Conversing, Compiling, and Comparing – A Back to School Discussion Among the Dolls

Clara: So, I guess we’re here to talk about… school?

Grace: Uh-huh. *Turns to look at readers*

Grace: Gracie just came in and told us four dolls that we’re doing a post, so we obliged. It’s a kind of discussion between me and Clara, and then between Julie and Caroline. Each pair has to make a list of five things we’re thankful for coming into the school year. Afterwards we’ll compare lists.

Clara: What?? Thankful for about school? Why not “Five reasons we’re thankful that fall break is going to come.”?

Grace: *giggles* I think it’s supposed to be a bit of a challenge. And besides, didn’t you hear Gracie tell us what we were doing earlier?

Clara: *shrugs* I guess I spaced out at the word, “school.”

Grace: Ok, let’s start then. What about… friends?

Clara: …Huh, you’re right! That’s not so hard, we get to see our friends!

1. Seeing friends

Clara: Ok, number two…. Um…? I’m stuck.

Grace: Already? How about…

Clara: Oh, wait! Recess!

Grace: Well…

Clara: And lunch!

Grace: But… Ok. Why not?

1. Seeing friends
2. Recess
3. Lunch

Grace: But now lets finish up with some more serious ones.

Clara: Ok…?

Grace: Like, how about, that we are able to get an education?

Clara: Yeah, that’s good!

1. Seeing friends
2. Recess
3. Lunch
4. Ability to get an education

Grace: One more!

Clara: All right!

Grace: I think this last one is yours. You haven’t done any serious ones yet.

Clara: What? Recess and lunch are awesome!

Grace: Ok, yes, they are things to be thankful for, but you know what I mean.

Clara: Hmm, well, *thinks* I’m thankful that we get to have breaks from our work.

Grace: *Shakes head, laughing* I give up. But I also agree, though I think there is definitely more we could have thought of!

1. Seeing friends
2. Lunch
3. Recess
4. Ability to get an education
5. Breaks from working

Clara: Yay! We did it!

Grace: I guess it’s Caroline and Julie’s turn now!

 

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Julie: Now that Grace and Clara are cleared out, it’s time for us to start. I wonder what took them so long? We all have the same task right?

Caroline: I believe so.

Julie: *Shrugs* Ok. This shouldn’t be too difficult.

Caroline: Yes, but it’s always good to step back and thank God, even for the things that seem mundane.

Julie: *nods* What should be first on the list?

Caroline: I know I always love getting fresh school supplies and books.

1. New school supplies

Julie: Yes, and as I think about it. As much as school seems ordinary to us, to many kids in other places around the world it is a huge privilege. So I’m thankful we have the opportunity to get a good education.

1. New school supplies
2. Opportunity and privilege for education

Caroline: Yes! And how about seeing friends, old and new.

Julie: I’m thankful for that.

1. New school supplies
2. Opportunity and privilege for education
3. Friends, old and new

Caroline: I have one more, if you don’t mind.

Julie: Of course!

Caroline: I’m thankful for learning. Even though we don’t always see the impact in a week or a month, you can look back on years and see how much you’ve learned and improved. We can read, write, and do math so much better now than when we started.

1. New school supplies
2. Opportunity and privilege for education
3. Friends, old and new
4. Learning

Julie: That’s a good thought! And I have one to finish off our list, though I’m sure we could keep going!

Caroline: Yes, it’s hard to only to list five, after you’ve started thinking about it!

Julie: Though we’re listing a lot that’s good about school itself, I’m also grateful for breaks from the business to refresh. Even the Lord rested after creating the world, as an example to us.

1. New school supplies
2. Opportunity and privilege for education
3. Friends, old and new
4. Learning
5. Breaks from the business

Caroline: Very good!

Julie: That was actually pretty fun. Let’s go compare with the other girls.

 

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Clara: You’re done already?

Julie: *nods* We actually wanted to keep going!

Grace: *giggles* Oh dear, I’m not sure I want you to see our list.

Clara: It’s ok, Grace thought of the good ones!

Julie: Let’s compare!

Clara and Grace’s List:

1. Seeing friends
2. Lunch
3. Recess
4. Ability to get an education
5. Breaks from working

 

Caroline and Julie’s List:

1. New school supplies
2. Opportunity and privilege for education
3. Friends, old and new
4. Learning
5. Breaks from the business

 

Caroline: Very nice!

