Back to School ideas

Or try this Back to School Ideas collection:

back to school crafts