Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Clipboards and Post-its

I think it is a requirement of teachers to...
  1. Love clipboards... and have about 1 million.... you never know when you need one.
  2. Have a near obsession over post-its.  Cant they be used for just about anything!?!? Math... yes.... Science... yes... Reading... always.... Love them!
So what's a better way than incorporating the two into a great gift for my Secret Pal at school.  She's a teacher.... any by that fact... she must love school supplies.  What teacher doesn't???  The smell of crayons... having paperclips in a wide variety of colors... and when paperclips cant work pull out those marvelous big guns.... the bracket clips....

Ahhh yes.... teacher supplies.  

So this is what I made for my wonderful teacher friend:
It took me about an hour and a 1/2.... because I am a perfectionist.... but I did all 3 in that time! :)  That's 1/2 and hour per gift!  (yes... I am a math teacher... )

Here are the supplies I needed:

 Lets start with the post-it note holder.... soooooo easy.  Get yourself a cardboard coaster from a place like Chili's.
Grab your trusty mod podge.  Mine is glossy, but I only used it as a glue.
The secret to all mod podge: some sort of squeegee!!! You must press out all those air bubbles or your paper will crinkle and it will not be pretty.
Use an exacto to carefully cut around the edges of the coaster.
One side was covered in dots, the other in black and white.  After I covered both sides, I dipped my brush in black paint and painted the edges and speckled the side as if I were stenciling.  I really like the effect.



Then just add a big clip with some post-its and you're done!

Clipboard:
Paint the sides first.
Cut your paper to the size you want.  I wanted to use 2 different types of paper.... I started with the bottom and worked my way up.
Mod Podge only the bottom.  I used mine only as a glue; I did not put a top layer of it on.
Use that squeegee to get it nice and smooth with no bubbles.
The toughest part was cutting around the silver head area.  You could paint the top black and skip all the cutting, but I only wanted it covered in paper. 
I used the same painting technique around the board like I did on the coaster.  Then add a little bow... so cute!
I used stickers to spell out her name and some kinda paper boarder sticker that I glued on to add a little whimsy to the area where the 2 papers meet.  The back of the board looks close to he same as the front.  Only difference is I didn't add her name to the back.
 Ta-Da! Done.  And if you want to know more about the teacher survival kit... you can find that post right here.  Or a little more about secret pals.... you can check here.


Have fun crafting.... and if you don't have a secret pal, maybe make something special for that wonderful custodian or secretary who we all know the school would burn down if we didn't have either of them :)

6 comments:

  1. I wanna be your secret pal, I wanna be your secret pal! Too Cute!! I have had clipboards on my list forever to make over super cute but haven't gotten around to it....you have motivated me to get moving:)

    4th Grade Frolics

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  2. Ummmmm I want one!!!! SUPER cute. I make my own clipboards too but yours are wayyyy cuter.

    msnoren.blogspot.com

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  3. K, so I did it....mine aren't near as cute as yours but at least I made time to do it and had fun:) I also posted and linked about yours on my blog so people will come see your awesomeness:)

    4th Grade Frolics

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  4. OmGosh!! I am LOVING that clipboard! I want one please! :D

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  5. Thanks yall!!!! Maybe when I reach 150 followers my giveaway can be a clipboard, postit, and notebook customizable to your favorite colors.... hmmm.....

    thanks for all the wonderful comments:)

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  6. Hi! I love this!!! I'm doing this ASAP. I just wanted you to know that I am your newest follower! I absolutely love your blog and can't wait to explore it more!

    If you have a second, stop on by and visit mine! :) I'm still new at this!

    Andi
    Mommy, Teacher, & So Much More

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