Teacher Appreciation Gifts

As an instructional math coach I work with over 40 high school math teachers. I wanted to share with each of them how much they are appreciated so I made crafty gifts. I am extremely thankful for Pinterest as I found almost all of my ideas there.

Gift #1: Marvelous & Magnificent Teacher
I found the glass cruets at Joanns in the wedding section. I used Inkscape to create the label which I have shared here and imported it into Silhouette Designer software to complete a print and cut.

Gift #2: Thank You Pillow Box
The pillow box is from Lettering Delights and was the perfect size for a 100 Grand. I used Make the Cut to cut them all and tied baker's twine around the flap. The little buttons are from Tuesday Morning where I purchased them at a going out of business sale.

Gift #3: Thanks for the 'Extra' work
These were made specifically for the Math Leadership Team. We meet once a month and the teachers are always taking on extra responsibilities. They are a wonderful team to work with and our teachers in the county benefit greatly from their leadership.

Gift #4: Thank you with Sharpies
I have been saving Crystal Light plastic canisters without any idea what I would do with them. Then I found this site where there was the idea and a free printable tag. I simply printed the tag and cut it out using scissors. Yep, no fancy cutting machine for this one. Just simple scissors and my xyron machine. This was the gift specifically for my son's teacher.

Gift #5 Lemonade
These were simple to make. I cut the strips at 2.5" wide and 10" long and scored it at 3" and 7.5". I used a Martha Stewart punch to cut the circle and an EK Success punch for the border.

Gift #6 M&M packs
After making gift #1 I had an entire bag of m&ms left. I made these treat bags and adorned the tag with washi tape and a small button.

I really enjoyed handing out the treats each day and letting the teachers know they are appreciated. Hope this has inspired you to send a little treat. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

A Baby's Bib

There are lots of babies being born lately. Two of my colleagues have had babies in the past month (one with twins) and our pastor just became a grandpa. So I have been busy making baby cards. I didn't snap a picture of the first two so I can only share one today.

I saw a picture on Pinterest of a cute baby bib card but when I went to find a cut file for it I was out of luck. I visited all of my favorites (Lettering Delights, SVG Cuts, The Cutting Files, Silhouette Store, and the MTC Gallery) and was unable to find the bib I was looking for. I searched for an image that I could pixel trace and still no luck. Finally I had to resort to making my own.

Since I made my own I would like to share the file.

Now, I've never shared a file before so if you are unable to download please leave me a note and I will work on it some more. I have chosen to use Google Drive to do this. To download just click on the format you would like MTC format or SVG format.

Thanks for stopping by and if you use the file I would love to see what you do with it. Leave me a note and a link and I'll come visit.

Have a blessed day!

Dig for a Cure

One of the teachers I work with is a volleyball coach. This Saturday, her team is having a fundraiser called Dig for a Cure. Last week I ordered six pink water bottles for $1.50 each from WOOT.com. I wasn't sure at the time what I was going to do with them but I knew I could use them for something. (Oh, this could get very bad if I do this too often.) Fortunately, they aren't sticking around for too long. I used MTCs pixel trace of a ribbon I found by searching Google Images. I cut the ribbon and the words out of vinyl and put them onto the bottles. The plan is to put a t-shirt inside and sell them this weekend as part of the fundraiser. 

I like the way they turned out. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

A Little Old and A Little New

My mother-in-law's birthday was yesterday and I actually had some free time to craft. My father-in-law had asked me to create a card for him to give to her and of course I had to make one from us. This first card is the one I made for my father-in-law to give to her. The "little old" is the use of the phrase "live, laugh, love." It's one of my favorite phrases to use because I find it suitable for a variety of situations. The "little new" is to challenge myself to use MTC to weld the words together instead of using my stamp. The flowers are also a new purchase from the local store.

 

This second card is the one from us. The "little old" is the flower stamp which I have had for years and is well used. The "little new" is the sewing. I do not sew but love the look on cards. I found a simple crafters sewing machine for $9 and thought I would try it out. I used Spectrum Noir alcohol markers to color which is still a technique I want to get better at.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to look.
Have a blessed day!

A Sympathy Card

My SILs mother passed away this past week and I wanted to make a special card for her. I was inspired by Jin Yong's post on Simple Shapes at Under A Cherry Tree.

