Teacher Gifts

Alesha Pegg (who teaches right around the corner from me!) ordered this brightly colored canvas as a gift for herself.  I love and it looks so cute hanging on her door.  It would also look great in other color combinations or in your school colors.

This classic apple canvas was ordered as a Christmas gift for a special teacher.  I love the black background with the white writing.  It reminds me of an old-timey blackboard.

This is my favorite part...the name, grade, and year of the student giving the gift has been added down the side.  This special touch makes it the perfect keepsake.

It's not too late to order your teacher gifts!  Just be sure to get them in soon - especially if you aren't local and need them shipped.  Thanks!!

 

Fall Break!

So, it's almost fall break time!  I could not be more ready for a little time off.  I am looking forward to just resting and spending some much needed quality time with my family.  With that being said, the school year is just flying by.  I can't believe the first nine weeks are already gone!

I always paint bunches of teacher canvases in the summer and at the start of the school year...I'm still going strong!  Heather Shehane was my contest winner a while back.  Here's the design she chose.  I love it!

This one was an etsy order that shipped out for Mrs. Kelley.  She chose the classic apple that I love on the black background.  I had a bit of apple ribbon that went so well with the gingham.

Kris Ann Stanley is a new teacher who wanted a bright monogram for her classroom door.  I really like how the S turned out.  This one will be seen all the way down the hallway!

Finally, my teaching partner, Beverly Crouch, ordered this one as a gift for her student teacher.  I thought that was such a sweet idea.  I know Mrs. Higgins is going to be a great teacher and now has a little something for her first classroom.

 Remember that I am closed until October 26.  Be ready with those Christmas orders when I open back up!  Enjoy your fall break, too!

School Days

Well, school is in full swing!  My feet and throat have toughened up, but I am still thoroughly enjoying a Monday off.  Here's a 6x9 canvas that I did for a male teacher.  I tried to keep it pretty masculine with simple stripes and a non-curly font!

This 10x10 teacher canvas has a black background with highlighted red dots and the name in white.  That's a little different from what I normally do and I love how it turned out.  I also really like the red gingham ribbon on top!

I teach with Sherry Taylor.  She has primary colors with black accents and smiley faces in her room.  She's adding some red chevron curtains and wanted that on her canvas.  I've never done one like this before.  I see it up and down the hallway everyday and it looks so bright and cheery!

My school year is going great so far!  I hope you all can say the same.  Enjoy!

 

Tutorial: Easy Teacher Gift

Lauren's third grade teacher has taken a new job as a speech pathologist.  She had gotten pretty attached to her already and was devastated.  Making a "good-bye" gift for her and "welcome" gift for the new teacher seemed to make her feel better.

We started by painting an 11x14 canvas white and letting it completely dry.  Next, we taped a box in the center with regular masking tape.

I painted Lauren's hand in the shades of blue that she chose and pressed them around the canvas.

Here my little Martha Stewart!

When the paint dried, we just peeled off the tape to reveal a nice, clean shape in the center.  I painted the name in the center and added coordinating ribbon.  She made the one for the new teacher using the same technique with some flower and butterfly stamps that I had.

We sealed it with some spray clear polyurethane.  I let her write a message, the year, and sign her name with a sharpie on the back.  It turned out really cute and will hopefully be a sweet keepsake for Mrs. Eldridge!

Bugs and Bees

Oh, these two are just too cute!  I just happened to have a ladybug and a bee canvas ordered around the same time.  They shipped out to two completely different parts of the United States!  Here's the 11x14 red, black, and white lady bug themed canvas for Ms. Immel.  

The 11x14 bee themed canvas features larger polka dots, but the rest of the design is basically the same.  This bee canvas for Mrs. Geis is adorable, and you can see how it could work for just about and cute little animal.  

Order your teacher canvas for Christmas now!  Purchase through the etsy shop and enter the code SCHOOL for special savings!

Teacher #5 - Holly Ressel/Giveaway Day!

