Giant Paperclips and Other Teacher Gifts

Hello Janet here,

Now that the end of the school year is approaching, I thought I'd share a selection of teacher gifts I've made for favourite teachers.  As they teach at secondary school, the usual decorative elements like apples, crayons and yellow school buses aren't really appropriate.  Now, if you are wondering at my choice of wording on the gifts, I did a quick poll and asked a few teachers what they could really use in the classroom. I chose my items and embellishments accordingly.

GIANT PAPER CLIP MAGNETS

First up we have my favourite; giant paperclips, using Sarah Hurley's set of two moustache paperclips (Design #45163).  Yes, it seems the modern teacher has a magnetic smart board - and modern kids still forget to put their name on their work! These are made from the Silhouette printable magnetic paper.

• The chrome one had brushed chrome vinyl attached prior to cutting, I just needed to increase the blade depth by one to compensate for the thicker media.  Do use the test cut feature to ensure you get this right for your media. The elements are cut from gloss black vinyl and glow in the dark vinyl. All lettering was made using 3 of my favourite Lori Whitlock fonts (links at the bottom of the page).
• The striped ones were partially print and cut, with the larger lettering cut from gloss black vinyl.  N.B. Take care as you add vinyl elements to the printed surface, as the transfer paper can pull some of the design away.

ROUND MAGNETS

Next we have some simple round magnets. Even the clumsiest of teens could make some of these . They are plain round plastic casing fridge magnets and are available to purchase online, but these were some in garish colours that came free with a household white board. The magnets were painted with 2 coats of bronze acrylic paint. The moustaches were cut from glow in the dark vinyl from Lori Whitlock's 6 Moustache Set (Design #21884).


PENCIL CONTAINER

Now, this pencil container is a very classy looking item considering its humble origins and useful since there is always someone who forgets to take their own basic writing supplies! The pot is made from a white plastic toothbrush holder, sprayed with mirror-effect copper acrylic paint (3 thin coats).  To remove the rattle-y-ness I added circles of thick black felt to the inside bottom of the pot and to the underside. Again the wording and elements are made from gloss black vinyl and glow in the dark vinyl with some additional arrows for emphasis (Design #45683) .

MATERIALS USED:

Giant Paper Clips:

Printable Magnetic Paper

Copper Metallic Vinyl

Black Gloss Vinyl
Transfer Paper

Round Magnets:

Round Plastic Casing Fridge Magnets

Mirror-effect Copper Acrylic Paint

Glow in the Dark Vinyl
Transfer Paper

Pencil Container:

Plastic Tooth Brush Holder

Copper Acrylic Spray

Glow in the Dark Vinyl

Black Gloss Vinyl
Transfer Paper

Pencils

Black Felt Circles

I hope I have inspired you to make something different for the teachers in your lives - I'm sure they will appreciate it!

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