Fun DIY Stationeries to Try with Your Kids

Are you looking for some fun activities to do with your kids? Perhaps a DIY stationery project to create some cool stationery items for school. The best part is these DIY projects are perfect for kids during quarantine as it will keep them busy for the day.

We have put together a step-by-step DIY project for you and your kids to try out. Most of these items are affordable and can be purchased at your local stationery store. If you prefer to shop from the comfort of your own home and have the supplies delivered to your home, Lion File offers free shipping for purchases above RM100.

Paper Dream Catchers

You will need:

  • Paper plates
  • Scissors
  • Brushes
  • Watercolour
  • Colour papers
  • Strings
  • Multi-purpose adhesive glue
  • Feathers

Preparation:

  1. Cut a hole in the middle of your paper plate. Using a brush and watercolour, paint the plates any colour you desire. Let it dry and paint a second coat and leave it to completely dry as well.
  2. Measure 5mm on the colour papers and cut out long strips. You can mix and match the colours to create a more vibrant dreamcatcher.
    Colour combinations to try out: Orange and Purple, Blue and Green, Yellow and Pink.
  3. There are two types of length needed for the strings. Firstly, cut a length of 20cm-30cm long and paint them any colour you like – you will need about 7-8 of these strings. Once dried, attach the feathers at the end of the strings using a glue. Secondly, to create a sort of hanger for the dreamcatcher, cut a length of 15cm and paint them with your desired colour.
    Note: You could even use a permanent-colour marker to get these strings coloured.
  4. Paste the long strips (from step 2) on to the back of the plate to cover the hole that was cut earlier. Create a web-like pattern, attaching the strips from one end to another.
  5. Next, paste the first type of string (from step 3) with the feathers to the bottom part of the plate.
  6. Using the 15cm string, fold it into a U shape and paste it to the top part of the dreamcatcher using the multi-purpose adhesive glue.

Do not worry if the back of the dream catcher does not look aesthetically pleasing, as the back is designed to face a wall and would not be visible to others.  However, if you plan to hang your dream catcher suspended mid-air, take another paper plate and paint it the same colour as the plate with the hole and stick them together. 

Personalized Notebook

You will need:

  • Hardcover notebook
  • Cellulose tape
  • Colour paper
  • Scissors
  • Permanent colour paper
  • Envelope
  • Multi-purpose adhesive glue
  • Ribbons

Preparation:

  1. Wrap your notebook with your preferred colour paper using cellulose tape  to keep them in place.
  2. Using a contrast colour paper, cut out shapes like hearts and stars or even in the form of your name and stick them onto the notebook.
  3. Using the permanent colour marker, outline the shapes that you have pasted onto the notebook.
  4. Next, cover every inch of the front of the envelope with glue and paste it onto the inner part of the hardcover. You can even paste it on the back of the book to have extra space.
    Note:  This can be used to store small notes that you do not want to lose or even your favourite bookmark!
  5. Now, with the ribbons, you can create a pen holder onto the cover of the book itself. Stick the ribbon onto the cover of the book but leave gaps in between that are just nice to fit a pen or as many pens as you like.
    Note: Do not apply glue in these gaps. It should be left empty to secure your pens.

If you would like to unleash your creativity, you can even use a patterned wrapping paper or draw on the coloured papers as well.

Pencil Holder

You will need:

  • 4 pieces of toilet paper roll
  • Scissors
  • Watercolour
  • Brushes
  • Colour paper
  • Multi-purpose adhesive glue

Preparation:

  1. Cut the toilet rolls to different lengths. You can split the lengths into as many sizes as you like. The longer ones can be used to hold your pen and pencils and the shorter ones for erasers and paper clips.
  2. Using watercolour, paint the inside of your rolls to match the colour paper you plan to use to wrap it.
  3. Wrap the outer part of the toilet roll with colour paper once the insides are all dried up. Then, stick all the toilet paper rolls together neatly. Leave them to dry completely for a few hours.
  4. Next, to prepare the base, measure a colour paper to the size of the toilet paper rolls and stick them using glue.
    Note: Put the stuck-together toilet paper rolls and trace them over the colour paper to get the exact size.
  5. To finish up, put all your pretty pens and other stationeries in it.

Now that you know how to make these easy 10-minutes crafts, you can also create these fun stationeries as gifts for kid’s birthday parties etc. Once you learn the basics of making these crafts, you can explore more creative ways to personalize them. Happy crafting!