HAND STAMPED PENCIL CASE

i'm finally back to the blog after taking a week off for the beginning of the school year! one of the biggest pet peeves of mine is when my fellow students can't seem to stay organized - my OCD flairs up and i go a little crazy. i love to sort out my things and keep myself organized during the school year. i have about three pencil cases in my backpack filled with the most random things. gum, hairties, post-its and the like in one, sharpies in another, and actual pens and pencils in the third. i'm always looking for new ways to divide out my stuff or new things to put them in, and i thought this fruity pencil case would do just the trick! 

SUPPLIES

• various acrylic paints
• two squares of canvas fabric about 12'' x 12''
• two paint brushes - one for applying paint to the stamps and one for touch-ups
• wood block
• scissors or and x-acto knife
• foam sheet
• pencil 
• tape or glue
• one 12-14'' zipper
• basic sewing notions

DIRECTIONS for the stamping:

1. start to sketch out the basis for each fruit you'd like to stamp. (ex: circle for orange, half circe for watermelon...)
2. cut out the shapes and attach them to the wooden block. i used tape but you could also use glue if you'd like to keep the pattern for future additional use.
3. apply paint to each fruit base and stamp onto each canvas.
4. repeat step three until you've covered the entire fabric.
5. once the base paint is completely dry, add the necessary touch-ups and details (seeds to the watermelons, the triangles to the oranges) to complete each fruit slice! 

DIRECTIONS for sewing:

1. sew zipper to the fabric, with one piece on each side of the zipper.
2. sew the remaining three sides together, right-sides-in.
3. flip inside out and stock up on all your favorite pens, pencils, and get your organization on. 

the only thing left to do if find myself something to fill this pencil case with! maybe some cute ban.do goodies? maybe i'll just reorganize my hairtie/gum/post-it collection during my most boring class. what about you? are you a major organizer like me? join the party! -m