Can you believe the summer has passed so quickly? It seems like we were just planning for summer vacations and road trips, and now it’s suddenly time to go back to school. I remember one of my favorite things about going back to school every year was getting new school supplies. Today, I can’t think of a better way to make everyday school supplies more fun than by customizing them with one-of-a-kind rhinestone designs. What’s better is that you can get your kids invested and involved in a crafting activity? It’s perfect for a rainy summer afternoon.

Backpacks

Nothing says back to school quite like a new backpack. Turn your child’s backpack into something really special, or take last year’s backpack and make it new again with the sparkling addition of our European crystal rhinestones.

You’ll need to assemble your supplies—backpack, transfer patterns, flat-backed hotfix rhinestones in your favorite colors, and E-6000 glue. Because backpacks don’t have a lot of flat surfaces, we recommend putting something flat underneath the pocket.

We particularly love the idea of a flower backpack. Using a standard round stone for the center of the flower, place teardrop or navette rhinestones round the circle to create the flower. This gives you a lot of options for fun color combinations.

Another idea for your backpack is to add your initials so it will stand out from the other backpacks. With all of our color options, you can pick what matches your pack.

You can even make custom zipper pulls for your backpack. Simply use jewelry wire to connect our European crystal beads to the zipper. You’ll definitely have a fun backpack that shines.

Pencil Boxes and Pouches

One supply that many students need is a pencil pouch or a pencil box to help stay tidy and organized. It’s also a great way to add some bling to your school supplies—the flat surfaces make for an excellent background.

There are a lot of options for making a fun pencil box. You can personalize it with your first name or initials in your favorite colors, or you can cover the entire box with rhinestones for an over-the-top look that’s fun for a lot of kids.

We even have flat-backed star shaped nail heads that would be a lovely pattern on a box or pouch.

T-Shirts

It’s a fact that kids need new clothes, and rhinestone-studded t-shirts are a great way to turn something ordinary into the extraordinary. Use flat-backed rhinestones for this project.

• Baseball Tee–Make your own cute and sparkly sports shirt. Add a name and a number to the back for a shirt that’ll be a hit.
• Animals– Animals are a great option for kids’ clothes with rhinestones. Some favorites are dogs, cats, and unicorns, which is a great way to use some fun colors!

Shoes

One thing that’s true of all kids is that they grow fast. With back to school purchases, often kids need new shoes along with school clothes, and it’s a fun idea to customize your shoes with rhinestones.

Sneakers are particularly fun to make sparkle by adding rhinestones of any shape around the base of the shoe. You can use your favorite colors in squares, hearts, rounds, stars, and more. Depending on the type of shoe you have, you might be able to sew on certain rhinestones on the top or sides of your shoes.

Folders

When I used to go shopping for school supplies, I always wanted the “fun” folders, but instead I had to settle for the plain ones instead. I wish I’d had some rhinestones to jazz my folders up when I was going to school.

The best way we’ve found for making rhinestone-studded folders is to hand draw (if you’re confident in your drawing skills—I’m not!) your pattern or use a stencil to outline your desired pattern on the folder. You and your kids can get really creative with this. Here are a few ideas we love:

• Space – With our star-shaped nail heads, you can create a starry night that shines. Add strokes of glitter paint trailing behind the star to give the look of a shooting star.
• Animals – We love animals, and younger children will love making animal folders. Simply find an animal pattern you like and trace it on to the folder. Use flat-backed rhinestones to outline, and use different shapes for the eyes.
• Flowers – Like for our flower power backpack, you can combine rounds or squares with petals made of teardrop or navette shaped rhinestones.
• Letters and Words – Put the first letter of your name on a folder, or perhaps words that have special meanings.
• Geometric – Make cool geometric patterns combining squares and diamonds in alternating colors for an interesting outcome.

Keychains

As the kids get older, a sign of responsibility is for your kids to have their own set of house keys. Surprise them with a special customized keychain or make it a crafting date and make a keychain together.

Gather your materials, including jewelry wire, pliers, and key rings. We have beautiful European crystal pendants that you can use as a lovely standalone piece, or you can assemble a strand of beads to make a custom keychain. We have some fantastic selections of bead shapes, including butterflies and skulls. String the beads on jewelry wire and use the pliers to tightly wrap around the key ring.

Pencils

Pencils are important school supplies, why not jazz them up a bit? Add one or two little rhinestones to the top of the pencil, just below the eraser. It’s not only cute, but it certainly makes it harder to lose a pencil.

Getting back to school in style has never been this fun, and with all of the varieties of rhinestone shapes we have in stock, there’s something for every style. We hope you have fun putting together your own creations!

That’s it for this month. We hope you have a blast making fun, glittering additions to boring school supplies. Stay tuned for more great ideas from The Rhinestone Shop!