Holly Ressel is a brand teacher here in the Warren County School system.  She's such a sweetie and I'm so happy for her!  She sent me a pic of the fabric she is using in her classroom.  Isn't that adorable?  I love the colors.

I took that pale pink, hot pink, olive green, and gray to come up with this design for her.  The hot pink owl in the corner and the olive green border look great with the pink and white dots and gray lettering. 

My favorite thing on the fabric was actually the tree.  I made sure to include that on her canvas!  Those little leaves and flowers were a great way to get in a little more color.

Thank you, Holly, and good luck!!

Now, on to the big giveaway!  There are a few ways to enter and I hope you take advantage of them all!

• Leave a nice comment on this post - 1 entry (please only comment once!)

• Become a follower of the blog - 1 entry (you may leave a second comment letting me know that you became a follower or were already a follower!)

• Share the contest post link on facebook - 1 entry (just click on the post title, copy and past that address in your facebook status bar, and the computer does the rest!  Please leave me a comment to let me know that you did this!)

I'll post the winner after 9:00 CST tonight.

Teacher #4 - Kristen Kell

 

Kristen Kell is a good friend of mine...from waayyy back in the JA days!  I didn't even know she was teaching until she contacted me about this order.  I'm so happy for her!  She requested polka dots and black and hot pink.  She also mentioned that she likes the black and hot pink 31 design.

I started with the polka dots in the background in a metallic silver.  They really are metallic - not glittery!  They are so pretty but it was hard to capture that sheen in a picture.

I used the 31 pattern as inspiration to do the black and white border.  Finally, I added a  little hot pink border and the matching ribbon.  Since her name is really short, I wrote it a bit larger than usual and tilted it to the side.  I love it!!!

Thank you so much, Kristen!

Teacher #3 - Michelle Hill

Michelle Hill teaches the teen living class at Warren County Middle School.  She wanted something to cover a specific place in her classroom.  I ordered a 12x12 canvas just for her!

She also sent me this fabric sample to use as inspiration.  I took the colors and design and used it across the bottom of the canvas.  I used the dottie font just because I thought it was cute!  I think it is a perfect match!!

Teacher #2 - Mrs. Hall

I don't know Mrs. Hall's first name!  This one was ordered as a start of the school year gift by one of my very best customers, Kayla Young.  She chose the size and requested ribbon and an owl.  I took it from there!  Mrs. Hall is a kindergarten teacher so I kept the font in an easy-to-read font and the design sweet but simple.  I love the added bling and think it turned out soooo cute!

Thank you, Kayla!!

Teacher #1 - Michelle Lewis

Okay, so my first teacher is not technically a teacher.  She's a principal!  Mrs. Michelle is the brand new principal at West Elementary.  She wanted two canvases for each of her office doors.  She also wanted them to coordinate but be different.

She also mentioned that she likes dots and chevron.  I took that information, along with her color choices, and came up with these two designs.  The cream, red, and chocolate brown look really pretty together.  I think they'll definitely be noticed!

To make them even more different, I turned one vertically and the other horizontally and used different fonts.  Thank you so much, Michelle!  Good luck in your first year as principal!

Back To School With Boho Birds!

I've worked really hard on my classroom this summer and am proud to show off the results!  I don't know about you other teachers, but I can't sit in a messy room and plan.  I have to have all the room stuff done before I can start on the paperwork! 

I have my lights off or partially off a lot of the time when teaching.  I decided to add some white lights and a bit of coordinating fabric around my board.  I love how it turned out!

I found these two sayings on pinterest and decided to make my own to match my theme.  I am using the Boho Birds collection from Carson Dellosa.  It's new this year and there are TONS of cute pieces.  I usually purchase mine straight from the company or the School Box.

I like the big chunky letters that coordinate.  This year they also offered these stickers that you can customize.  I used those on my bins and a few other places, too.   My students turn in their finished work in those bins based on their homeroom teacher.  This saves me so much time!

