Desktop Organizer

Today I’m sharing a easy project to give to a new teacher or anyone who may like an organized desk! I like to give something to my son’s teacher each year to let her know that we appreciate her and are looking forward to the school year in her clas

This project provides lots of options for personalization. I used Paper Garden Project’s digital kit “Owl Be There for School”, which has the perfect pallet for any teacher and has gorgeous designs.

Let’s get started!

Supplies:

Owl Be There for School digital kit by Paper Garden Projects
Wood Desktop Organizer
Paint and brush
Printer
Cardstock
Distress ink
Sponge
Scor-Tape

The first step in my project was to choose the papers from the kit and print them.

I chose a plain teal paper, the argyle and diagonal star print. I wanted two patterns that had varied sizes to create some balance in the design of the final product.

Once those papers were printed, I started to paint. I used an ivory acrylic paint that can be found at any craft store and painted with a foam brush. I mostly focused on painting the edges, as the middle portions will be covered with paper. I didn’t worry too much about perfection in this step.

Next, I laid the organizer onto the paper and traced to provide a template of sorts. The paper will be a mat – leaving an edge of the wood showing on each side. Make sure that you trace on the back side of the paper.

For the second side mat, instead of using the wood organizer to trace, I simply used my first side that was cut out to trace. I used my regular craft scissors for cutting. The straight lines could also be cut using a paper cutter if you are worried about getting perfectly straight lines.

Before adding adhesive to the back of the paper, I ran a bit of distress ink around all the edges of each piece to hide any cutting imperfections and to give it a bit of an aged look.

To adhere my paper, I used Scor-Tape, one of my favorite adhesives. I find that it works great on many mediums and does not budge. I made sure to put the tape into all the edges of each piece of paper. Other adhesives would work for this as well, such as Modge Podge. Just make sure you choose something that will hold up well to handling.

The final, and most fun step, is to choose what you’d like to add to your box. I put in two large post-it notes and a bunch of pens tied together with a ribbon. I also cut out a couple bookmarks using a die and the leftover digital paper. For those, I simply tied on some bakers twine on the top and left the pretty pattern as the main attraction. Also added were a few bookplates, also cut using a die and stamped.

I didn’t get a chance to photograph it just before giving it away, but I did also add some chocolates. (Those are essential for any teacher, right?!)

Thanks for taking a look at my project!

Desktop Organizer

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