Back to School

My kids start school tomorrow.  My daughter will be entering Middle School and my son will be entering High School.  Too crazy!  For my daughter that means lockers for the first time...which means a decorating opportunity for me.

Last week she had orientation where she was given the opportunity to set up her locker and try out the lock.  It was a typical ugly locker, complete with old graffiti.

While my son showed my daughter around the school, I went to work on her locker.  I started with some fun locker paper from The Container Store.  Honestly, you could create the same look using contact paper for much less, but my daughter had her heart set on this pattern, with all the matching accessories, so I caved and bought it.  I bought two rolls, which didn't go as far as I would have liked.  I added the paper to the inside of the door and to the top shelf.

Then with the few scraps I had left I covered over the rest of the graffiti.  To finish it off I added the matching accessories.  My daughter loved the finished product.  So we shut the locker and let her try out her combination one more time.  This time she couldn't open it.  So I tried...I couldn't open it either.  Then I realized that I must have put the paper over the lock and now we couldn't pull up the handle of the locker.  Security!!  The security guard had to come and use pliers to open her locker.  It wasn't just the lock...but the whole mechanism that runs up the side of the door of the locker that couldn't be covered. The security guard was very nice about the whole thing.  He showed me how the mechanism worked and told me I had to cut away the part that covered that mechanism.   So I cut that part away and now the door opens.

On a funny side note...while I was decorating my daughter's locker, another mom and daughter saw what I was doing...left the building...and came back with contact paper to do the same.  I did walk over and tell her that I was waiting for security and she should be careful not to cover the lock (this is before I realized you couldn't cover the entire mechanism).  After security helped us out they left and we got ready to leave.  I looked down the hall and saw this mom and daughter having the same issues we had...not being able to open their locker.  She too had contacted over the mechanism.  As I left the building, the last words I heard were...Security!!

Don't forget to stop back tonight and join in my Sizzle into Summer party.  The link opens at 8pm EST.  Hope to see you there.

-Judy