The entire project was done with MTC and cut with my Silhouette Cameo. I started with a 3" and a 2.5" square, stacked them, and did a Boolean Join. Next, I copied and pasted (in place) three other squares. I overlapped them slightly and welded them together. The words are Script MT Bold font with the letters welded together. I placed the words just touching the frame and did another weld. The butterfly is from LDs  Cloud Nine set. I created a shadow with blackout and was finished within a few minutes.

On the inside I printed "... and the greatest of these is love." to complete the verse from 1 Corinthians 13. The bling was put on with my irock tool.

I know it has been awhile since I posted so I don't know if anyone out there even reads these posts; but if you do, thanks for letting me share. If you are so inclined please pray for my SIL. This was sudden and she needs to feel God's strength to help her through.

Have a blessed day!

End of Year Teacher Treats

I am so proud of Fisher. He got the Excellence in Reading & Math yesterday at the end of the year awards ceremony. He was so excited about finishing Kindergarten and of course starting summer vacation. I am in awe of how well he is reading. I can teach high school students math but am amazed at how elementary teachers teach students how to read.

To show my gratitude I made his teachers and the ladies in the office some end of the year treats. For the ladies in the office I put together this apple from the Fall Harvest Favor Box from SVG Attic and placed two small caramel brownies inside. (Unfortunately I didn't take the best pics so it is difficult to see that they are apples.)

For his teachers, I made these cute flip flop boxes from My Graphico. They were easy to assemble. I placed two caramel brownies in each of these too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed day!

Bride & Groom Wedding Card

One of the young ladies from our church got married today. I wanted to make her an extra special card. I decided to use Patricia Zapata's Ring Box Cut It from Lettering Delights. I used my Silhouette Cameo and Make the Cut. The top of the box is backed with a piece of colored vellum.

The lace is from the $1 bin at AC Moores and was wrapped around the edge. White self-adhesive pearls were used at each intersection of the rings. I liked how both added a little elegant look and went with the theme of a wedding card.

For the card, I used an image from the internet of a bride & groom holding hands. Pixel trace with MTC made cutting the image out very easy. The corner I found in the MTC gallery. The cardstock is a metallic blue that has a shimmer to it.

I used the embossing folder Butterfly Kisses from Craft Concepts on a piece of white vellum. I colored the back of the butterflies with my Spectrum Noir TB4 marker.

Finally the box was a little too deep for a single card so I cut a piece of white cardstock an inch larger in both dimensions, folded it an inch on each side, trimmed the corner pieces, and put it in the box. This lifted the card to the top. The ribbon is threaded through small slits I made in the bottom of the box and tied on top.

I am entering this in Ashley's Welch Creations Challenge #7, the ABC DT Challenge "Graduation or Wedding" card,  and the Cardz TV Challenge #109 "Say I Do"

By the way, the wedding was beautiful. Have a blessed day!

Up, Up, and Away

Ashley over at Welch Creations has posted a challenge to make a shaped card. I decided to join in by creating this hot air balloon card for my sweet cousin.

The balloon is from LD Balloon Craze. I used Make-the-Cut to import the file straight from my LD library. For the card base a made a shadow layer with blackout slightly larger than the balloon itself. I copied the image, reflected it vertically, then welded the two shadows at the top.

The pattern paper is from DCWV Nana's Kids Stack. I used stickles to accent the ribbon and small gems for a little bling. I embossed the basket using the Diamonds in the Rough folder and popped it using foam pop dots.

Have a blessed day!

Two Birthdays

Several Saturday's in a row we had nothing planned and I'm certainly not complaining; however, this past Saturday we had two birthday parties at the same time. Friends of ours that moved away a few years ago were having a party for their little girl who is the same age as my son. A couple in my church just adopted a 7 year old boy and they had a birthday party for him. Unfortunately, they were scheduled for the same time so we had to chose. We decided to go with the one we committed to first and so went to the girl's party. We also knew we would be seeing the little boy today. Anyway, I have written all of that to be able to share two birthday cards today.
For the little girl I used a stamp set from Delta called A Kid for Every Season. I also used my nestabilities to create the medallion and layers. I embossed some flowers with my cuttlebug and used my I-rock gem setter to put the bling on the bottom. I have been playing with coloring with the Bic Mark-It markers (being unable to afford the Copics). I really like how bold the markers are compared to my usual coloring medium colored pencils.

