BUDGET BACKPACK MAKEOVER
Welcome Darla at HomeWork organizing.
My grandsons go back to school next week,
and I LOVE this idea for personalizing their backpacks.
You’re gonna love how easy it is, too.
Have you priced backpacks lately?
Most start at $40 or more. I wasn’t ready to shell out that kind of
money for kindergarten gear, so this little frugal backpack makeover is what we came up with.
I know that you probably have a few bags at home that might work for this project.
How do I know?
Because I’m a Certified Professional Organizer, and bags and backpacks are probably
the most frequent item that I help people clear out.
When I checked, we had no less than three really good quality packs from
my husband’s company.
They even had padded backs, reinforced straps, and water bottle holders like some
of the pricey name brands.
Supplies for a Backpack Redesign:
1) Backpack
2) Felt Shapes
3) Shaped Beads, using your child’s favorite theme
4) Needle, thread and scissors
5) Fun little accessories
I thought briefly about using some sort of iron-on patch to cover the offending logo, but since
most backpacks are made of nylon, the heat from the iron might melt it, so we sewed it instead.
I always thank my grandmother for teaching me how to sew, but anyone can do this,
since it’s just a little loop through a button.
Starting from the center of the existing logo pack, place your largest grouping
of felt and beads. My KittyCat stacked the felt and buttons to her liking, handed them to
me in the order she preferred, counted 5 stitches on each, and cut the thread after it was
knotted in place. We repeated the process for each grouping of felt and beads until the entire
logo was covered.
This is the kind of project where almost any design will look great, and you don’t have to worry
about centering anything. We added a snazzy new pencil case and a scented bracelet that just makes
it cuter, each bought for $.50 on clearance.
Who would have guessed a plastic pixie pencil pouch (say that five times fast!)
could bring so much happiness?
KittyCat is so proud of her special backpack, and she can’t wait to use it on her
very first day of school.
You might think this kind of a makeover would be temporary, but we
only lost one of the “flowers” the first year, and we sewed it back on. We got two full years of
service out of this backpack. That’s my kind of value. We’re working on a similar makeover for
one of the remaining backpacks, probably with a princess/puppy/fairy/jewel theme, based on
little KittyCat’s current loves.
Isn’t this a great project?
I love the idea of making a matching pencil case.
Maybe even a matching lunch bag, too.
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Kim @ The Cookie Puzzle says
What a wonderful idea..I have about 8 gazillion backpacks hanging around my house all the time! I love that you can totally personalize these, changing them each year as your child grows and his/her interest changes. We would love for you to share this wonderful idea at Party in Your PJs.
View CommentDecorators Home Goods says
Nice post about Budget Backpack Makeover
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