What I Love about my Classroom

Are you looking for a great teacher gift idea??  This one was a big hit with our kiddos’ teachers, What I Love about my classroom…A sneak peek of what I made….with the tutorial down below….

I was super excited about the chance to focus on creating a project specifically for someone else.  The possibilities were endless, but I finally settled on creating something for my kids’ teachers.  It started with this great printable I found over at eighteen25, so you’ll have to head over there to grab the download.  I printed it on a fit-to-page 11×17 paper. Ever since I joined 2013 and got a color printer, printables have been mine for the printing!  it’s addicting…

And then the crafty part comes in – creating the frame.  You’ll need:
–printable
–foamcore board
–spray glue
–staplegun
–craft paint
–wooden frame
–exacto knife

I picked up my frame at Michaels – isn’t is awesome?!?  It’s technically not a picture frame because the open middle doesn’t have a spot to hold anything, but that’s okay.  I found them on an end-cap near those small raw wooden shapes and cut-outs.  They were only $8 (if I remember right) – what a steal!

You’ll paint it the color you want.  If you want after that, you could distress it or ink the edges – I liked the crisp look of solid color for mine.

Lay the dried frame over the print and mark where it needs to be trimmed.  You want the print to be larger than the opening about 1/4 inch all the way around – you can see where I marked it using the cut-out holes

Take the print that’s been cut to size and use it as a template to cut your foam core board:

The easiest way to do this is to use a cutting ruler and an exacto knife – just follow the edge.

Use cover the cut piece of foam core in spray glue – let it dry a minute or two.  This will make it tacky so it’s sticky, but not too wet for the thin paper (it’s the same technique I use on my Giant Picture Tutorial)

Now the printable is attached and has a sturdy foam core back:

Take that board and attach it to the back of the frame, pressing firmly with the staple gun (love how it tells you which end the staples will come out of – I forget every time!)

That’s it!  My kids are SUPER EXCITED to give their teachers a gift.  I also asked each teacher if they had any crafty items on their wish list – one needed a way to organize construction paper and another needed new markers and pom poms.  Can do!