Dr. Seuss meets Graduation Cards

I am super excited to share these cards with you today. I have done a few Dr. Seuss-related plays and when those students graduated this year I decided to add a Dr. Seuss twist to their grad cards. You can see my other graduation cards here; I followed the same recipe for an easel card and just changed the front of the card.

The details:

I began with a circle using George sized at 2.82 inches. The font I used is Cutting Up, which is very Seuss friendly and just the right style. I arranged the "Thing 1" on the circle and then cut it out with white paper. The letters ended up being .68 inches while the numbers were 1.20 inches. I cut a larger circle in black  at 3.20 inches which gave me the black letters and outside border.

I cut the grad hat from Locker Talk in turquoise at 1.50 inches with a white tassel and added a gem brad. For the year I used the Elegant Cakes font with the shadow layer at 1 inch. The inside of the card was done with a Studio G stamp and a Martha Stewart punch for the corners.

I was so pleased with the way that these came out. As soon as I can find red shirts in a toddler size, I want to make "Thing" matching shirts for a friend who has twins. And while I keep my fingers crossed for that Dr. Seuss Cartridge I will continue to make do with what I have!

Graduation Card and Pillowbox

I have a quick graduation gift set for you today - I have so many graduation parties this year I may need a second job just to support them all! I absolutely love easel cards and this is a card design I came up with last year - it was the first card design I really loved and it is still my favorite!

The details:

The card size is 4 1/2 inches by 6 inches. To create the easel card I took a strip of 4 1/2 by 12 inch paper and scored it at 3 and 6 inches. This gives you your easel backing.  Then I added a 4 1/2 by 6 inch restangle on top of the scoring (adhered to the bottom part of the easel backing) which means it can then be propped up by the inside (the white 3 by 4 inch rectangle). I guess that is not really very clear without pictures - but I do know there are directions for easel cards out there.

The grad cap is from Locker Talk - cut at  2.5 inches and the pop dotted on the front. I added a brad to tassel to make it look more like a real cap. The 2011 is cut from Elegant Cakes which has some great fonts on it - cut at 1.10 inches and welded together. I embossed the mat with my stars Cuttlebug folder. For the inside I used a MS corner punch and a Studio G stamp.

For the pillowbox I used Wrap It Up and cut it at 7.5 inches which is a good size to fit most gift cards. I did hide the contour of the front - which has a cut out of a diploma - mostly because I am not a fan of the outline shape - I would rather have something dimensional. Which is why I cut the diploma out separately at 1.50 inches but with only the first layer. (I wish somone would tell PC the colors they use in the new handbooks for layers are NOT inspiring.) I also did some "Cricut surgery" and snipped off the bow part of the cut so I could use some pretty twine instead. I used some mini glue dots to attach it to the front and the same Studio G Stamp.

Here are some of the cards I made last year with different school colors to give you an idea of how you can change it up a bit. The main difference is I used Plantin Schoolbook for the font.

Happy Graduation Season!

More Teacher Gift Ideas

Hi everyone! Happy to be once again at TheBugBytes today! While Teacher Appreciation week is past, I thought I would share these altered mini chalkboards with you in case you were looking for a nice end of year treat! I made one each for her music, art, and PE teachers. I found them at ACMoore for around a dollar apiece - with some vinyl, paper, mod podge, and some magnet strips to the back and they turned into great gifts!

The details:

For all three I used my gypsy to plan out the sizes of the lettering and shapes. I set up Layer 1 with two rectangles in the same measurements as the chalkboard and used the subsequent layers to plan each board. The names are in vinyl to make sure they stick while I used paper for the shape cuts.

The music teacher's board I used Hannah Montana for both the name and the cuts.I nudged each of the letters together some more on the Gypsy so that it cut as one piece and wasn't too long. And yes, it was as big a pain in the butt to weed and put on there as it looks! But I was very happy with the results.  A closeup of the music notes:

I cut them using DCWV new Performance stack which I just love, and then applied a thin layer of modpodge to the top and the back edges that hung over the sides.

For the art teacher's board I used Hannah Montana again for the font, and while I was not crazy about that color vinyl, my daughter had veto privileges and she liked it. The brush and palette are from Locker Talk  - I am really trying to use my older cartridges and find those hidden gems! I used stickles instead of cutting the paint circles, and added some to the brush. I think it came out really nice! (and you can modpodge over stickles in case you were wondering like I was) A closeup:

Now the PE teacher chalkboard has a story connected to it - I asked about the teacher and was told that she was "really really sick - she's been out for a looooooong time - I am worried about her Mommy". Well, after a quick call to the school secretary I discovered what I had suspected - she was on maternity leave! But the secretary didn't remember the name of the substitute so a generic "sporty" theme chalkboard had to suffice!

I used Car Decals for the font, and Sports Mania for the 4 corners - another oldie with hidden gems! The cuts already had the corner shape built in so I knew that it was Cricut fate! I went into a little more detail on the different shapes. I used the Cuttlebug mesh folder on the football and basketball, and inked the baseball and soccer balls. Some closeups so you can see what I mean:

I also loved the way they turned shiny after the mod podge! I did get good feedback via thechild (although now I wonder about her school stories) so I hope they liked them. We shall be back to the layouts soon!

More Teacher Appreciation

I know that Teacher Appreciation week is officially over BUT the end of the school year is fast approaching so in case people are wondering what to make that will be useful and easy on the budget - here are the rest of the goodies I put together for my daughter's teachers. There are 6 teachers/aides in her class on a regular basis so they all deserve a treat! Each received a bookmark (the ones from this post) and then I made each a large altered wooden clothespin clip. I thought these would be great for them to use to hang up memos and reminders. I was able to use some of the older carts that I have been neglecting and they are definitely oldies but goodies - and as a bonus I have submitted it to the Circle Magazine challenge!

Here is one set:

All wrapped and ready to present:



A side view so you can see the clip from the side:

All of the clips done:

All of the bookmarks:

The details:

The wooden clothespins I found at ACMoore for I believe $1.19 each, and I hot glued a strong magnet to the back. The polka dot paper is the new Recollections paper from Michael's and comes in a variety of colors. The ribbon was Joann's brand and adhesive backed. Sorry - nothing from Hobby Lobby!

I cut a rectangle of paper to match the front of the clothespin and glued it on. Then I cut a pencil from Locker Talk - at about 6 inches - until it was approximatley the height of the pin. The apple (2.5 inches) with their names on it is from Doodlecharms and I cut it with all the layers and a white blackout piece for the back. After glueing the apple on I mod-podged the whole thing so it would last and be a little bit sturdier.

I used the extra paper to wrap the bookmark and then cut another apple (1.5 inches)  from Create A Critter, using the Gypsy to hide the contours of the face, and then stamped with a Peachy Keen Stamp. It is the Princess set and I just love them - too cute!

For the tag, more of the same paper, and I found this scalloped tag on Christmas Cheer (of all places!) and cut it rather large at 4 inches. This is because I knew my daughter would have to sign the apple and I wanted it to be large enough for her. I then cut the same Doodlecharms apple (3.5 inches) but with just the base cut - and I used chalkboard paper! How cool is that?? It cuts like a dream in the Cricut too.  Then I had my daughter sign in chalk just for more fun, and wrapped them all up with coordinating ribbon.

The teachers really loved them and my daughter is always so happy to give them a treat I think this earned a spot on my repetoire of craft gifts. I may have one more teacher gift post before the school year is done, and then back to the Disney scrapbook grind!