Another Teacher Gift

My personal gift to the teachers were the pens, but I volunteered to help with the class gift to the teachers.  Okay, I didn't just help, I kinda hijacked it!  I have a tendancy to do that, so sorry if I offended anyone.  The original idea was to just cut the frame to include the class photo and "The Teacher's Prayer."  Well, as you can see it transformed into something different, but totally amazing!

I have obscured the names and faces of all but my son for safety reasons.

I had seen somewhere (and I have no idea where) about turning thumbprints into fish.  I have been dying to figure out a time to use it.  I offered the idea up to the room mom and it was greeted with much enthusiasm (I love people that just let me run with my sometimes crazy ideas)!  The room mom helped me thumbprint the kids and wrote all their names on the mat that I had custom cut.  The fish look FABULOUS!

The theme of the class for the year was Beach Buddies, hence the decision to use the fish.  Once all the fish were complete, I thought it was still missing something.  It was just too plain, so I decided to see how well watercolor would take to mat board and turn it into an ocean scene. 

At the bottom, I spatter painted in some sand.  I tried to match as best I could to the name area.  I also needed something to break up all the wording, so I drew a sand dollar.

The teachers loved their gift and I was so excited to be able to help present them with such a wonderful and personal gift.  These teachers are amazing and deserve to feel special because they are loved.  We will miss seeing them around this summer, but I look forward to seeing them next year. 

How to Cut a Mat

If you like to frame your own photos, I am a big advocate for cutting my own mats.  Not only is it WAY cheaper, but you can customize them any way you want.  Double mat, add decorative elements, more than one photos, better color selection, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  This week, I just cut a mat to fit two 4x6 photos in one 8x10 frame.

The first thing I did was dig through my pile of mats and decided on which color I wanted to mat my photos with.

The dark blue looked great!  It matched well with their outfits and helped make my kiddos stand out more.  I pulled out my mat cutter by Logan.

I understand that these can be pricey, but I bought mine at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.  Yup, on a high priced item like this, it has NOT been excluded on the coupons yet.  I think I ended up paying about $60 for mine.  Here is a photo of what it looks like.

Here is a photo of the blades that come with it.  One is for straight cutting, the other for doing your bevel cuts.  It also comes with an instructional video...which I haven't ever watched.

Next I measured the size of the inside of my picture frame, then marked my mat for cutting.

I removed the ruler (the adjustable metal piece) and inserted my mat.  I grabbed my straight cutter and made my first cut.

I made my second cut (always cut from the back of your mat).

Once it was cut to size, I measured out where I wanted my photos and marked all the lines I would cut.

Now here is the hardest part, making the bevel cuts.  You have to understand the angle to make the bevel cuts correctly.  I have messed this one up before (okay, I've done it quite a few times).  So, I suggest making marks to let you know which way you need to place the mat in the cutter to get the bevel angled correctly.  If only doing one photo on a mat, the way I remember is to place the outside edge to the ruler, like shown below.  Also, on the bevel cuts, you need a scrap mat placed underneath to prevent rough looking cuts on the front of your mat.

Do all your cuts and then tape your photos in place with photo safe tape.

Now frame it and hang it.  It's really quite simple and in the long run, a giant money saver.

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