Hello!!  It’s Jennifer again, and today I’d like to share how to upcycle an old DVD case into an adorable travel drawing kit using papers from the July monthly kit and the July journal prompts!  I’m making two to occupy my stepkids during a road trip to the lake in a few weeks.  How perfect are the July papers for a lake trip?! 

Supplies for one case:

• DVD case
• Sheet of paper from the Popfizzpaper July kit
• Posterboard or chipboard (I used the chipboard backing from a scrapbook paper pad)
• Sheet of thin scrapbook paper or gift wrap
• White printer paper
• Elastic
• Hot glue gun
• Tape or tape runner
• Scissors or paper trimmer
• Craft knife
• Popfizzpaper July journal prompt sticker sheet
• Cutting mat (highly recommended)
• Stapler (optional)

I used an old exercise DVD I had laying around the house for this project.  Everyone has one of those they’re not using, right?  Slide the paper cover out from the outside of the case and remove any paper inserts and set them aside. We will use those for templates later. 

First we will be cutting out the part of the plastic case that holds discs.  If you have a small cutting mat that will fit in between the plastic case and the clear sleeve on the outside, wedge that in there before you start cutting, or else you will cut the clear sleeve and your finished product won’t be as pretty.  I didn’t have one small enough, so I cut down two pieces of chipboard and cut on that.  It seemed to do the trick.  You want to cut out enough of the plastic that you’re left with flat plastic on that side.

Next, take your poster board or chipboard and trim it to the size of a rectangle to cover the inside of the case, covering the whole side you just cut including the hole in the plastic.  Once you have your piece of trimmed chipboard, measure it, and cut a piece of scrapbook paper or gift wrap one inch bigger in the length and width than the chipboard.  Use a piece of scrapbook paper that you’re not really in love with because it will end up getting crayon or colored pencil markings all over it.  In other words, don’t use your super cute Popfizzpaper prints for this piece!  Tape your scrapbook paper to the chipboard kind of like you’re wrapping a gift. 

Now it’s time to attach the elastic to the wrapped chipboard.  I used an approximately 6 inch length of white quarter inch elastic, but this project would be really cute with some of the printed elastic I’ve seen at the craft store.  I hot glued the elastic to the reverse side of the wrapped chipboard.  When I glued the second side, I kept the elastic slightly taught so it would hold the pencils/crayons in place.  When the glue cooled, it seemed very secure, so I did not reinforce the glue with a staple.  If you use wider elastic, you may want to staple each end to help secure it.

Carefully apply hot glue onto the plastic on the interior side of the case with the hole.  Be careful not to get glue on the clear outer plastic sleeve, or else you’ll have trouble later on.  Place the wrapped chipboard pretty side out over the glued side of the case. 

To finish the case, use the paper cover that you removed at the beginning as a template to trim down a sheet of paper from the Popfizzpaper kit.  Insert the trimmed paper into the clear plastic exterior sleeve of the DVD case.  Close the DVD case and admire your awesome handiwork!

But wait, there’s more!  Your travel drawing kit needs paper to draw or journal on!  Trim ordinary copy paper down to fit the left side of the case interior.  My case used paper that was slightly smaller than 5x7 inches.  This will vary from case to case.  If your case had an insert that you removed at the beginning, you can use that as a template. 

I was reading through the July journal prompts, and I had to use these in my project too!  So many of these lend themselves perfectly to drawing!  Well, maybe not the prompt about your latest planner haul, but “Which is better, unicorns or dragons?” should really get your kiddo’s creative juices flowing.  Truthfully, I had to get a second set of these stickers for myself.  I couldn’t let them have all the fun.  Also, unicorns are better.  Obviously.  #teamunicorn

I used my favorite journal prompts on each of the blank papers and stuffed them into the case.  Now, all you need to do is add some colored pencils or crayons under the elastic, and your little back seat crew is all ready for your next road trip!  I can’t wait to show these travel drawing kits to my stepkids! 

What do you like to do with the papers from your Popfizzpaper kits?  I’d love to see!  Please tag me on Instagram @paprikaplans or use #popfizzplannerkit!