Favorite Christmas Gift for Favorite Teachers

Wonderful teachers need special gifts to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts!

For this sweetly personalized teacher gift, all you need is a solid color umbrella (Target $13, but check your local discount store first, e.g. TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning, for higher quality at lower price) and some fabric paint.  On this one I used a mix of white and gold for the prints and yellow and red for writing.  Teachers receiving this gift have been known to cry... :)

Find a time when you can sneak into the classroom without the teacher knowing for the ultimate surprise. I worked with our school office and came in a day when she was scheduled to be out. However, you could also catch them at a center or somewhere when she wasn't with the class.  The trick is that you need somewhere close to a sink so that the kids can wash their hands immediately and not get paint on their clothes.  Also,  make sure you can leave whatever room you are in with an open umbrella!  It needs to stay open for up to 24 hours to let the paint dry.


One more hint: Tuck the umbrella closing tab underneath with a piece of tape so it doesn't accidentally swipe into someone's print...

It is possible to do this all by yourself but it works fastest if you have one other grown up to help.   One person gets the kids hands in the paint and on the umbrella, the other helps the child wash it off. Either way, this project is a double gift. It is as fun to participate in the kids' excitement as they prepare a secret for their beloved leader as it is to know the teacher may absolutely adore it.

Be sure to add the kids' name below their print as they love to check on their personalized art! You can also add teacher's name, year, WE LOVE YOU!, school name, or anything else you like! 

Thanks to ALL the AWESOME teachers out there!

2012 UPDATE:
From Amanda Pace's pinterest site, I found a cute umbrella gift poem and adapted it for a Christmas gift:

 

An extra umbrella, in case you forget

to bring one to school when the weather is wet.

We heartily wish you, come rain, snow, or shine,

a holiday season that's simply divine.

I linked here:

Monster Bookmark Paper Craft

I came across these adorable corner bookmarks on pinterest and knew they would be perfect for the first grade gift exchange.  We needed something inexpensive and homemade, by a six year old.  In the end, we had to make one for the whole family, too!

You'll find the full tutorial and tempate on I Could Make That. Too much fun to pass by!

DIY Hands-free Water Bottle Carrier

Looking for an easy to make, inexpensive, unique but useful gift for the holidays?  How about a hands-free water bottle carrier!  In my job leading school kids through living history museums, I truly rely on this handy carrier. Water is quickly available to get my voice back in action, no fuss with backpacks or fanny packs.  My hands are almost immediately free to get busy with the next part of my presentation!  The open bottom means that even if the straps get wet (condensation), everything dries quickly.  Sometimes I don't even take it out of the carrier to refill it!  Many of my co-workers asked if I could make them one, so I thought I'd go ahead and post how I did it here.  Hopefully someone else will find it useful, too!

Materials

2 yards, 1" webbing

scrap of thick fabric in attractive design for bottle snuggy

1" wide strap adjuster
silver Sharpie (or other utensil for marking on dark fabrics)
measuring tape or ruler
sewing machine or just needle and thread
scissors
dab of tacky glue

 

Tutorial

1) Cut 8 inches of webbing off the 2 yard piece for the bottom cross strap.

2) Use a match to carefully melt the ends of the webbing to prevent them from fraying.

3) Prepare the shoulder strap by sewing a strap adjuster on one end of the long piece of webbing.

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Slide a strap adjuster onto the long piece of 1" webbing.

Sew strap adjuster on tightly.

4) Prepare the snuggy by cutting a length that fits around the kind of water bottle you'll be using and hem the sides (mine are 11" long, 3.25-3.5" wide for a steel water bottle). 
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 Cut into a length that fits around your water bottle and hem sides (back view).

(front view of bottle snuggy)

5) Attach the snuggy to the shoulder strap.

Align the shoulder strap on the snuggy so that the edge of the snuggy meets the edge of the folded-over webbing.  Aim for middle of the snuggy, but it doesn't have to be measured/perfect.  Be careful to get the webbing aligned right (perpendicular to snuggy) or it will be crooked like mine! Eeek!

