teacher appreciation--finger print note cards

As a Teacher Appreciation Week gift for Maddy and Owen's teachers this year, I wanted to do something that would be easy (okay, and quick) for us to create, useful for them, but that wouldn't break the bank.

Note cards, note cards, note cards. Note cards!

Embellished with thumbprint animals, a shiny bow, and a little love, these ended up being pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

• Thumbprint Note Cards: I didn't even buy blank note cards to do these; I know those sets are crazy expensive, and I wanted this gift to stretch a bit further.
  

Instead, I cut cardstock into halves and folded each sheet to make two cards per page. With a big box of invitation-sized envelopes, our blank note cards were ready.

thumbprint cards waiting for some life. . .

Next, I grabbed Maddy's tiny fingers and started stamping. We used blue and red ink from one of our Melissa & Doug sets, and I followed one of our favorite books to determine where to put her teeny prints. (These awesome, awesome mini-Klutz books on drawing thumbprint animals and drawing thumbprint things arrived in Christmas stockings this year, and they've proven to be a big hit. Maddy and Owen absolutely love them, and so do I!)


She picked a few animals--elephants, fish, ladybugs, pigs--and we ran with them. Once the ink dried, I threw on faces, legs, noses, and antennae, and we were finished.

I cut a tiny rectangle and stamped 'to' and 'love' and Maddy and Owen signed them in the morning.

With a little shiny bow, they turned out super-cute, and I'm hoping the teachers can use them for something. I seriously don't think they could be any more adorable. Kiddos' teeny-tiny finger prints made into animals? What a riot!

Again, we're in under the wire but such is life with Mother's Day approaching, with three kids, with a puppy, and with life in general.

Next year, I'll plan a little bit better. I hope.

fyi: I say this all of the time, but one of my most faaaavorite magazines in the world featured these thumbprint cards in their May 2010 issue and initially planted the note card-seed in my brain. Thanks, Family Fun, for once again inspiring me. (And no, I don't work for them but still wish I did. . . )

Happy note card crafting!