I like to find DIY gift projects that don't look like little kid crafts (especially since I teach high schoolers), but that are also pretty simple to make! Cheap is always a bonus too. I think parents will love these fun coasters!
- Digital picture of each student (square crop)
- 4 tiles for each student (at a home improvement store, only pennies a tile!)
- Cork stickers (or cork or some type of baking) like these sticker ones or a roll that you cut like these
- Mod Podge
- Foam brushes
First I took a nice photo of each of my students. (We threw a blanket over a pocket chart for a nice background.)
Then I put the pictures into PowerPoint, cropped them to a 3.75 in square (or whatever is just slightly smaller than your tiles), and copy and pasted each photo to have four for each student. We then went to the photo editing option and chose four fun color options for each photo. We printed these on regular paper.
Before you put the pictures on, students can add the cork to the back of the tiles. You can buy circle stickers or cut some yourself and glue it on. Both work!
Next, students can help cut them out using a paper slider cuter (or scissors if they are really good!). After the pictures are cut out, we added a thin layer of glue to the back and then placed on the center of the tile.
Then comes the Mod Podge! Brush it on lightly, allowing it to dry 10 minutes between coats. I think we did about 3 coats total. This does get a little smelly, FYI. None of my students seemed to mind but I thought it was awful! If you can wait a day or two before packaging them to go home that is the best in order to make sure they have completely dried!
How adorable do these look at tied up with some twine?! Of course, you have to add a class Christmas card! :)
Do you have your students make gifts for their parents/guardians? If so, what do you do? We've also made ornaments (simple wood ones you just color) and cookie-in-a-jar gifts!
Do you have your students make gifts for their parents/guardians? If so, what do you do? We've also made ornaments (simple wood ones you just color) and cookie-in-a-jar gifts!
We have made ornaments, scrapbooks, baked goods, sent home decorated pots with poinsettias.I have to be careful since my students come from all different religious backgrounds (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Islam, etc). Last year, I took a good photo of each child, then using skitch, I added words to the photo to describe the child, and blew the photo up to 8 x10. We laminated it, rolled it up and tied it with some nice festive ribbon. This year, I am taking some artwork they created and framing it. I found some nice frames in a storage room at school that were abandoned by someone, and there were just enough for one for each student. I love your idea and will likely use that next year. Like you, I strive to do gifts that are not so babyish.
ReplyDeleteI tried to do these coasters with my students this year, but we don't have home depot or Lowes in Belgium, so we made the cork coasters instead. After I cut them out it was so fun to have them make designs with tape and paint the coasters. I maybe got carried away and wanted them to make one for everyone in the school. I love the age appropriate easy crafts.
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