 6)  Attach cross strap to shoulder strap.

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With your measuring tape at the edge of the snuggy, make slight marks at 3.5" and 4.5" (the 1" middle space for the cross strap to go). Make another mark at 8" (where the other end of the snuggy will attach).

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Fold the 8" cross strap in two.  Mark 0.5" down from fold on each side to identify the 1" section to overlay on the shoulder strap.

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Align the cross strap onto the shoulder strap and sew tightly.

 7) Sew snuggy together.  This is the trickiest step!

Fold shoulder strap over, on top of snuggy and other end of strap until the 8" mark aligns with bottom edge of snuggy.

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Bring one side of the snuggy over and align with 8"mark,

then bring other side over and align with 8" mark, too.  Picture the water bottle fitting into the snuggy at this point and wiggle the overlap of the fabric edges to webbing so that the fabric length is similar on both sides.  I used a little tacky glue to hold the edges in place for sewing. You have to let it dry, of course, but the time cost was well worth the trouble of holding it steady for the tricky sewing part.

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All sewn together, magic!  It is a bit tricky here because the snuggy opening was too narrow to fit around the arm of my sewing machine.  It took a little extra time and patience to maneuver it through the machine.

8) Attach cross strap to snuggy.

Flatten the snuggy together so that the straps overlap, then make a small mark on both sides of the bottom edge of the snuggy.  This is an easy way to identify the midpoint of the snuggy for attaching the cross strap.

Fold the cross strap in half just at the edge, lengthwise, to identify its midpoint. Mark the spot.  Now you can align the mark on the cross strap with the mark on the snuggy under your sewing machine's pressure foot to get a perfectly centered cross strap!

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With one side complete, there's just the other side to go....

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Whala!  Cross strap attached!

9) Turn water carrier right-side-out.
10)  Insert shoulder strap into strap adjuster and try on for a personalized fit!

I've linked here!! Thanks for the fun!

A Favorite Teacher Gift

The perfect teacher's gift... something that you can put a little love into. Something creative, personal and useful.  How about a shopping tote, decorated in your teacher's favorite color with a photo of the class, her/his name, and some words of gratitude?

Value packs of tote bags can be found at fabric stores for about $8.50 per three pack, or online.  While you're at the fabric store, check out the beaded trims.  Your female teacher may be a *bling* gal and appreciate an extra bit of style.  Three yards of trim was enough for four bags for my project.

Attach the trim to each bag with a fancy stitch. I used wide zig zag to make sure the bling stayed put.

Next you'll need a class photo.  Adjust it in Publisher to get the size/framing you need.  Add a text box for your special words of gratitude and the teacher's name, if you have space.  In previous years, I used an individual shot from each kid rather than a class photo.   This is pretty easy to do if the kids are lined up already, like if they are waiting at field day or a field trip. You can really capture their individual personalities that way.  Then put those individual shots together against a pretty backdrop.

I LOVE Avery's printable fabric for this project. Print your project out on the fabric, then iron it on. No fuss! A drawback though is it's expense. At the local office supply store, the 5 pack is $15.  Maybe better deals online?

The last step is to add words or decoration with fabric paint. I like to seal the outside edge with something sparkly. If you haven't added words already, fabric paint is an easy way to get the teacher's name and date on the bag.

Decorated tote bags make great gifts for anyone on your list, not just teachers, and they are fun to put together.  Everyone we've given them to has really enjoyed them!

A Kid-made Gift Idea

We made this for Dad for Christmas, but it brings me cheer every time I see it... This would be a great holiday gift idea for any pepper lover! Father's Day, Valentine's Day, or Birthdays!

I found an inexpensive but great quality pepper grinder from a discount merchant (Tuesday Morning, but TJ Max would work, too).

The kids dipped their hands in sparkly 3D fabric paint, then placed them on the grinder. Because of the curved surface, the prints turn out long and narrow, which adds to the artistic impression.

After the prints dried, we outlined them in white and then added some hearts and stripes.

My husband loves using this grinder, and everytime I see it standing in the kitchen, the "peppy" prints make me smile, too!

I'm linking here: