THE ALTERED FLEA: Teacher appreciation gifts

Friday, June 1, 2012

You can never have too much of a good thing. Like good friends. Good coffee. And a good place for notes. Combine these three, and you get a Coffee Notes Chalkboard!

While casually strolling the clearance bins at "T" last week, I spotted large chalkboards at 70% off the regular price of $2.50. A quick calculation told me that is only 75 cents each! At that price, I ~~quickly pounced on~~ picked up the seven that were left in the bin, and ~~raced~~ made my way to the checkout line.

Since I wasn't planning to use this as a scoreboard, I gathered crafting goodness from my stash with a coffee theme including chipboard letters, stickers, scrapbook paper, ribbon, ric rac, buttons and twine.

With Mod Podge [don't leave home without it], I adhered paper and ribbon to the top of the chalkboard and added two coffee stickers to the board as well.

Since this is, after all, a chalkboard, I needed a place to hold chalk. This mint tin container was the perfect size.

I Mod Podged the tin container with paper, ribbon and ric rac. Typed out the word "chalk" using my handy label maker [which I've owned since the 3rd grade]. Using the chipboard, spelled out "notes" and, just for fun, placed the "s" onto the altered tin container. Using adhesive squares, I adhered the container to the chalkboard. And, of course, included a few pieces of chalk.

I tied twine around the chalkboard, finishing it into a bow, and added two buttons (a coffee pot and a cup) to complete the altered project.

So, where do "good friends" come into this project?

[Good] friends don't let friends drink decaf!

Partying with my blogging friends:
Creative Capital B
Mums Make Lists

Crafty Scrappy Happy Make-it-Link Party

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Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop Linky Party
The Sweet Talk Shop
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Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sunday
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Sundae Scoop Link Party at iheartnaptime

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Happy Hour Friday

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Blackberry Vine Tuesday To Do

Salt Tree Open Call Tuesday

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Today's Creative Blog

Project Queen

Rook No 17 A Little Birdie Told Me

Friday, May 25, 2012

The Art of Appreciation

Twice a week I volunteer in a classroom at a community Pre-K program. There are 17 children, most from non-English speaking families. The teacher is amazing. She is patient, kind, cares about each child, and is preparing them for success in Kindergarten next year. Without this program, these children would start kindergarten way behind their peers. It's hard to believe our school district has plans to cut the program next year. But that's not what this post is about.

Teacher Appreciation Week comes and goes. There aren't room parents for this class. So I decided to help the students show their love for their teacher with this project. It's simple enough, but goes a l-o-n-g way in showing their appreciation.

I brought punched scalloped and plain circles, mini letter rubber stamps and a black ink pad to school one day. Each child chose their color combination of their "flower" and stamped their name on it. So it was also a lesson in ABC's. Then I glued a coffee stirrer stick between the flower and another scalloped circle to create the flowers.

I painted a terra cotta pot and saucer using yellow acrylic and chalkboard paint. Two coats of each fully covered the pot. I also painted a tag with the same yellow paint and stamped the teacher's name on it.

I embellished the top rim of the pot with a yellow measuring tape. Because the rim is larger at the top than the bottom of the rim, I cut the measuring tape every two inches or so, and glued them separately to compensate for the angle. When glued, you cannot even tell the measuring tape was cut. I used Mod Podge for the glue, and again for a final glossy coat (but not on the chalkboard paint).