Teachers Need New Lunch Boxes Too!

The children have been in school for 4 hours this year, and so far I haven't left my sewing machine.  One of the projects I have been working on is a new lunch bag for teacher (bribery) gifts.  This is a really inexpensive quick project. 

All you need is 1/4 yard of oilcloth and some scrap fabrics. 
First, cut 2: 5"x10" and 1:7"x25" pieces of oilcloth

Take the longer piece and form it into a 'U' shape.  Insert one short piece into the end of the 'U' and sew around with wrong sides facing.  I made 1/4" seams.  When you get to the corner make sure that your needle is down.  Lift the foot and rotate 90 degrees.  Straighten out the cloth, this takes some maneuvering, lower foot and continue stitching.

Once the bag is completed trim the top edge evenly.  Made a casing using a piece of cotton fabric 26"x3".  Create a single fold bias tape using the fabric to sew around the top of the bag.

I love top stitching so I added a few around the trim. I also added some ties so the bag can be closed.   I just need to pick up a few cute Tupperware containers to tuck inside.  Oh, and I love this cute sewing kit to go with it!

Class Photos Bracelet

What to do with all those class photos your kids exchange........make a charm bracelet using Shrinkadink! This was an easy, fast and FUN project that costs very little too! For privacy issues (my daughters explained to me that you don't put pictures of other people's children on your blog without permission) I used V-E-R-Y old class photos from the 40's.

I liked the effect that these black and white photo give. Of course you could print them in color for a completely different look. My photos were each printed at about 1 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches on the dull side of a sheet of Shrinkadink. Using a 1 3/4 circle punch, I centered each face and punch it out.

Then I punched a small hole (office size or 1/4 inch) near the top.

Now comes the magic! Holding the disk with a pair of craft tweezers, I blasted it with a heat gun! This is sooooo much faster than putting it in the oven. The disk will quickly shrivel up and then flatten out again. I had a metal spatula handy to press on the disk while it was still warm to get it really flat.

As you can see the shrunk charms are much smaller than the originals!

Once I had all the pictures shrunk, I attached them to a charm bracelet I picked up at the craft store. I used the gun metal finish to match the old time feel of the charms. Now your child can wear photos of their friends and add to them over the years. Or you could make a completely new bracelet each school year! And what about making one for their teacher as a special thank you at school's end! So many options and so little time...... Diana

Owl Scissor Holder For Teacher

My grandson needed a gift for his teacher who loves to sew and this is what my daughter asked me to make for her. Done on my embroidery machine, it is easier than it looks. I used blue, yellow and pink fabric, thread and scissors. The pattern is available here. Diana

Itouch Case

Guess what I got from my husband? An Itouch! I guess I have taken another step into the 21 century! That meant I HAD TO make a cute case for it! This is what I ended up with and I made a tutorial so you can make one too. I made my opening on the side, instead of the top, because it will be easier to access from my purse this way.

Cut two 5 1/2 by 7 1/2 inch rectangles (this will be very snug if you have a one of those protective cases on your Itouch so you might want to add 1/2 inch!) from each fabric you have chosen. Now cut a piece of felt the same size. Layer with the felt on the bottom, and the two pieces of fabric with right sides together on top. Cut a piece of 1/8 wide elastic about 2 inches long.

Pin the elastic between the two pieces of fabric, on one short side, in the shape of a loop.

Pin all the layers together.

Sew a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance all the way around the rectangle, leaving a two inch opening on the short end opposite the elastic. The fabric will want to creep so make sure you have pinned it well or use a walking foot.

Trim the corners and turn right side out.

Iron, making sure to get the corners nice and crisp. (cut the felt back a bit at the opening and turn the fabric there to match the finished edge)

Edge stitch the short end with the opening closed.

Fold the short edge without the elastic up (use your I touch as a guide) and pin. Edge stitch along both sides as shown above.

Attach a button or other embellishment for the elastic to loop over. I used GG Embroider Designs stackable flower. I frayed the edges and used felt as the backing so it would be substantial. Then, using a button. I hand stitched the two layer flower on. Now I have a pretty case for my new toy. So much better than the ones you buy at the store! Diana

Sweet Treats For Teachers

Our dear Primary (children Sunday school) teachers do so much service to the little ones at church.. This hardly seems thanks enough but I did want to give them a little appreciation gift. I cut these treat holders out with the Wedding cartridge on the cricut using the blackout function.

The sentiment is printed on the computer and cut out with a 1 1/4 inch punch. I punch out another circle and a scallop, each a little larger. Then a ribbon is simply knotted in the front.

These boxes are filled with Hersey kisses, just to sweeten their day! Diana

Silver Paper Weight

A silver leaf paper weight.....very elegant! Plus it is inexpensive and easy to make!Now that we have a LARGE new craft store in our little town I have so many temptations every time I go in to get some little thing! The last time I went, I picked up a magnifying glass paper weight. I knew there was something I could do with it! I thought about mod podging it but the curve of the glass would make that difficult.

Then I remembered I had some silver leaf! Perfect! I applied it to the underside of the weight and sealed it with matte spray. I covered it with some felt to protect the silver and any surface I lay it on. And just to add a little more detail, I cut out some black vinyl in the shape of a leaf and put it on the top of the dome. If I get tired of the leaf I can change it out to something else!

This would make a great gift but I plan on keeping and using this myself! Diana

Thank yous

I wanted to do something special for our primary teachers since they have been saving me the last few weeks in primary. Our president just moved and the other counselor is on vacation for the next few weeks. It has been a little hectic but doable with our teachers. I saw these ideas I knew I needed to stock up on Swedish Fish. I did discover that pillow boxes are hard to come by in Central Ohio, so I had to improvise with round goodie bags.
~Jennifer

Over Due Teacher Gifts

Now that school is over, I have a few minutes to post the gifts the kids and I made for our teachers. They were really fun to make. I found these boxes in the fishing department at Wal-mart, however, I now know that there are much cheaper ones in the jewelry department of craft stores. The goodies in the boxes came from Staples. I filled an entire tub of them for only $5.00. The idea was found on http://www.eighteen25.blogspot.com/

For The Teacher

At Parent-Teacher Conference Eli's teacher mentioned she needed some spinners for reading comprehension. I should have kept my mouth shut, instead, I spent almost two days making these. I am sure she didn't have anything this elaborate in mind...especially since the first graders won't even care! I hope Mrs. S remembers all the time they took me when report card time comes around!


To make the block I spray painted childrens' wooden blocks black and glued on paper using the permanent sticker maker. I then distressed and filed the paper and added the circles with the comprehension questions. I finished them with a coat of poly spray to protect and seal them.

The spinners are laminated scrapbooking paper with a decorative paperclip attached with a brad.

Jenn and Abby's post it note holders

Jenn and her kids decided to make these cute post it note holders for all their teachers (seven). (I wish I had gotten a picture after she added the bows to the binding). Abby was a big help picking out paper, glueing and using the zutter. The monograms and themes were individually chosen for each teacher so they are very personal and sure to be appreciated! Too cute!!!!