DIY school bus photo frame for back to school pictures

The first day of school pictures is a great memory to carry year after year. I am sharing a cute DIY photo frame using popsicle sticks to display your back to school pictures. Try this back to school crafts before the school starts. Let's see how. 

DIY Perler Beads Fruit bowl

I love experimenting with Perler beads and coming up with new ideas. As fruit prints are in trend right now, I thought I will show you how to make 3D fruit bowls out of Perler beads. You can use these bowls for organizing your school/ office supplies in your drawer. Or use them on your desk to add a pop of color and to store knickknacks.

Materials Required:
Perler beads in your color choice.
Circle Pegboard
Parchment paper
Iron
E6000

Step 1: Create a base for the bowl as shown below. I decided to make a full circle bowl and a half circle bowl. For the full circle bowl, I made a watermelon pattern and for the half-circle bowl, I made grapefruit pattern.

Step 2: Fuse the base using parchment paper and Iron. Follow the instructions on the package for fusing the beads. I covered the pattern with parchment paper and used iron in a circular motion for 30 to 45 seconds until the beads fuse together. Once it cools down, remove it from the pegboard and repeat the steps for another side.

One of my favorite activities to do is to sort the beads from the big box of Perler beads. Grab yours here:

Step 3: Now that the base is ready, it's time to make the sides of the bowl. For this, use beads and form the outline part alone in the pegboard. I used alternate colors of light and dark green beads for the outer layer of watermelon bowl and light orange beads for grapefruit bowl.

Fuse them as discussed in step 2. Repeat this step to make five outline circles. 

Step 4: Use any strong glue and glue the layers one by one to form the fruit bowl. I used five layers of outline circles for each bowl . Allow it to dry. Your fruit bowls are now ready to use. 

How simple is this project? If you are not into the fruit trend, you can make any pattern or designs of your choice to suit the decor of your room. Make sure you use clear E6000 glue to glue the pieces together. I used white E6000 glue and it kind of shows it some areas. Avoid using hot glue for this, as it creates a bulge in between the outline areas. 

Hope you like this idea of making bowls. Share what you think in the comments below. As always I would love to hear from you. If you know any of your friends who love Perler beads crafts, share with them using social media icons. :) 

Other crafts you might like:

DIY Perler Beads Key holder

DIY Christmas garland

DIY Pearl Bracelets- 2 Types

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DIY Liquid pencil case - under the sea theme pencil case

I saw a lot of liquid school supplies DIY's around the internet especially on youtube while I was binge watching. I thought I should give that a try as it was looking fun and interesting. To be honest, my first try was a disaster and a major fail. But it was totally due to my impatience. I learnt some not to do things along the way and finally got it right. And today I am sharing it with you all.Are you ready to jump into this fun DIY tutorial? Here is how.

Materials Required:
Clear vinyl (thick variety) - 1/4 yard
Vinyl glue /Iron box /flat iron/ bag sealer
Toothpicks
Stickers (Optional) - I am using laser fish stickers from dollar store
Scissors
Ruler and a marker
Solid teal fabric - 8.5" X 6" (Optional)
Fine glitter and pearl beads (Optional)
Velcro sticky back for closure
Washi tape / duct tape for decorating

Step 1: Cut two 8.5" X 6" vinyl piece for the front part of pencil case and one 8.5" X 9" for back. Use marker to mark on the vinyl. Leave the marks while cutting or use a paper towel dipped in rubbing alcohol or nail polish to remove the marks.

Step 2: Take one front piece and glue the stickers to the vinyl using a tiny bit of vinyl glue. If you don't use glue, the stickers come off after a while.(Refer the picture below) Learnt this from my first trial. When you use the vinyl glue , the back side of the vinyl will look like the vinyl has melted in the place where you applied glue. Don't worry that is how the glue works. It melts in order to bond the two surfaces that's why it looks like how it is. 

Step 3: Apply glue on three corners of the vinyl with stickers and glue the another piece on top to create a sealed pouch. Be generous while applying the glue and make sure you apply evenly to tightly seal all the three corners.Use a toothpick to apply glue and work in a small area at a time. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hrs. I made two type of pencil case one is the clear one and another is with fabric backing. If you are making the fabric backing, allow few mins for the glue to dry then apply glue in the same way to the back of the pouch you created and glue the fabric to it. (Only on three sides).

Alternate methods :

Iron /Flat ironMethod:

If you don't want to wait for 24 hr, you can follow the iron box method to melt the layers of vinyl.To do, use parchment paper and sandwich the layers of vinyl inside the paper. Then melt the corners. You can also use the flat iron for this. But I got good results from iron box compared to the flat iron. 

 I followed the Iron method for my first trial(shown above) and it worked fine in one case and it did not work at all in the second case. But the reason for the failure was, as I said earlier(impatience) I did not wait for the vinyl to cool down after melting it together with Iron. So, when I poured the liquid inside, the melted layer got torn and the liquid splashed all over. (Sounds fun, right? Not at all! ) I wasn't prepared for this ;) And I made this trial with yellow acrylic paint and soap. Imagine the mess :P 

So, if you are following the iron method, make sure you wait for some time until the vinyl cools down and then pour the liquid. Make a trial version before you make the actual DIY to get comfortable with the method. 

