Back-to-School Just Got Hot: DIY Personalized Pencils

It's back to school season and I wanted to do something special for my niece and nephews. I pretend I don't like to admit it, but I do consider myself to be Super Auntie! (I think I need my own theme song that I can cue after I say that. And a cape, lol). With 2 nephews and a niece still in school, I thought it would be a great idea to send them off to school reminding them who they are. Let's admit it, the world is constantly trying to tell our kids who they are, and I would prefer they know the truth about themselves, which is that they are special, AMAZING humans, children of God, who are loved and cherished by their family. 

There are personalized message pencils on the market out there, but I wanted to send them something Auntie Teljer made specially for them. Plus, knowing their personalities, I wanted to write just the right note that would be exactly the thing they need to be encouraged in and reminded of daily. Plus, y'all know me, I love to challenge myself. And p.s. They're not perfect, but I think they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

OK. Now...onto the diy stuff. Here's what you'll need:

• Pencils, in their fav colors. I got ones that were kind of triangular, so there was a lot more flat space for the lettering. I got my multicolor pack of pencils at Target here.
• Rub on letters in 1/8 inch from Hobby Lobby here.
• Stick on gemstones or any embellishments
• Hairspray

Step 1. Start by writing out the phrases you want to put on the pencil. Keep it short and sweet. I wrote them out to make sure I liked the set of messages I would be giving to each child and that it was something relevant to them. I also liked that I wrote them down because I applied the letters backwards (i.e. from the last letter to the first letter) to ensure that I had enough space for the phrase on the pencil. Trust me, reading a word backwards off the page is easier than doing it from memory!

Step 2. Press the back of the sheet of paper with the rub on letters onto the pencil. You can cut out the letters individually if you'd like (which is what I initially started doing), but I preferred to just press the entire sheet onto the pencil because you get a better grip. I used the point of another pencil to press and thus transfer the ink of the letter onto the pencil. Try to keep a steady hand in doing this so the letters don't float too much and make the line of letters look crooked. Mine weren't perfectly straight, but I was okay with that. And remember, write each word/phrases starting with the last letter, closest to the eraser.

Step 3. Add your gemstones or embellishments. I knew my niece would appreciate these, so I added them for her really. My goal was to make hers look like unicorn pencils, and she LOVES unicorns. To reinforce the gemstones so they don't fall off, you can also apply a tiny bit of Modpodge (i.e. the adhesive every crafter has in their toolbox) to the back of the gems before applying.

Step 4. Spray some hairspray over the letters and gems to keep them in place and keep them from rubbing off easily.

And that's it, really. In 4 easy steps you can complete this cool fun, back-to-school project that kids will love.

Have you done any cool back-to-school project for your kids? Let me know because I'm always looking to score more Super Auntie points!

Adventure on!
~T