From left are librarian Amanda Scroggs, Madeline Bowell, Elizabeth Stone, Lily Boston and librarian Jean Beeson. The girls show off three custom designed stools for school staff.

WARSAW — Do-It-Yourself projects have gained popularity in recent years. Three students from Lakeview Middle School have dived into the world of DIY projects and found a tangible way to show appreciation for school staff members.

With the guidance of advanced art teacher Kallie Chapman and LMS librarian Amanda Scroggs, eighth graders at LMS Elizabeth Stone, Madeline Bowell and Lily Boston have been making custom stools, tables, podiums and soon a piano, to give to school staff members.

The first project stemmed from Stone’s project on the French Revolution. Stone redecorated a teacher’s stool with old maps from that time period. The teacher got to keep the redecorated stool in her classroom.

Scroggs, a proponent of student creativity and the catalyst for the school’s makerspace club, loved Stone’s project. Word got out about Stone’s project and teachers at the middle school began requesting having pieces from their classrooms redone.

Stone recruited her friends Bowell and Boston to help with the requests. Since March, the three have been given 15 stools, tables and podiums from school staff members to redecorate.

“Everyone wants a stool,” said Stone.

Through the course of their DIY creations, the girls’ project techniques have evolved. It began with Mod Podging maps or prints on to the pieces. They have since expanded to painting, creating cushions, applying decals and calligraphy prints.

The three girls, who Scroggs has deemed as “The three lovely ladies,” work on their projects in one of the makerspace areas, during art class and student resource time. Their advanced art teacher Chapman has encouraged the girls to use their creativity to show appreciation for teachers.

The girls have enjoyed working on the crafts so much they’ve expanded to work on their creativity after school as well.

While they take requests, the students have also surprised teachers with their custom made pieces.

One of their favorite aspects of the projects is creating pieces that are specially designed with staff member’s passions in mind. A retiring choir teacher will be receiving a coffee table with painted piano keys. A staff member with a love for theatre received a stool decorated with playbills. Warsaw Schools Superintendent David Hoffert will receive a chair decorated in Warsaw Schools colors with his name inscribed on it.

Though the girls will soon be ending their middle school career and moving on to high school, they would love to continue the projects. Boston stated she would have loved if they would have been able to provide all the teachers at the school with their own piece, but they just don’t have the time. Scroggs has encouraged the girls to open their own Etsy shop so they can continue their custom projects.

As the girls consider how they will continue with projects in the future, they are happy for the time they’ve had to dive into the world of DIY and show appreciation for school staff along the way.

The girls stated they projects could not be done without the guidance and encouragement of Chapman and Scroggs.

“It’s really the five lovely ladies,” said Stone.