Teacher Tote.

I promised a sneak peak with Scrapblocks and by golly I will get one! So my first obstacle was to wait for ink to dry...(i'll explain why I didn't heat set it later). Then after spending a good hour with the write up and explanation I lost my post! Back to square one. Do you ever have one of those days?

Sooooooo what is this Scrapblock™I have been talking about? Well it is only the finest 6x6 chunk of rubber you will ever want to own! Pure genius I tell you. Lisa Strahl has been developing this "concept" for a year and in just 2 short days you will be able to order some too. Lisa's first release will include 5 different Scrapblocks™ : vintage ledger, pin dot, writing paper, perfect plaid, and fine houndstooth. Some of you may have viewed yesterday's video post on the CHF girls blogs or youtube but if not make sure you take a peak:


I decided to use my writing paper Scrapblock™ to make a gift bag for a teacher.
I picked up my little tote bag at Michael's. This is a "plastic" type material that melts VERY easily (this is from a girl who KNOWS what she is talking about). I stamped pigment ink on this bag to allow the vibrant colours to show through. Pigment ink needs heat setting to allow it to show its best colour as well as to dry it quickly...because drying time can be long. My post was delayed today because my ink was still wet AND heat setting gets tricky with these bags. On the plus side you can place a scrap piece of cloth between the bag and the iron and that will do the trick...I didn't have any "scrap" items in the house for that (note to self...buy a cheap cloth or pick one up at a yard sale).



Here are some practical things you could pop into the tote for a k/1 teacher. Whenever I give gifts to teachers and coaches I think about the practicality of it. As a teacher, I have received some very interesting things over the years and while I am grateful for EVERY gift and card I have ever received, what on earth do you do with 12 boxes of chocolate?
Here I put together some useful things for the classroom. It is nice to receive personal things and I do do that too, but since I made more personal thank yous throughout the year for my son's teacher (cards, home decor, GCs) I thought classroom "stuff" would be fun too. In our school district the beginning of the year is great because you get ample staples, paper clips, push pins etc but by the end of the year the "budget" for such items has run out and then you have to go out and buy your own. That is why I included paperclips if you were wondering *lol*. I also included some curriculum since teachers often spend their own money on these types of resources. The one I included is a nice reference book for teaching graphing.



Recipe
Stamp Set(s):
-Writing Paper Scrapblock TM by CHF
-Making the Grade (Kim Hughes Collection) by CHF

Ink
-Black Pigment Ink
-Cranberry by Ranger
-Willow by Ranger
-Pitch Black by Ranger

Cardstock
-Kraft by Prism Paper

Accessories
-Copic Markers (used to colour in my worm as I didn't have the appropriate green pigment ink)
-ABC Ribbon
-Tote (comes in a 3 pack) at Michael's

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday. Where did the weekend go? I'll be back tomorrow with some more Baby Love. Hint: think baby shower.