Fabric Covered Tacks

A fun and inexpensive idea for teacher appreciation is fabric covered tacks. First, purchase a button cover kit. I got one at Wal-mart for just under $2. They look like this...

They come in several different sizes. Just pick the one you want. I used 3/4" ones and my extra-large thumb tacks fit perfectly on the back. Decide what fabric you would like one the front of the button. Cut a square of fabric that is about 2" X 2" for the size I used. It just needs to be big enough to wrap around the face of the button and tuck in the back. Use the button kit to press the back of the button on. Now, there is a small metal piece that sticks out the back of the button. I tried to use pliers to pull it out, but ended up with a sore finger and a band-aid. The easiest thing to do is just bend it down with some pliers so that the back of the button is flat. Use a hot glue gun to adhere the tack to the back of the button and... tadah! Cute fabric covered tacks for your teacher!

Teacher Appreciation Idea

I am the room mom in my son's kindergarten class and teacher appreciation week is sneaking right up on us! His teacher happens to be one of my good friends, and I know she is uncomfortable with the thought of people buying her things. So one of the things I am doing for her is this...

I am typing up a paper that says, "If I could thank my teacher by giving her anything in the world, I would give her...." I am going in during their writing time and taking the class for a half hour. This gives the teacher an added bonus of extra prep time! I will have the kids color her a picture of what they would giver her and try to spell it out using their skills they are learning. Then I am going to bring them home and post them on card stock and make a book for her to look at. I think she will love it. And it gives the kids a chance to express what they would give her, but they aren't having to spend any money. The two in the picture above say that they would give her a puppy and a million dollars. More than half of the class said that they would give her a puppy! It's fun to see what children think the "ultimate" gift is! Knowing this teacher, she will love this. I think the key to teacher appreciation is just letting them know we are thinking about them, we love them and we are willing to support them in whatever they need. Our teachers are amazing at Manila!

Post-it Covers

Here's a teacher appreciation gift idea I have been working on. Super cute post-it covers. They are inexpensive, useful, and cute as can be...3 things that make a great teacher gift!

Start by getting some post-it pads. Find some paper that you would like to cover them with. Cut the paper to fit around the pad. I would give exact measurements, but post-it pads come in different sizes, so you will have to figure out the size of the pad you have. Mine were 3X3 pads of 50 sheets. My paper was 7¼" long by 3 inches wide. Don't stress too much about it. As long as the paper goes around the pad and overlaps itself, it will work just fine! You can also round the corners if you would like to. Use a scoring board to score where you will need to fold the paper around the edge of your post-it pad.  I scored mine at 2", 2¼", 5¼, and 5½". At this point, I like to use ink pads and rub the edges of my paper to make them look more antiqued. Glue the back of the post-it pad to the middle of the paper. Close the edges over. And now the fun part....embellish! You can us ribbon, paper, flowers, brads, buttons; anything you can think of! My daughter wanted her teacher's to have pink fluffies on it and I think it turned out so cute! Use your imagination and things that you have around the house. And there you have a useful, inexpensive, cute as can be homemade teacher appreciation gift.