Pieces by Polly: Teacher Gifts

Showing posts with label Teacher Gifts. Show all posts

Friday, November 17, 2017

DIY Game Day Pillows for Football Fans

The DIY Game Day Pillows are the perfect afternoon project to be ready for Thanksgiving Weekend football...or get a jump start on a Christmas gift for your favorite football fan. Special thanks to Shannon Fabrics and Fairfield World for providing me with product and to Fairfield World for compensating me for this post.

Basic Box Cushion Cover - For Chairs, Bean Bags, and Floor Pillows

Box cushions are easy to make and very versatile. They can be used to recover chair and sofa cushions or made on their own can make great floor cushions, bean bags cushions, and pet beds.

One of the best things about designing projects for Fairfield World is that they send me free product that I can use to do projects like this to benefit individual classrooms at my kids school. They sent me bean bag filler, poly-fil, and pillow inserts and compensated me to complete this project. Dritz also sent me their brilliant Cut-to-Size Upholstery zippers. All opinions, ideas, enthusiasm, and gratitude are 100% my own.

Depending on the level of support you need, you can fill box cushions covers with support cushion foam, bean bag filler, or poly-fil fiber fill.

And while these cushions found their home in a first grade classroom, these cushions also make for relaxing seating at home as well.

(Bean bag filler inside.)

Get the full tutorial, needed materials, and instructions to make your own Basic Box Cushion Covers on the Fairfield Site here.

Dementor Attack Emergency Pouch - Happy Harry Potter 2017

We all have days when we can feel the dementors lurking...And for those days having a Dementor Attack Emergency Pouch at the ready is just what Madam Pomfrey ordered. (I'm sharing this as part of Happy Harry Potter at Raegun Ramblings. Click over to Raegun Ramblings for more Harry Potter inspired projects and read to the end of the post to enter to win some awesome prizes.) This post contains affiliate links to help support my blog. I used product given by Fairfield World in this post. all opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are my own.

These also make great gifts for any friends or loved ones who may struggle with dementors as well.

Jumbo Zipper Pouch Tutorial

This easy Jumbo Zipper Pouch is the perfect pencil case to send your kids back to school with. (I don't know about you...but the little ones they sell at the store never seem to fit the huge list of supplies the kids are asked to bring.)

They also make great gifts for teacher and if you choose the right novelty fabric they can be personalized to anyone's taste. Disclaimer: Thanks as always to Fairfield World for providing the support foam and batting as well as compensating me for this project. All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links to help support my blog.

We also love to use these as Thank You gifts for our kids' teachers at the end of the year. A good zipper pouch is a universally appreciated gift if you choose the right fabric and colors.

And once you get the hang of them, they are SO fast and easy.

14 Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas and the Weekly Block Party Link-Up

School is starting to come to an end, so it's time to start thinking about getting something for the fabulous teachers! These ideas are perfect for teacher appreciation or for the end of the school year.

Reversible Cuddle® Chair Cover

This is an easy reversible chair cover for a favorite chair that just needs a facelift and only takes and hour or two of your time. I used Cuddle® Fabric to make it extra soft and comfortable.

Thank you Fairfield World for their continued support of my creativity by providing me with products to try and compensating me for my work sharing it with you. Thank you also to Shannon Fabrics for providing me with the Cuddle® fabric. The support of these companies made this donation to my daughter's classroom possible. All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm is entirely my own. This post contains affiliate links.

We've all got that chair that we LOVE and is SO comfortable, but is ugly as all get out, right? Different covers work for different kinds of chairs, but this is an easy cover that can work for most kinds of chairs. It will work best for chairs with open arms, so that you can tie the cover in place at the back of the seat.

Rebecca's teacher loves owls and her favorite colors are blue and green, so these seemed like the perfect fabrics.

Before the instructions....just a little backstory...

DIY Classroom Reading Corner with Cuddle® Fabric and Fairfield World

Every elementary school classroom needs somewhere comfortable to curl up with a good book. Of all the reading areas we've helped with (and there have been a lot), this DIY Reading Corner is definitely my favorite. HUGE thanks to Fairfield World for donating all the "insides" supplies for this project and another HUGE thanks to Shannon Fabrics for donating all of colorful chevron cuddle fabrics. Both companies jumped into action when I requested materials and we got this project finished just in time for the first day of school. Fairfield World has compensated me for writing this post, but all ideas, opinions, and enthusiasm are 100% my own. This post also contains affiliate links.

My daughter's first grade teacher last year was brand-new to our school, and this year, she got to move in to a larger room with space for a reading corner. She wanted a really large bench with lots of pillows for relaxing. She's decorated her room with bright bulletin boards surrounded with chevron trim, so we decided to keep with that theme for the reading corner too.

We used mostly solid Embossed Chevron Cuddle® for the larger pillows and then made some smaller accent pillows using the Easiest Ever Cuddle® Pillow Instructions on Shannon Fabrics blog.

We also knew that it was a MUST that the reading bench cover and pillow covers come off for easy washing. I NEVER donate any fabric goods to the school that can't be washed.

Candy Land Reading Bulletin Board with Oly-Fun - Teacher Appreciation Idea

With Teacher Appreciation Week upon us, I thought I'd share something I did for my daughter's teachers earlier this year. I've always been of the opinion that the BEST gifts to give teachers are helping them with thing they need and want rather than just cutesy generic gifts (although those can be appreciated too!)

My daughter's homeroom teacher is new to the school this year and wanted a Candy Land bulletin board to track her reading students progress in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program.

When my daughter's reading teacher heard I was up for doing bulletin boards, she jumped in and requested one too.