I have seen numerous versions of this rocket card however didn't have a cut file for it. I googled for a rocket image and this is what I found. I did a pixel trace in MTC and within a few minutes I was ready to cut. My son really likes it so I think the little boy will too.

Thanks for taking the time to visit. I'm working on a project for a Sweatheart Banquet. I hope to share soon.

Have a blessed day!

Pumpkin Patch

I got this idea from the SplitcoastStamper site. I used Make the Cut to join two circles to create a donut, cut them out with the Cricut, and joined 5 of them together to make the pumpkin. I used the Jolly Rancher Lollipops for the center.

The leaf is from a die using my cuttlebug as is the tag. The orange circles are from the center of the donuts used for the pumpkin. The green ribbon is from my stash.

 I used an embossing tool to put a vein in the leaf.

I plan on giving these to my colleagues at work. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my pumpkin patch.
Have a blessed day!

Fearful Fiends Treat Bags

My boys are away this weekend celebrating my DH birthday at the beach. I couldn't go so I am taking my own retreat by crafting all weekend.

I started last night making the Halloween treat bags for my son's Kindergarten class. I found little boxes of tattoos, tiny activity pads, plastic bracelets, Hershey kisses, gummies, and mini Oreo packs. My plan was to make little treat boxes but there were so many items I found the sandwich baggies were easier.

I created the top header using Fearful Fiends from Lettering Delights with Make the Cut and my Cricut. To make the print and cut work I create a shadow image slightly larger than the image itself and only cut the shadow layer out. I used the Chiller font for the phrase. I also used my new punch that I have been wanting for some time. It's the drippy goo from Martha Stewart.

These are so cute and my son will be excited to hand these out on Halloween. Thanks for dropping by.

Have a blessed day!

Back from Hiatus

The thought was that I would lots of time this summer to craft and share. NOT! No complaints because we had a fabulous summer and I spent some great time with my boys. We enjoyed swim lessons, camping, the beach, an awesome museum with a dinosaur park, and movies. I also trained for my first 5K which was August 13th. It was a very busy few months.

Now school is back in session. Fisher has started Kindergarten. Every one kept asking if I was going to cry. I was too excited for him to cry about it. Friday was his first day so tomorrow will start his first full week. As for me, I am back at work teaching high school math. I love the start of the school year and there are so many things I am looking forward to this year.

Anyway, I have rambled on enough. I guess you have come to visit to see some crafts. In May, a colleague of mine got married and I wanted to make her something special. I etched a glass container, perfect for flowers or a candle, with their names. I also made her a set of monogram cards with the initial of her new last name.

For the card I cut a scalloped circle I found in the gallery using the Make the Cut software. I embossed a piece of white card stock and layered some paper from My Minds Eye on the side. The stamp on the scalloped circle is from a set I found at the Dollar Store. I wasn't too pleased with the bright yellow I chose for the letter C. I brushed it with brown ink using a stimple brush. This toned it down a little. I would have recut the letters but I was running out of time.
I really like etching glass. It makes it easy to create personalized gifts. I can't remember the font I used in MTC for the names. I placed some paper inside the glass but I'm not sure it helps you see the image any better. At least you can get an idea.

My friend liked the gift and ended up using it at her reception. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Easter Basket

Saturday my SIL called me to see if she could visit and if I could help her in decorating my 1 year old nephew's Easter Basket. She had picked up this bright little box at Target and thought it would be just the right size for the little man. When she went to AC Moores to look at embellishments she went into a little sticker shock. She then remembered "Karen has a cricut." I was more than willing to assist. (Really, it just takes a small suggestion to get me to craft, especially when it is for others.) The name is a print-n-cut from LD Hodgepodge alphabet. The frog is from Frogs and Kisses SVG set. The eggs are cut from patterned paper using the Peep SVG. The other little critters are from a sticker set she did buy. It all goes well together. On these two sides, there are more eggs. The chick and bunny are from LD Easter Beasties SVG set. The grass is from the Plantin Schoolbook cart.

I used the cricut, MTC, Lettering Delights, a cartridge, and stickers to create the images. My SIL put it all together. I think she did a marvelous job. Here are close ups of each side.

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!