Parentella

The time has come. I am now the proud parent of a First Grader. Now the adventure truly begins! You see, I can remember bits and pieces of Kindergarten. But, truth be told, I remember quite a lot from First Grade. So this must mean my little one will surely carry with him these memories, being created right now, for the rest of his life. This is why it is more important than ever for me to whip up projects that my son and I can do together. I love the excited look he gets when I ask, “Want to do a project?”

Call me old-fashioned, but one of the things I remember most about grade school was collecting all the used, brown paper grocery bags around this time of year. These would be converted into book covers. Back then, a book cover was a recycled (though, that word wasn’t quite as prominent back then as it is today!), brown paper bag that was cut and folded in such a way as to protect the school-issued text book. These days, I see fancy, brightly printed, plastic covers sold alongside all the other back-to-school supplies. I protest! Through all my years of grade school I found my brown, paper bag book covers to be spectacular canvases for all my precious doodles. Why not bring it back? I know it’s not quite as common to bag your groceries in paper, so ANY paper can be used to create a unique, personalized book cover for your child. Consider the bright potential of wrapping paper, newspaper comics, recycled calendars or butcher paper. In the following tutorial, I’ll show you how you can help your child to create a book cover that will last the entire school year. (Unlike the withering paper covers I remember as a child.) Help your young one to express his or her individuality and create works of art that will carry them through the school year. And most of all, have fun creating memories!

[ s u p p l i e s ]

Text book to be covered

Paper: Must be large enough to extend several inches beyond edges of book when lying down in the open position.

Scissors

Decorating Supplies: Scraps of paper/fabric, markers, paint, stamps, ink pads, stickers, images cut from magazines/catalogs/newspapers, glue or glue stick

Clear Laminate: This can be found at your local arts and crafts or hobby store (alternatively, you may also use clear contact paper, or shelf paper, that can be purchased at most home improvement stores)

[ t i p ]

I created a collage tray for storing little bits and pieces like fabric scraps, paper, ribbons, bottle caps, stickers, etc. My kids love gluing things and this tray (that was apple packaging) perfectly organizes all the supplies needed for a fabulous collage or sculpture.

[ i n s t r u c t i o n s ]

Step-One: Lay your book, face down and open, in the center of your paper. Cut the paper leaving approximately 3″ from the top and bottom and at least half the width of the book cover on each end. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Step-Two: Fold top and bottom edges. Provide just a smidge of wiggle-room beyond the book’s binding. Run your finger along the fold edges to make clear fold lines.

Step-Three: Line the book up in the center of your folded piece of paper and determine the fold lines for the edges of the book cover. When folded, these should extend at least half the width of the book cover.

Step-Four: Try it on. Slide the book into your folded, paper cover. Make sure it fits good. Make any adjustments if necessary. The paper cover should slide smoothly when you open the book, but fit snuggly when closed. Don’t be afraid to re-fold your creases. Once decorated, you won’t even see old fold lines.

Step-Five: Remove the book. Run your finger along all folds to create well-defined creases. Now the creativity begins!

Step-Six: Time to decorate! I think collage is a fantastic way to express creativity – it’s a wonderful way for kids who aren’t compelled to paint, draw or doodle to get creative. Limit the artist to flat-lying materials. No puffy stickers or googily eyes for this project. Step-Seven will explain how we’ll be sealing in all this creative beauty. It’s a process that works best with flat surfaces. Remember: the area inside the rectangle created by your folds will be the side you see on the outside of the paper book cover. You might want to refold the paper cover so kids decorate the correct area.

Step-Seven: Apply clear, plastic laminate. Open paper book cover and lay on a flat surface, decorated side up. Cut a piece of laminate (or contact paper) to completely cover your paper book cover. If more than one piece of laminate/contact paper is required to cover your paper completely, make the pieces large enough to overlap each other where they meet. Peeling slowly from one end, remove the backing paper from your laminate/contact paper and lay it down on your paper book cover, carefully smoothing it down from one end to the other, avoiding air bubbles. It’s essentially a huge clear sticker. Once this layer has been applied, cut any excess laminate that extends beyond the edge of the paper book cover.

Step-Eight: Following the creases created in steps 2-5, refold the paper book cover and insert your book.

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Dawn Huntington is an architect by training, but has chosen to stay home with her children and sell handmade crafts and custom designed fabrics, instead. She has the website Out of the Box .

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Tags: Back to School, book covers, Creativity, Dawn Huntington, projects for kids

This entry was posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Back to School, Dawn Huntington, arts and crafts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.