📌 Disclaimer: This tutorial was first published in July 2014. Some links may no longer work and any pricing mentioned may be outdated. The techniques and methods, however, remain valid—so we're happy to keep sharing it.
Summer is quickly coming to a close, so it's time to look forward to the excitement of a new school year. This precious bright red apple made of ruffled deco mesh is the perfect symbol for back to school. It would make a great First Day of School door decoration for either a classroom or your home!
Personalize your Back to School apple with a welcome greeting or a child's name on this free pencil printable. Keep reading to see the tutorial for making this deco mesh apple (same method as our Santa Belly Wreath)  and the school pencil printable download.
Supply List:12" Half Work Ball Form- Metallic Red
2 rolls of 10" Metallic Red Poly Deco Mesh
Partial Roll of Lime Green Glamour Rope
Scissors
Free Printable School Pencil
Optional : 1.5" red & white houndstooth ribbonÂ
Cost/Time
The cost of the basic materials for this project is less than $23. We used all of the two rolls of 10" wide deco mesh and about half of the lime green glamour rope. The project took about 45 minutes from start to finish to complete.
Tutorial:
Start by opening and securing the half ball work form as shown below.
How to open and assemble the half-ball work form
Create ruffled pieces of deco mesh to fill the form
Twist two tinsel ties together around the ruffle to secure
Continue adding more ruffles across the frame, working from one side to the other
The half-ball work form when completely full of ruffles
Bend the glamour rope to create this apple stem shape
Wire the apple stem to the top of the work form
A bow and streamers of red and white houndstooth ribbon add a pop of color.
The fun finished deco mesh ruffled appleNow add your own personal message with this printable school pencil
Free Pencil Printable to personalize your appleClick on photo link above to download the free PDF printable pencil template or click here . You will need a PDF reader(available here for free).  Print out as many as you need on your home printer on 8.5"x11" paper or card-stock. You can  also save the file and have them copied on a color copy machine at your local copy center.
Now all you need to do is personalize your pencil with your own greeting or child's name and add it to your apple. We glued two pencil cutouts onto the center for a back to school welcome message.
 
We hope everyone has a  great school year!