Clara: I told you, Grace! Breaks are serious!

Julie: *laughs* I think those are all good things to be thankful for!

Caroline: Even thinking of seemingly little things help us to be grateful.

Clara: True. I guess I’m a bit more glad for school. And recess seems sweeter too! *winks*

Julie: *turns to look at readers* Thank you all for reading! I hope that you appreciated seeing us compile these lists, and that it might have inspired you. Now it’s your turn, what are you all thankful for, coming into the school year? Bye for now, and have a good school year!

 

 

 

 

Back-to-School Crafts and Fun Finds for Your Doll! +BIBPC

Hello!

Today I have a collection of doll school supply crafts and fun finds!

 

Here is the agenda…

CRAFTS:

Colored pencils/pencils

Lunch box

Duct Tape Pencil Case

Notebooks (With a Printable!)

Duct Tape Backpack (Link to other source)

 

FUN FINDS:

Backpack

Scissors

 

Most of the crafts I’m sharing are pretty simple, and some of them I had made a while back, so for those I will share the picture and a description of how to make it (or a link to the source of instructions)! I hope you enjoy!

Let’s start!

First up…

 

Colored Pencils

Here are the colored pencils I made! They were super easy, and used a surprising (but common) supply to make–a pencil sharpener!

I used some small colored dowels (You could also color some plain dowels yourself, as I did with the blue pencils) and I cut each in half (Depending the size of your dowel or skewer, you may need to cut smaller or bigger pieces.).

Next sharpen the dowel! Yes, just with an ordinary sharpener! Then you can color your dowels. Make sure to color the sharpened tip to match the color your pencil is supposed to be.

If you want to make regular pencils instead, you can use a yellow or plain dowel and color the tip silver/grey, color the flat end pink for the eraser, and color a small strip of silver/grey right below the eraser for the small metal piece.

 

Lunchbox

To make this, you need an empty mint tin. This can be a fun craft, because you get to paint the lunch box however you like! You could also glue on scrapbook paper, or use washi tape.

I’ll talk about the handle soon…

For the handle, you could just glue on a strip of craft foam, or you could make a sort of wire hinge like I did above. This can be kind of tricky though.

Here is a short description of how to make the wire handle:

You need a small ‘u’ shaped piece of wire to be glued (I used hot glue) onto the box, and an open rectangle-like piece for the handle that has curled ends to fit over the ‘u’ pieces. You can glue two strips of foam over the top of the handle for a grip.

 

Pencil Case

Cut out a strip of duct tape that is about 3 and 1/2 inches long.

Then cut out another and slightly overlap the two so that they are in one square sheet.

Turn it so the square is sticky side up. Cut a strip of tape that is a little shorter than the first two pieces. 3 inches would probably be a good size. Stick it so that there is a little space left sticky on the side edge, but make sure the bottom edge is covered.

Cut another the same size. Lay it the same way, but leave sticky space on the opposite side.

Now fold the case from the bottom up so that the sticky sides meet. Make sure the non-sticky edges meet. Don’t fold over the sticky top.

You can trim the edges a little (I folded over a sticky edge, as well) and trim the top into a shape you would like for the flap of your case.

Cut a tiny strip and fold it from the sticky side of the flap to the other side of the flap. This is to help with opening the case.

Then you are done! Just fold down the sticky flap to close the pouch. You can use the little strip in the middle to help you re-open it.

The little colored pencils from earlier fit inside!

 

Notebook

 

First off, you can print out the below printable that I made using Picmonkey.

You can open the image in a new tab and print it from there. (Make sure the margins are none and the scale is normal, or 100.) You could also copy/paste the image into a Word document.

If you don’t want to use the printable, you can cut out a 3 by 2 and 1/2 inch piece of paper and design your own.

Next cut out two pieces of card-stock, same size as the notebook cover (for reinforcing the cover and for the back) per notebook you are making, and cut out several sheets of lined paper for the sheets inside the notebook (again, same size as the cover).

Then glue one of your card-stock pieces to the back of the cover. Stack up the papers, with the lined papers sandwiched between the cover and the back. Staple the edges of the stack together. Try to make sure the edges of paper are lined up neatly.

