Monday, September 12, 2011

Framed Teacher Appreciation Gifts

As my kids go back to school I always think about their teachers and how much I appreciate how much work and dedication it takes to deal with all those kids! I always like to make them an appreciation gift to let them know that they are awesome! When I got my dt box, I just loved the Elementary My Dear line by Heather Tozzi and starting planning the perfect gift to give to the teachers. I found some awesome still in the package wooden frames at my local Salvation Army that were only $2.50 for the pair - I just love looking for great buys to alter for gifts there! They were unfinished and I wanted to give them some color around the edges before I covered them with patterned paper, so I used my spray mists to color them instead of just painting them. I like using spray mists for two reasons - 1. I love the stained look it gives to the wood and 2. it's just so much quicker to spray them because they dry almost instantly and I hate to wait for paint to dry...LOL! All you need to do is spray the mist all ove the wood liberally (making sure that you do it in a box or outside as it's messy!) and then take a paper towel and rub in the mist to make sure it's all covered evenly! After just a few minutes it was dry enough for me to cover with some paper.
I wanted to make a 3-d type accent to go in the corner so I used the apple diecut piece of paper that is in the Elementary My Dear paper pack and just cut out a few of the apples to layer.
I layered one piece on top of the other, then cut a smaller piece of contrasting paper for the center of the apple and then sewed down the center to represent the seeds of the apple

I then bent the top two layers up to give it a 3-d effect and attached the apples to my projects.
I filled the frames with a couple of uplifting quotes for the teacher and then made a matching thank you note! I can't wait for my kids to give these to their teachers!





Don't forget to thank a teacher today!!
Supplies I used:
Patterned Paper - GCD Studios "Elementary My Dear"


Stamps - Studio Calico




Ink - Jenni Bowlin




Spray Mist - Maya Road






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