Back to School: Personalized Notebooks

It’s back to school time!  My daughter Marley started seventh grade this year.  Let’s all pause for a moment of silence while this momma tries her best to pretend she’s still in elementary school.

Ok.  *deep breath*  Moving on…

When planning for back to school, we opted to spend a little bit more on notebooks this year, because lockers like to eat paper notebooks and inexpensive binders.  I’ve been using these Mead 5 Star Flex Binders for a while now to keep all my bloggy notes and other paperwork together, so we decided they would work best for my middle schooler.  I’m hoping they’ll survive an entire school year!

Even though they are colorful, they are a bit plain, so I decided to add some pizazz to each one with things that represent my daughter.  She didn’t want any cutesy designs, like flowers or anything like that.  What she’s really into is her all-time favorite band, 5 Seconds of Summer.  (Luke Hemmings, if you’re reading this, Marley loves you to pieces.)

So, what’s this momma of a 5SOS fan to do?  Add lyrics to a couple binders, of course!

This little tutorial is so easy it’s not even funny, but I’ll show you how I did it anyway.

First, open up your Silhouette Studio and create a new document.  You can just type in whatever lyrics you’d like, or use one of the files that I created for Marley’s binders.  Keep reading for the links.

Make sure you keep your design no larger than a sheet of paper, since you’ll be adding them to a standard sized notebook cover.

1.  Cut your design, then clean all the excess vinyl away, leaving only the lettering.

2. Use transfer tape to pick up the lettering from the vinyl backing, then transfer to your notebook.

3. Press down and smooth out your lettering, then remove the transfer tape.

BAM!  Instant awesomeness!

We made two 5SOS binders.  The white binder says “Here’s to Teenage Memories”, which are lyrics from “Kiss, Kiss”.  The black binder says “Social Casualty”, which is the name of their brand new album, just released in the states, and OMG MOM I GOTTA HAVE IT!!!!  (insert high-pitched squeally teenage girls here)

If your daughter would like to use these files, I gotcha covered!  Download Teenage Memories HERE and Social Casualty HERE.

We also made a few others.  In addition to being a 5SOS fanatic, Marley is also a TWD fanatic.  (That’s The Walking Dead.  Come on y’all – get with it.)  Ever since that episode where Carl sits on the roof and eats 112 oz. of chocolate pudding while a zombie tries to reach him through a partially opened window, Marley loves pudding.  So there ya go…

And, if you don’t catch the link for the red binder, her name is Marley.  “One Love” is a Bob Marley song.  True story:  When she was born, I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl, and while listening to my music in the delivery room, Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” came on.  My baby girl was born, and we named her Marley!  And the purple binder?  That’s all me.  I think Marley is made of awesome sauce, so I made this one extra special just for her.

Here are the links to a few of the Silhouette cut files if you’d like to make your own:

Awesome Sauce
Social Casualty
Teenage Memories

I’d love it if you visited my friends today, too, to check out their fabulous Back To School Silhouette creations.  Gobs of inspiration here, y’all.

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!

1. Weekend Craft // 2. From Wine to Whine // 3. Life After Laundry // 4. Adventures in All Things Food // 5. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 6. Sowdering About // 7. The Kim Six Fix // 8. Architecture of a Mom // 9. greylustergirl.com // 10. Please Excuse My Craftermath // 11. Simply Kelly Designs // 12. My Paper Craze // 13. Sweet Tea & Saving Grace // 14. Black and White Obsession // 15. Ginger Snap Craft // 16. It Happens in a Blink // 17. Creative Ramblings // 18. Little Blue’s Room