Teacher Gift Thank You

Happy Monday!

Well … hopefully it's a happy Monday for you.  For me?  … we'll see.  I'm sick as a dog :(  Stupid summer colds of stupidness.  I fought a good fight alas both kids have been sick recently and I guess this not-sleeping gig impeded my usual steel-clad-resistance to germ warfare.  Ugh.  My head feels like it weighs 100 pounds (*insert bags of sympathy here please)

So!  While I slowly feel my sinuses swell to twice the size of my fist I thought I would continue in my endeavour to get caught up on my project posts!  (I'm doing pretty good so far if I do say so myself! *lol*)

Today I'm sharing the gifts I gave to the kids' teachers.  Gotta say - these are in my top 3 faves!  Of course I HAD to give cards.  I ALWAYS give cards - and word is out amongst the teachers.  At the start of the year I was informed "we get excited when we find out your girls are in our class because we all love getting your cards".  Hee hee - love it!  Naturally I couldn't disappoint!  I realized I needed/wanted to make 7 batches of gifts - 4 teachers, 2 secretaries and the Assistant Principal.  I give 6 cards per … so I need 42 in total!  Quick, easy, cost effective and cute were needed for such a large amount.  I nailed it!  Lookie …

Wa-low!  PERFECT!    First off I needed 42 bases.  Have no fear - Notecards and Envelopes to the rescue!  I seriously don't use these things enough.  Actually, I generally only use them twice a year - when I'm making 42 teacher Christmas gifts or 42 teacher end-of-year gifts *lol*.  But they are the PERFECT size for thank you notes and I really need to use them more.  They are SO cost effective!  You get 20 of the 5" x 3 1/2" Whisper White (or Crumb Cake!) card bases - PRESCORED! - PLUS 20 envelopes or only $7.50!!  I'm always SO glad I have at least 4 packs on hand at any one time for these gift giving blitzes!

Right - so we have our bases.  I need something teacher-y.  Note paper!  Perfect!  BOY did I squeal when I found I HAD a note paper image in my jut-purchased set Tap Tap Tap.

As a little side note - this set was available last year but I wasn't 100% convinced I *needed* it.  this year it was carried over and I found another set in the catty that goes REALLY well with it because of the typewriter font … "Words of Truth"

AAAAAAAAnyway … back to our cards.  The notepaper.  I stamped that in Marina Mist ink.  PERFECT colour!  I stamped the "Thanks So Much" from my Many Thanks set (only just realizing it retired!!) in Memento Ink (using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to perfectly place it on the line) and then added an apple made using the new Tree Builder Punch.  I popped it up using a small chunk of dimensional.  I matted the piece with a Basic Black piece of card stock.

Again, I wanted to keep it quick and cost effective so, rather than popping the layers up with dimensionals, I used some wash tape I found in my stash (actually Rebecca's stash or contraband products!) to tape the layer down and add a little pop of interest (and red) the the project.  Here it is again ...

Now!  I couldn't just hand the teachers a stack of cards.  I needed to wrap them in some adorbs packaging … here is what I came up with …

Freaking LOVE these!!!  I used the little polka dot bags that I stocked up on (again, knowing that I would like once again need bags and tags for teacher gifts!)  I then made a banner using my Triple Banner punch and stamped it with my Backgrounds Rule (retired) stamp.  This is another stamp I just bought when it went on the retired list.  I knew I would use it for teacher gifts.  The "You Rule" is from another retired set of the same name -punched out with the Word Window punch and layered using the (retired) Modern Label punch.  I used my Hello You thinlits to punch out Thanks in Real Red.  I attached those to the banner with my mini stapler and the You Rule with a dimensional.  LOVE how they turned out!

Now.  the piece de resistance was how I presented the whole thing.

Check.  It.  Out.

Ska-WHEEL!  Personalized clip boards!  I can't take credit for these.  My friend Darlene gave me the idea … and made me the apples and names.  They are cut from vinyl using her Silhouette machine!  I bought the clipboards for $3 each at Walmart and she charged me a minimal amount for her time and vinyl.  SOOOOO love the whole thing!

I gave the teachers their gifts a few days before the last day of school to avoid the chaos that is the last-day-of-school.  They all loved them!  I mean REALLY loved them!  I think 3 of them used their clip boards that very day!  Epic!!

Of course I couldn't forget the REST of the teaching staff … so I made one more card for the teacher's lounge ...

Same layout but this one was a standard card with Real Red Cotton Ribbon instead of wash tape … and the layers were popped up on dimensionals.  I took it in with a BIG tray of apples and dip (as I did the first week of school) and, as happened before, they all but licked the pattern off the bowl of dip *lol*.  This Toffee dip is beyond words!!!

1 cup Softened Cream Cheese

1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Skor Toffee Bits on top.

Cut apples and soak them in Ginger Ale for a few minutes to prevent them from browning!  You ALWAYS run out of dip before you run out of apples.  Always!  … and I made a double batch of dip this time! *lol*

OK!  That's enough rambling for one day!  (my battery is low *lol*)  Fingers crossed this cold passes quickly!  Whatever you get up to today,  I hope you have a stampy day!

Tam