Make Your Own School Accessories | Home

By Celebrity Craft Queen Terri O

Do you think you have to cut the family food budget by half just to be able to afford to send the kids back to school in style? Nope! Your little darling can have the latest and greatest, it  just may take a little compromise. If you purchase the full priced sneakers your daughter thinks are "the most amazing shoes ever", why not offset the cost by saving a little on accessories. Go ahead and make a headband to match. Check out these sassy headbands that I made for just two dollars in materials! They are very trendy and I promise you none of the girls at school will know the difference.

Or maybe you can buy those designer label jeans and pair them with an inexpensive pair of slip-on shoes from a discount store that you decorate yourself.(Step by step instructions here.) You can use fabric paint or even bling them out with iron-on rhinestones and studs.

But buyer beware! If you’re not careful, ‘making it’ can cost just as much or more than ‘buying it’, especially when it comes to jewelry. By the time you buy the wire, beads, findings and the tools you need, you could have easily just picked up a few completed pieces and made out just as well. Making your own baubles can pay off if you repurpose what you already have into a new hot look. For example, big and chunky is in! Take a couple of last year’s pieces and combine them. Add larger pins and smaller chains to give any piece a whole new look. (Check out this necklace I gave new life!)

Of course, we shouldn't forget the boys. It seems they are always left out when it comes to crafting fashion. My son made a cool bleached t-shirt with his own cut out designs. (Check here for pictures and how-to instructions.) Buy some plain t-shirts (I picked some up for $5 each) and let your guys have at it. They are different, fun to make and it can really get them excited about expressing themselves. After all, isn’t that what all kids really want to do? One tradition that we have at my house: before school starts, we take plain spiral bound notebooks and decorate the covers. (Here are some idreas to help you think outside the box.) The kids cut out pictures from magazines, use photos of friends and pets and create a one-of-a-kind folders for school. They really love this project and it helps them express to others who they are and what they are interested in. It makes for a great ice breaker when trying to talk to that cute guy sitting next to them in math!

Visit www.terriocraftprojects.com and look for Terri’s DVD set. Super Simple Holiday Crafts, Super Simple Paper Crafting and Super Simple Fashion Crafts. Terri O is a 2 time Emmy award winning television personality. As a Super Simple home arts expert, Terri O shares her passion for creativity thru her website, book, articles, television appearances and media tours across the country. For 9 years Terri has been the face of creativity for the Craft & Hobby Associations retailers, manufacturers and designers lending her expertise as an expert in upcoming trends as well as consumer needs. www.terriocraftprojects.com and coming soon, www.supersimpleliving.com Terri features projects, products, tools, tips & techniques to simplify your life. Terri O has been featured on “The Early Show”, Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC and host of “Crafting with Terri O” on QVC.  As a mom of two boys who love to get dirty, Terri O finds herself riding quads, dirt bikes and camping whenever she can. Visit www.terriocraftprojects.com and look for Terri’s DVD set. Super Simple Holiday Crafts, Super Simple Paper Crafting and Super Simple Fashion Crafts.