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To define Teacher Appreciation we can go the good people at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . There we can find one definition for appreciation is the act of recognizing or understanding that something is valuable or important. an ability to understand the worth, quality, or importance of something. One can find many examples backing up this definition by referencing the importance of teaching and teachers in our children’s lives. In a parent’s life what is more valuable than their own kids! So any teacher that has gained the trust of a parent is inherently valuable also.

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Teacher Appreciation

Appreciation is also a feeling of being grateful for something.” This definition is well-represented in the Teacher Appreciation Week sentiments. Many parents online postings share personal stories, expressing gratitude for individual teachers who have influenced their kids lives. Many give thanks for the time and energy put in to their teaching. The gifts given of the teachers to the students by how they teach is incredible. The words thank you mean a lot but to me they just don’t really show my true gratitude for their work in teaching my kids. So every year I try to do a little more to show that teacher appreciation we have in our home. I’m not rich by any means so the additional gift isnt much but it shows how much we care about their sacrifices.

The Thoughtful gift

To give a teacher appreciation gift it requires actually paying attention to your child’s teacher. It means a lot to them when it shows that you took the valuable time to get to know them and what they like.

I live in a small rural town. Big enough for Walmart and Sonic but small enough to see a couple of teenagers ride in to Sonic on their horses and place an order to go. So horses are not a rare sight in town. We have several small to medium size farms and ranches on the outskirts of town.

My son’s teacher lives the country and western life. She also carries that theme in to her classroom and her kids love it. So we needed to do something country and western themed.

Vinyl Appreciation

I really enjoy designing on the computer. In fact I pointed out before that I work for a company called yellowhair buckles We do buckles for rodeo’s, livestock shows, cowboy golf and whatever else you can think of. My job is to design them on the computer before they are cut out. So I love working with heat transfer vinyl also so I can design some shirts for fun and as a little side business. Along with my son we sat down at the computer to design his teacher a custom designed teacher appreciation t-shirt.

Inspiration

Whenever I sit down to design a new shirt I need some inspiration to get my inner creative side working. I go to google and do a search. Type in what you want to search for. Then click on images and next you go to tools. After that click on usage rights and labeled for reuse. Using Google will give you some great ideas tp get those creative juices flowing.

I came across several examples. The one I liked had sort of wanted poster look to it. I added some rope accents to it to tie in that country western look. Now we are getting some where with our design. We have the perfect frame up for our teacher appreciation shirt. The last of our design process was to add a sentiment to the shirt. “Teach Love Inspire” was the saying that we came up with. As you can see by the design it fits well.

Cutting time

If you have read any of my posts you know that I am a Cricut fan and owner. I works well for everything I choose to cut with it. From heat transfer vinyl to faux leather and anything in between. Since we are designing T-shirts. We are working with heat transfer vinyl. The brand I choose to work with is Siser Easy Weed. Its not expensive and is really easy to work with. I have tried other cheaper HTV products. They just don’t match up in my opinion. Before I forget make sure you place your HTV shiny side down and set your machine to a mirror cut.

Once it is all set to cut send it to your cutter. This process can be very quick or take several minutes depending on the complexity of your design. As you can see by my design there was some rope to cut. That extended the cut time for this project but it was well worth it when you see the final product.

Almost done and weeding

Your teacher appreciation gift is almost done. Now is time to weed the project. Once again this can be easy or difficult depending on your design. That rope edging was a little tedious there for a while. It went well with no major mistakes.

Time to press your design

Here are some directions to help you out.

100% cotton, Poly/cotton blends, 100% polyester, Leather.

1. Cut in reverse.

2. Weed excess material.

3. Preheat garment for 2-3 seconds.

4. Apply design at 305°F/150°C.

5. Use medium pressure for 10-15 seconds.

6. Peel carrier hot or cold.

7. Wait 24 hours before first wash.

After all of that you will end up with a professional designed looking T-shirt. The intended owner of the shirt will be very happy with the gift. My son’s teacher was very pleased with it. I would love to see pictures of the shirts you design.