Back to school, teacher appreciation week, end of school and all the days in between, we're always looking for Teacher Gift ideas of things to show our gratitude for those that teach our children.
I rarely think of clever school themed crafts or gift ideas, but I love to have the kids make cards and pictures they can give to their teacher. So today I'm sharing my own version of a wall art design I created as a teacher gift that you can make too. This is a fun Cricut craft you can make yourself or with the kids.
The message on this piece reads:
It Takes a Big Heart to help shape Little Minds
~author unknown
Make your own teacher gift – It Takes a Big Heart wall art
This art piece was originally created with multiple layers of cardstock and chip board so the cut art is raised off the surface of the background. You could make the piece with just a single layer of red cardstock for a more traditional, flat, wall art project. I love the dimension so I used a bunch of cardstock in my version.
Materials you need:
- Cricut Explore
- It Takes a Big Heart Art by Jen Goode
- Red cardstock
- White cardstock
- Chipboard
- Mod Podge and a paint brush
Note: I cut the full design at approximately 6″ wide by 7″ tall to fit into a frame with an opening of about 8×8″. You can go a little smaller, but be careful not to make it so small that the words are then difficult to read (or weed excess paper).
I used parchment paper to protect my work surface.
Instructions
- Follow the instructions for in the Cricut Design Space for this It Takes a Big Heart art to create the cut pieces.
- Layer all the cut design pieces, applying Mod Podge between each layer. To ensure a good solid art piece, place a heavy book or other item on top of the entire cut out stack (make sure you don't have Mod Podge on the top layer). Allow to dry.
- Coat the entire piece with Mod Podge. Again, allow to dry.
- Add art to a background piece of cardstock and then place in a frame. You might need a shadow box style frame if the art is too thick for a standard frame.
- Enjoy!
Visit Cricut Design Space and make this Big Heart Teacher Gift project NOW!
MORE IDEAS
You can use this same cutting file to make a card, gift tags and even iron-on art. I'll show you more ideas later. There are 4 coordinating shapes included in this cutting file – that's a lot of fun you can make with your Cricut for teacher appreciation. Get started, head over to the Cricut Design Space and make your own teacher gift in no time using the It Takes a Big Heart teacher gift design.
MORE Projects you can make for School
Love this! My daughter is a English Teacher & I am going to purchase this & make it for her!
SO cute! I would love to make this for my son’s teachers. I don’t see anywhere the sizes it was cut at. When you pull it into design space, it is super tiny, like 2 inches, so I was just curious what size to cut at and what size frame you used.
Thank you and great question! I cut the full design at approximately 6″ wide by 7″ tall to fit into a frame with an opening of about 8×8″. You can go a little smaller, but be careful not to make it so small that the words are then difficult to read (or weed excess paper). — I just updated the tutorial with this same comment so that others will know too. If you click on the link to the project in Design Space and then “customize”, it should open up a window to a canvas within Design Space with the sizing already set. Let me know how that goes!
Would you be willing to make them and sell them for those who do not own the cricut?
Absolutely! That’s a great idea. I haven’t looked into pricing… I wonder what someone would think is a fair price for a gift item like this.
Awesome! Let me know how much you are willing to sell it for.
You should make an etsy account and sell them on there.
Did you decide to sell? Would love to buy one. Let me know. email me at sspears@goshen1.org. Would love to buy one for a Christmas gift for my wonderful para.
Oh this is a great idea! So, you would like a ready made version of this that you can purchase… already created?
this will be my first project with the cricut explore. I am super excited to see how mine comes out. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to hear how you are doing with your new Cricut Explore! I’m excited you are jumping into that creative fun!
Looks great. Much better than it being flat.
Thank you!
Can this be cut with any other Cricut?
I’m Sorry Diana, this cut file is only available through the Cricut Design Space. Only the Explore can access my submitted images right now.
Love the layered pieces to create greater dimension!