Cut out a piece of card-stock (I used black) that is about 3/4 inch by 3 inches. There are a couple of ways you can make the binding. The simple way would be to take your piece of card-stock and just fold it over the edge of the notebook, covering the staples.

The nicer, but more difficult way would be to fold the card-stock like the above picture, with a more squared edge for the notebook. The space between the folds should be very very small. Just big enough to fit around the edge of the notebook.

Whichever way you choose to do the binding, glue it onto the edge of the notebook.

And you’re finished!

Here’s Clara and Caroline, ready for school!

Clara is modeling the duct Tape Backpack craft! You can find this craft tutorial here.

Also in the picture are a couple of fun finds! I found the pink/red backpack at Target! It is a Yoobi brand key chain coin pouch! The straps seem a bit small to fit on the dolls, but I’ll probably just sew on a little more ribbon to make them longer.

Also, I found the mini green scissors at World Market! I think they were advertised to fit in purses, but are perfect for AG dolls! Note: I don’t recommend letting your scissors hang perilously halfway out of your backpack. XD

Both of these finds were under $5!

I hope you enjoyed these crafts and fun finds!

Are you going to make any of these? Which craft or fun find was your favorite? How is school going?

Do you like school supply sections in stores…? I sure do! XD

Have a blessed day!

Here is my (Late! 😦 ) BIBPC entry!

I’m on Team Kiwi and the category is Books!

Story: I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but somehow I came up with the idea of taking a picture of my stuffed animal with a book! He’s pretty cute and expressive, and it’s fun to put him in different poses. I ended up choosing this one from the photos I had gotten. (His name is Bear, in case you were wondering, because when I got him I would want to call him a teddy bear, even though he is a dog. 🙂 So Bear seemed to fit him! 😉 ) (And the book is Wonder!)

In Which Grace and Clara get Ready for School – a Photostory!

I made a Back-to-school photostory for you all! Enjoy!

[Side note: some of the the pics are fuzzy, I apologize, I took the fuzzy ones in the evening (Ugh, phone camera!) Thankfully, I also got some pictures in the morning that aren’t fuzzy! 🙂 ]

 

Grace’s point of view:

Is that the alarm clock I hear? Yes! It’s time to get up and get ready!

Today is special! It’s mine and Clara’s first day of school! I’m going into middle school! Seventh grade! I’m so excited!

. . . Clara?

*Groans* *mumbles*

 

Hmmm. I guess I’ll let her sleep a little more.

I have my clothes, bag and shoes all laid out on our bedside table. I’m gonna change now…

And do my hair… I picked out two pretty green clips!

Whataya think!? How do I look for my first day of school?

Let’s see, We have fifteen minutes until the bus comes… Oh! I’d better wake Clara up!

Clara! It’s 7:45! The bus is coming in fifteen minutes! You had better get ready, or we’ll both be in trouble!

I’m gonna go eat some breakfast and leave her to it! It’s always important to have a good, healthy breakfast! Oh, and make sure to stay hydrated as well!

 

Clara’s point of view:

Ugh! It’s not time to get up! It’s like 5:30…

Wha- did she say? Oh NO! 7:45! I need to get ready! It’s my first day of school!

Oh, clothes!! Where are you when I need you?

Something doesn’t feel quite – OH!

There! Much better!

How am I supposed to choose?

[ Isn’t. Her. ponytail. so. cute. ! ]

To brush or not to brush, that is the question… eh, I’d better, but I’ll stick with a ponytail-No time to fool around this morning!

“Clara!! We have to go! The bus will be here any minute!!”

Oh dear me! I’ll just grab a granola bar! Now where did I put that backpack?

Right! I hung it by the door! See? I’m so prepared! hehe. Ok, no I’m not.

 

Grace’s Point of view:

And with that we raced out the door! The bus pulled up just as we got to the bus stop! Well, at least we didn’t have to stand in the heat waiting for it! *shrugs* I hope this day will go well!

Philippians 4:6-7 encouraged me this morning. I shared it with Clara in the bus, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ❤

Happy first day of school! 🙂 😉

 

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XD Hope you liked this little back-to-school photostory!

Have you started school yet? Are you more like Clara or Grace in the mornings? I’m actually home-schooled, but on days that I need to get up, I’m kinda in between Grace and Clara. I try to give myself just enough time, which often ends in rushing out the door! XD

Blessings,

~Gracie 😉