Bag sealer method:

If you are planning to do this DIY with a group of kids for say "Under the sea" Birthday party and you want to speed up the process, you can invest in a bag sealer. Again I haven't tried this method, but it should work. If you are planning to do this, make a test version. 

Step 4: Once the corners are dry and sealed, now is the time to put all the fun things inside. I poured some fine glitter and two pearl beads as I have glued some shell stickers I thought it will be apt. You can put whatever your heart desires. Then pump some clear soap into the pouch till it fills the quarter size of the pouch. 

You can also use water and glycerine(Like you will for creating a snow globe) instead of soap if you wish. I thought soap leaves a lot of bubbles and also it will be fun compared to water.

I tried putting two fish buttons inside in my first trial, but the buttons faded after 3 to 5 days. (Refer the first picture in step 2).So be aware of that if you decide to use buttons. That's why I shifted to pearls this time. 

Step 5:  Make sure there is no soap on the fourth side near the opening(Use a paper towel to clean)  and apply glue to seal this end. If you are using fabric follow the same steps as you did in step 2. Allow it to dry. 

Do the same if you are following iron or bag sealer method.

Step 6: Now take the big piece of vinyl 8.5" X 9" and glue to the back of the liquid pouch. Allow it to dry. 

Step 7: Once everything is dry, shape the front flap using scissors. Glue the velcro sticky back for closure. 

I decorated the corners using washi tape to hide the glue trial but you can use duct tape if you wish. Also to mask the velcro sticky back , I cut the washi tape to match the size of velcro and glue it to the front and decorated it with markers. That's it. You are done with your liquid pencil case. 

I actually tried to make a zipper pouch in my first trial by sewing the vinyl parts after creating the liquid pouch. I left an inch seam allowance to melt the vinyl layers even then the sewing did not work well. It started leaking(bottom right) after some time which is why I tried the alternate method. I am sure sewing with liquid vinyl will work but I did not have enough patience to make it right and also I don't want waste sewing supplies. (I think you know, there aren't cheap!) But glad that the glue method worked well. 

I personally liked the one with fabric as it gives a clear look of the fishes on the front as well as serves as a clear pouch at the back. It was so fun for me to play with these. I hope you will also give this a try and let me know how it turned out for you. 

You can use the same technique and create a lot of fun supplies like liquid lava notebooks, liquid phone case, liquid binder covers, etc. These are fun to make with a group of friends or as a family activity on a weekend.Are you planning for a "Finding dory birthday party" or "under the sea/aquarium" themed party? Then you should pin this to try!

Share with me what you think in the comments below. Do you feel somebody in your family or friend's circle will like this idea? Don't feel shy to share with them using the social media icons on the left, top and the bottom. ;)

Other DIY's you might like :

How to convert Cork board to chalkboard + Inspiration board

DIY Thumbtack wall art

DIY Pencil Case using cereal box 

DIY Magnetic Leather pen holder

I shared an idea of how to add a pen holder to any notebook two years ago.I still use the same notebook and also the pen holder for my blog planning. I also have several small notebooks for different tasks which I carry around the house or sometimes to the library and other places. Sometimes  Most of the time, I will sit down to write something only to find out that I missed taking the pen along with the notebook.So I thought I will make a magnetic pen holder which can be carried along with any notebook or binder.

Materials Required :
Leather scraps
Scissors
Wood burning tool (Optional)
2 Neodymium  magnets
Duct tape
Leather glue

Step 1: Cut two leather strips measuring 1.5" X 7.5" and a small strip measuring 2" X 1.5".Round the edges using scissors.

Step 2: To maintain an even rounded edge on both the sides, fold the strip and use binder clips to hold them together and shape the other edge using scissors.

Step 3: This step is totally optional. I felt the leather looked very plain. So, I decided to burn some designs using my wood burning tool. I used the shading point to make small triangle all around the corners of the front leather strip and pen holder piece like I did for men's leather bracelets.You can also make various patterns and designs like I made for these popsicle stick coasters. 

Step 4: Take a small piece of duct tape covering the size of magnets you are using. Glue the magnet to the inside of the inner piece of leather strip as shown below. 

Step 5: Now glue all the pieces together. I used Loctite liquid super glue for this.There are a lot of varieties in Loctite super glue so make sure the packaging says "suitable for leather" before you buy. First, glue the long strips together, work in small sections because the glue will dry quickly.Once that is done, fold the strip in half and center the pen holder piece and glue. Make sure the 2" side should be placed width wise along the strip while gluing. This creates space for your pen. That's it! Your pen holder is now ready!! 

This pen holder is very versatile that it can be used not only for holding the pen but also for holding small papers, bills or coupon inside your notebook or book. 

This is also perfect for binders. 

Hope you like this simple leather project. This pen holder is perfect for planners, notebooks and binders too. So you need not be going to school to make this. This tutorial is suitable for anyone who uses pen and papers ;) You can make this pen holder using any material of your choice.I preferred leather for its looks and durability.

Share what you think about this idea in the comments below.As always I will be happy to hear from you.  Like this idea? Share it with your friends on social media.

Other projects you might like :

DIY Notebook Makeover & How to add pen holder 

DIY Bookends with organizers

Revamped Dollar Store pen holder