Student Supply Caddies... and Some Coffee :)

I must be on some kind of school crafting roll-- because today I completed another project! Celebration with a cup of coffee!

Our grade (actually our entire elementary school) is doing this thing where we charge supply fees-- and then the classroom teacher shops for the ENTIRE class for school supplies. Yes, a huge headache, but also totally fun because I absolutely adore the school supply aisle. And when those back-to-school sales starts, my husband has to practically drag me away kicking and screaming  because I want to buy some of everything.

So a few days ago I went with my colleagues and we all purchased our school supplies in bulk (sorry to our poor cashiers!). And since all of the supplies will be school owned- I figured it's ok for the kids to be sharing them. A lot of the other teachers said they were going to use group tubs, so I have been looking for (affordable) items such as this art caddy:

I almost always group my student desks in groups of 4-5, so I figured supply caddies would be the perfect thing. I checked online-- but figured I could find better prices in stores. The first place I went to? Dollar Tree. They have some amazing deals! Sadly my Dollar Tree only had 3 caddies-- and I wanted at least 6.

My next stop? Wal-Mart. As I was meandering down a seasonal aisle-- I saw some supplies for college students. On the shelf was a giant bathroom caddy. I was a little dissapointed because it was basically what I needed-- it was just much too large. Then my husband was quick to point out the mini bathroom caddies on the top shelf. I guess they put them up there because they're so cheap ($0.97). And they had at least 4 different colors to choose from-- so I picked up 6 black ones. Total cost? $6.

We then headed toward the craft area-- where I picked out 6 different shades of ribbon. I have this thing for polka dots-- so I gravitated toward those. Each spool cost $2 apiece (it really depends on the size of your ribbon and the design). So that cost $12.

I took it all home, and today I used hot glue (it works EVERY time!) to stick the ribbon on the caddy. Then, because sometimes I get really girly-- I tied a little bow on the handle. I know that the bow won't last a week with 3rd graders-- but for the time being it made me happy. I almost glued on some table numbers (you could also use the ribbon to attach table numbers to the caddies), but I realized I always call table groups by their colors. So the numbers were superfluous to my plan.

Here are some pictures-- because I know you want to see the finished product (for a grand total of close to $18):

I should've made one for my own desk!

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