Flop or Flourish Motivotions Day-9 DIY Locker organizer

The whole idea of this balanced school year is throwing me for a loop. Kids beginning school on the second day of August is a little crazy. I feel like we have barely begun with summer, and I'm already looking for school supply lists.
With one in first grade and another in middle school, the amount of supplies we need to purchase is outrageous. The teachers have gotten so specific with their supply demands, too. Ari needs a tri-write single Dixon pencil. Who knows what that is? I sure don't.
We made a trip tonight to our favorite place in the whole world. The Mart of Wal. Or, Wal-Mart. While there we were drawn by an irresistible force to the school supply aisle. Of course, no kid wants the plain twenty-cent folders, or the yellow #2 pencils. They want the Lisa Frank folders, (which cost ten times the amount of the plain folders, I'm pretty sure.) the neon mechanical pencils and the Angry Bird notebooks. Ally will have a locker this year, and has already been told she can decorate her locker when she comes for registration.
All these items add up. It's not cheap. Throw in textbook rental, (Indiana is one of the very few states that still has textbook rental.) classroom supply fees, lunch boxes, backpacks... I think I need to get a job to cover it all!
When Ally found the locker organizers she was so excited. Tiny mirrors, dry-erase boards, pockets for pens, all in cute little patterns. But I am so proud of my daughter. She looked at the prices and exclaimed, "Mom, we can so make our own organizer." My own little Proverbs 31 daughter.
This is what we came up with for today's flourish:

I cut this rectangle from an old dress shirt. When folded in half, it measured 8.5 x 11. I folded all the edges in about a quarter inch and ironed them flat for easier sewing.

From Arianna's old skirt, I cut several pockets. I only ended up using one pocket and the long strip. I folded in the edges of these and ironed them as well. (Except the bottom. Since I cut from the bottom of the skirt, this already had a finished edge.) I cut one strip that I had planned on using a metal strip inside for a magnetic strip, but later nixed that idea.

After I had sewn in the hemline, I sewed the gray material together, leaving the top open. To make is sturdier, I ripped the cover and back from a spiral notebook and inserted into the gray material. Yes, I should have sewn on the pockets first, but I didn't. What to do? Well, since it wasn't incredibly thick, I changed out my needle to a heavy-duty needle made for denim, and sewed the pocket over the whole thing. It worked out just fine. I wouldn't recommend doing it that way, but sometimes it's the way things go around here.
I used a stretchy material for the pockets. I underestimated how much it would stretch and move on me. But it's another lesson learned.

I added a tiny calendar with pins to hold it in place. I also added her favorite girl scout SWAP pin that has a mini tic-tac-to game, just for fun. The strip I had cut ended up just being a decorative element. I searched the house for a small mirror, and came up with a contact case.

I figured the case has a mirror, and she can store her lip gloss in the case. Magnets were added to the back so she can attach the organizer to her locker.

Ally loved it. I think I would have failed home-ec with this stitching, but hey, she likes it and it's kind of cute.
So is it a flop or flourish? I guess it's all a matter of opinion. I've learned some more dos and don'ts on my sewing machine, I got to spend time with my girls making it, and Arianna wants me to make one with her as well.

Don't be afraid to take a chance that something may not turn out right. You never know until you try!
Ciao!