I use the big bulletin board for school news and all that stuff that has to be posted like mission statement, evacuation plan, and grading scale.  The smaller whiteboard is for long and short term assignments.  There are two clipboards on the wall for extra copies of assignments for anyone who was absent.

Here's front of my room and my calendar and birthday board.  I like the tree in the corner.  I did owls last year and it was already up there from another set.  I just changed it our with some cute bird and birdhouse accents - good to go!  I ordered my gorgeous red chevron curtains from this etsy shop.

My desk has my favorite family photos on the front.  I also have a little board with some really important things (for me!) on there.  Just like my lights around the board, I love having a lamp on my desk!

My favorite bulletin board from last year got a little Boho Bird update and moved to a different area of the room.  I loved the words so much that I needed them up for another year.  Kids need to hear this stuff!

I fixed up this little arrangement beside my closet door.  I'll have a photo shoot on the first day of school and add all of their pictures.  They always LOVE this!  My back wall is all storage and computers.

Even the hallway is Boho Birds!  I really wanted my little area to look bright and cheery - even with the door closed.  I ordered my porcupine teacher name from an etsy shop that is no longer open and the vinyl lettering from this one.  They are so unique and I've gotten tons of compliments from the other teachers!

I left a space in the center of my hallway board for a class picture from our first day photo shoot.  All the kids' names got a great big first letter on the Boho Birds name tags.

Here's what it looks like when you first walk through the door.  Bring it on, 5th and 6th grade science!  I'm ready for you!

Back to School Week and a Giveaway!

I've painted lots and lots of teacher canvases over the summer and will be sharing five favorites starting on Monday.  Be sure to check the blog each day and see the new designs and fun colors!

Friday is the big day because I will be giving away one custom teacher canvas.  You don't have to be a teacher to win.  You can always give it as a gift to your special teacher!  It's been a while since I've done a giveaway.  I figured that with school starting up this was the perfect time!  Rules to enter will be up on Friday, too.  Good luck to you all!

   

Random...But Cute!

I've got a few canvases that I've done this summer that I've been waiting to post thinking that I'll do some others sort of like them for a theme post.  It hasn't worked out so far!  The result is one of those random posts that gets them all in at once!

This 11x14 aunt canvas is the quote that I do quite often for aunts.  This one is different because of the background.  Instead of a neutral animal print or just plain yellow, this one has yellow on yellow chevron - love it!

My fellow teacher, Caleb Shehane, and his wife, Heather, have built a beautiful new house.  Like my house, the back door enters through the laundry room.  Heather wanted a sign to hang back there to politely let guests know to use the front door.  I really like the colors she chose and the twine for hanging.

The 11x14 pineapple canvas is another popular design with just a little change.  This one has the "please remove your shoes" under the welcome.

I'm spending a lot of time this week getting ready to go back to school.  I was thinking about how fast my summer has gone by.  I was looking back through our pictures and realized that these were taken on the first day of summer vacation back at the end of May.  It seems like forever ago that we took that little day trip to Chattanooga!

Funny how time works.  However long it was or seemed to be, I've enjoyed it and I needed it.  Even though I am a little sad that it is almost over, I am ready to get back to work, plan my science lessons, and love a whole new group of kiddos!

Getting Ready...

...to go back to school!  As much as I am enjoying my summer, I am starting to make plans to start a new school year.  Lots of other teachers are too!  Tiffany Judkins is a new teacher who is doing all colors of polka dots with black in her classroom.  I think this will be the perfect addition!

 

This pretty canvas in blue was done and delivered a while back.  There are actually three shades of blue with black accents and outlining.  She also chose this pretty font.  I've also done this one in pink and green.  It looks so cute in any color combination!

Finally, Mrs. Feagley is an English teacher in Indiana.  She purchased the gumball machine I painted and wanted the customization to be something she could use at school.

I love it!  If I were a Reading teacher, I would so have one of these!  I can just see this in a cute classroom or library.  Thank you, Mary!