Teacher gifts....

It's almost the end of the school year & one of the fun things for the kids is recognizing their teachers.  I love to give crafty type things that are also useful and the kids can help with.  Younger kids will need assistance with these but other kids can take over and really complete these ones on their own.

One thing we did for Teacher Appreciation week that would work well for the end of the year is this bottle of iced tea (LM's teacher's favorite) with the tag that says 'thank you for being a tea-riffic teacher'.  I didn't think up that little saying.  I found it on the internet somewhere.  But for a tea loving teacher it was perfect.  I just typed the words on the computer, printed it out on cardstock, used a large circle punch, cut the words 'tea' with my Quickutz, sponged the edges green, punched a hole & added the ribbon.  It would be just as easy and cute to have your child write the words himself.

Since 2nd grade I have helped the whole class do a gift for their teacher.  I take a picture of the whole class and frame it.  In the frame is also a mat that each child gets to sign.  I buy the mat at Michael's (great use for the 40% off coupons!) and it comes with an acid free pen.  I also get the frame at Michael's since they usually are on sale around this time of year.  

I cut out the name of the school and the school year using my Cricut but again you can have one or two kids write that info or print something out on the computer and glue it on the mat.   This year I have the pennant punch from Stampin'up so I placed the white letters on the purple pennant. 

The one thing I learned after the first year of doing this is to have the letters and year placed where you want BEFORE having the kids sign the mat.  Otherwise you may end up not having the proper room to put the school name and years.

This was my third year doing this and each teacher has loved it and the kids love it too.  I bought the frame in 8X10 and the photo was a 4X6.   Larger sizes are available but I like to do the smaller size since I think it's easier to find a place on a desk or wall this way.  

Since I have been the organizer of this project I have always let LM present the gift with 3 or 4 other students.  It's always been a hit and is fairly inexpensive.

Linking up to Kelly's SUYL - Crafts for Kids.

For privacy reasons I haven't posted a photo of the finished product.