Teacher Gifts 2017 - Tote Bag and Mug Rug

Teacher gifts were pretty simple this year.  I have found that as the kids grow into upper elementary school and I volunteer less in their classrooms, teacher gifts become less intense.  We've formed less of a relationship with the teachers so the gifts are less personal, in a way.  I still do enjoy making something handmade, though.

Grace requested a tote bag for her teacher.  Perfect - easy to sew and useful.  I've made a zillion of these so this gift was ready in a day.  The fabric is duckcloth from Hobby Lobby, I believe.   I didn't have quite enough to match the print on both sides so I just made each side as symmetrical as I could.   Its a bit hard to tell the size/scale, but the bag holds a good sized stack of notebooks/papers or a laptop easily.  My go-to measurement for totes is to start at 16'' square for each side and then box the bottom by an inch or two.

One handy pocket.  

Leah's wanted to decorate a coffee cup for her teacher so I made a quick mug rug to go with it.  Leah requested purple (no surprise) and that I 'make it math-y' because her teacher is the math specialist and loves to tell math jokes and try to get kids excited about math.  I embroidered the symbols with regular DMC floss.  We included the teacher's favorite candy with the mug rug and cup. 

I'm not sure I love the overall result, but it worked.   One of these years maybe I'll just make the teacher gifts in the style I want, with the fabric I choose rather then letting the kids help plan.  

That wrapped up Teacher Gifts 2017... pretty quick and easy this year.  

On to summer projects!