Teacher Christmas Gifts

Today was the last day of school for our kids before winter break!  Are you ready?! 

Here's a peek at Christmas gifts I made for the various teachers in our boys' lives.  These wise old owls say,

"Do your best.  *BE your best."

I chose this message because I thought it was a great encouragement to both teachers and students.   (We have a friend who is a school guidance counselor who loved this message for her office - so I knew other teachers would appreciate it as well.)

On the back of each art block I wrote a personal message, thanking each teacher for how they bring out the best in their students.  We are so blessed to have phenomenal teachers in the ICCSD who care deeply about our kids.  This small token of our appreciation doesn't nearly measure up to the hard work and dedication that these people show on a daily basis.     

*UPDATE:  Because we've received so many questions about the process, I thought I'd tell you a bit more about how these were made. 

I bought an 8ft long 2x4 (Very inexpensive - only around $3!) at Menard's and had my husband cut them into 4in. increments.  As a 2x4 is actually more like 3 1/2 inches wide, this made my blocks not quite square, but cutting was much easier, quicker + came out even that way.  I painted the blocks in a variety of my favorite colors with craft acrylics, then created the owl from my patterned paper scraps and mod podge.  Another layer of acrylics + sharpie marker were added for the owl details.  Printed my quotes out and added those as well.  Pretty easy, fast, and definitely inexpensive, as I had all the materials on hand, other than the 2x4.  Just a small token of our appreciation, but meaningful!

We are so excited about all of the new visitors that this project has brought our way recently!  If you're new, we welcome you whole-heartedly and hope you'll stick around awhile!   Visit our About page to meet our artsy family, check out our line of "family values"-themed art and home decor items called "This Thing Called Family" and like our facebook page for lots of fun updates and goofiness!  

I added fun, doodle-y lines to the sides of the blocks.

So now that the kids are home from school..... "quiet" is a thing of the past.  Let the wild ruckus begin! 

Did you make teacher gifts this holiday season?  Leave us a comment - we're interested to hear about what you made!  

If you blog, we'd love to see your post about teacher gifts you made too, so feel free to leave us the links so we can come and visit!  

*Linking to Flamingo Toes!