Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

teacher gift

Back to School Teacher Gift with New Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I am back today with a project that is perfect for back to school using some new and some old goodies from Simon Says Stamp! Flashback to August of 2019, when I was preparing to send my older set of twins to full-day kindergarten after two years of half-day preschool. I was mentally preparing all of the work that I would get done, the shopping that I would enjoy without having to drag kiddos in and out of stores, the naps I could take and the shows I could enjoy in peace… and then I found out three days in that I was pregnant. Two weeks later, we found out we were pregnant with twins, again. All of those plans went right out the window as I dealt with morning sickness and general pregnancy discomfort, and then… Covid happened, and life turned completely, utterly upside down while I had newborn twins and 6 year old twins for which I had to assist with online school. Fast forward to this morning, when I dropped my Big Kids off at their first real day of junior high (say WHAT?!) and the Little Boys off at their first full day of kindergarten… it was an odd feeling. I rejoiced in the idea of the freedom that I’ve waited so long for (I was very unhappy when I realized “I’m going to be almost FORTY when they are all in school full time!”) but I confess… I feel like I’m drifting aimlessly with no kiddo chaos surrounding me while I attempt to work.

While I’m sure I will find my sea-legs in the next few days, I wanted to share this back-to-school teacher gift that I created the new Big Bus die from the Simon Says Stamp Happy Camper release in honor of those teachers who are also heading back to school for a new year full of learning, giggles, crying, germs, and hopefully, lots of fun! Let’s get started on the details for my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

I bought a large selection of colorful canvas zippered pouches a few months ago with the intention of embellishing them with felt die cut shapes, and I am absolutely in love with how this sweet zippered pouch turned out! I chose a vibrant cherry red pouch, a perfect contrast with the bright yellow felt for the bus, I think. I began by stamping the older School Supplies cling stamp on the corner of the pouch with Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink, which works beautifully on so many different surfaces, including fabric! I did touch it up a bit with my white paint pen; if I created this project again, I would have put a foam pad inside the pouch to give a little cushion, hopefully helping create a crisp stamped impression.

Next, I worked on assembling the Big Bus die cuts. I used the typical felt colors to create this school bus, embellishing with some shining foil felt from my stash for the stop sign and the chrome parts on the wheels. I also die cut some white holographic glitter felt stars using the smallest Nested Star Die as well as a black foil felt Fancy Teachers die cut. I used felt glue to adhere all of the components together for the bus, then used the glue to adhere the felt bus, stars, and teacher die cuts to the stamped red pouch. To keep everything nice and flat while drying, I like to place a glass paperweight over the top, especially on larger die cuts like the bus.

After I had created all of the components for the pouch, I used some Red and White Baker’s Twine from Simon Says Stamp to create a tassel for the zipper. I think adding this one last detail really made a big difference in how “finished” the pouch feels! Wouldn’t think be so cute for a teacher to hold her pencils and highlighters??

Well, that’s all for my project today. Whether you’re a teacher, student, parent, or grandparent, cheers to a wonderful school year! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

You’re So Sharp Teacher Gift Set with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I have been experimenting with lots of different mediums and supplies lately, and I decided to pair one of the zippered canvas bags that I have in my stash with some simple acrylic marker painting to create a fun teacher gift set. My older son’s primary teacher is a man for the first time since he began school, and so coming up with a teacher gift for Christmas was a little more challenging for this super girly mom than it has typically been. With that in mind, I kept this gift set simple in both color palette and design, pairing the Just Write stamp set with the Altenew Acrylic Markers to create a chunky and graphic gift set that is definitely gender-neutral. Let’s get started with the details on my projects!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

One of the great things about the Just Write stamp set is it’s simplicity. The large, simply drawn images lend themselves very well to use with simpler coloring techniques, making them a great companion to the Just Write stamp set. I used the single pencil image for the gift bag and the multi-pencil background stamp for the gift card holder. How fun would this be with some nice mechanical pencils and pens along with a coffee shop gift card?

For the bag, I stamped the large pencil image from Just Write onto the zippered canvas bag using Nocturne Ink from Simon Says Stamp. This black pigment ink creates a super crisp image on the canvas bag. Such a great multi-purpose ink! After I had stamped the pencil image and the coordinating sentiment, I used Altenew Acrylic Paint Markers to do some simple coloring, adding a few details with Silver Spectrum Noir Markers and a black pigment pen to sharpen up some of the areas. Note: I did find that the acrylic paint bled colors into each other if I tried to color two adjacent areas too quickly, so be sure to treat this just like regular no-line watercolor if you try this technique for yourself! I also added a few dots with the black pigment pen to add some interest to the background, but I think dots are a gender-neutral addition.

For the gift card, I began by die cutting the Gift Card Pocket Envelope Die from some So Very Black cardstock, then stamped the background stamp from the Just Write Stamps onto just the center section using white pigment ink, then used the same colors from the Altenew Acrylic Paint Marker palette to do some chunky, graphic coloring on the images. After I had finished coloring all of the pencils, I stamped the simple “thank you” using Nocturne ink, which stamped perfectly atop the acrylic-painted pencil, though it did require a bit of dry time to ensure that it didn’t smudge.

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I love being able to use stamps from my stash to customize gifts for teachers. It definitely helps to justify the purchases when you get so much bang for your buck! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!