They were quick and easy to do and it's an extra bonus that the Oly-Fun I used doesn't fade or tear and is easy to cut and staple.

Get all the details on how to make your own Candy Land Reading Bulletin Board on the Fairfield site here.

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Sunday, May 1, 2016

14 Handmade Gifts Any Teacher Will Love and the Weekly Block Party Link-Up

I don't know about you, but teacher appreciation week is upon us and I haven't started anything for my kids teachers. Check out some of these ideas if you're scrambling too.

Polly here from Pieces by Polly.

Between Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother's Day coming up in the next week, I'm going to have my hands full. And here are a few of my favorite recent projects:

Urban Scandinavian Giant Half-Square Triangles Quilt | DIY American Girl Luggage Conversion | Reversible Doll Sleeping Bag | Hanging Doll Garment Bag You can also find me hanging out here:

Now let's see what you've been up to! Be sure to read over the guidelines…

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An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, May 18, 2015

"The Pigeon" Reading Pillows

We've made a lot of pillows this year, but these fun Pigeon Reading Pillows just might be my favorite. They're made to last with washable quilted covers made to last all the wear and tear they're likely to get in their new home in my daughter's kindergarten class. And as always a big thank you to Fairfield for making this project possible. They provided me with the pillow inserts and batting and compensated me for writing this post. All ideas and opinions are my own. The post contains affiliate links that help support my blog and allow me to continue to bring you great projects.

We made these for Teacher Appreciation Week as a gift for my daughter's kindergarten teacher, but they'd make a great end-of-year gift too.

My favorite teacher gifts are things that meet a specific need for their room, and lots of teachers have a reading corner with cushions to encourage kids to cozy up to a favorite book.

If you have an early reader in your house and you haven't discovered The Pigeon books or the Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Willems yet, YOU NEED TO. We were introduced to them a couple year ago by our school librarian, and they are awesome. Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus is the original Pigeon book and The Pigeon Fabric from Cloud 9 Fabrics focuses on that book. But really if you have an early reader, you need the whole set or a trip to your local library.

Mo Willems books have been super popular this year in my daughter's kindergarten class, so we thought Pigeon pillows would be perfect.

Skill Level: Late beginner - Intermediate

Time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

Materials:

Here's what you'll need to make one 16-in pillow.

1/2 yard of Pigeon themed fabric for main pillow. Quilt Sandwich Fabrics is one of my favorite local quilt shops and they have quite a few. Repeating Pigeon Farbic available here. Pigeon Dreams available here, Pigeon Word Bubbles available here, Frenzied Pigeon available here from Fabric.com.
1/4 yard The Pigeon Cheater Print for large appliques
1/2 yard lining fabric. (I used some cheap black fabric I had around. This won't show, so it doesn't need to match.)
1 - 16" Home Elegance Pillow Insert
1 - package Soft'n Toasty 100% Cotton Batting or Large Batting Scraps
1 package paper-backed fusible web
1/2 yard sew-on Hook and Loop or Velcro fastener
Coordinating Thread
Scissors
Basting Spray (optional)

Instructions:

Cut 1 - 17"inch square and 2 - 17"x11" rectangles of EACH of the main pigeon fabric, your batting, and your lining fabric. (So, you'll have a total of 3 squares and 6 rectangles.)

Cut out 1 or 2 large pigeons and 1 or 2 large word bubbles from your cheater print. Cut out paper backed interfacing large enough for each shape.

Iron paper-backed interfacing onto the BACK of your fabric following manufacturer's instructions.

Cut out leaving a generous 1/8-inch of fabric around your word bubble and pigeon.

Peel off paper backing.

Arrange onto your 17" square. You want it AT LEAST 2-3 inches away from the edge of your pillow, so that it will still be clearly visible when your pillow is stuffed. Iron securely according to manufacturer's instructions.

Layer your front, batting, and lining fabric into a quilt sandwich.

I love to use basting spray to keep everything from sliding, but it's not completely necessary on a small project like this. If you've never tried basting spray, you should. It will revolutionize your quilting life.

Using a tight zigzag stitch or satin stitch, sew around the edges of your appliques with coordinating thread. Leave your thread tails long INSTEAD of back-stitching.

Pull your thread tails through to the back and tie a secure knot.

Using coordinating thread, add some extra quilting lines to the front of your pillow to keep things secured. I just did random lines going every which way, with breaks, so they didn't go through my large pigeon or word bubble.

Now we'll start on the back side of our pillow. Because I just had 1/2 yard of fabric and my print had an up and down to it, the opening on the back of the pillow had to be vertical. Take your rectangle pieces and layer them with with the batting on the bottom, your lining fabric FACE UP, and your main cover fabric FACE DOWN.

Pin along the interior edges that are going to become your pillow opening. Stitch with a 1/2 inch seam.

Iron your seam so that the batting is now between the lining and the main fabric. It works best to fold it so that some of the main fabric just slightly shows on the back, thus making sure the lining fabric does not show on the front.

If you're using basting spray, you may want to add some between the batting and the two layers of fabric to hold everything in place.

I had extra large Pigeons and extra word bubbles, so I chose to add them to the back of the pillow as well. If you're going to add appliques to the back, repeat the steps from earlier to add the pigeons and stitch around them using the zigzag stitch.

Add quilting lines the same way you added them to the front.

Cut 17 inches of sew-on velcro. Sew one side of the velcro 1/8-1/4 inch from the edge of the outside flap of the pillow cover.

Place your two back rectangle pieces over your front square, with the outside flap on top. Carefully fold over the top flap just beyond the velcro, so you can measure for where to place the other side of the velcro.