Inexpensive Monogrammed Apple Teacher Gift Idea

Hey, y'all!  Today I have a quick, easy, inexpensive teacher gift idea that would be perfect for Teacher Appreciation Day/Week.  Last week I shared 10 Teacher Gift Ideas from Teachers Themselves, and this gift actually covers two of those ideas.  I'm calling it my Monogrammed Apple Teacher Gift, and it's both a personalized AND useful gift.

  To begin the project, you need hand sanitizer.

 I bought the hand sanitizer I used from the dollar store.  You can get a large bottle for a dollar or three small bottles for a dollar if you want to really stretch your money.

I peeled off the labels from the bottle and used Goo Gone to remove any residue left over.

Then I designed the monogrammed apple using my Silhouette program.  If you need an apple to use, you can download a free file I created {HERE}.  To create my monogram, I used a free monogram app on my phone and then emailed the monogram to myself.  I traced the monogram using my Silhouette program and centered it in the middle of the apple.  (In the screen shot above, I have filled all the pieces of the monogrammed apple with color.  I often do that when I'm going to cut a design with vinyl so that I can quickly decide what colors go well together.)  Group all the pieces together and then size the monogrammed apple to fit the hand sanitizer bottle you're using.

Then ungroup all the shapes.  You can cut each shape one at a time from vinyl, but I like to spread all the pieces out on the carrier sheet so I can cut once.  You can see what I mean below.

After the pieces of the design are cut, it's time to weed the vinyl.

Tip: I don't have a weeding tool, so I often use a straight pin or the end of a craft knife to weed my designs.  Once the pieces are weeded, cut a piece of transfer tape or contact paper the size of the apple.  I used contact paper so that I can see my vinyl as I'm layering it.

Center the apple on the bottle and use contact paper to adhere it to the bottle.

Center the monogram on the apple and adhere it to the bottle.  Then add the stem and leaf.  Note: I used the same piece of contact paper to transfer all the pieces of my design.  Also, I hinged the contact paper when applying the monogram to make sure that I had the vinyl centered before adhering it to the apple.

And that's all there is to creating a cute, inexpensive, personalized teacher gift.  I'm not sure how much the small amount of vinyl I used cost because I didn't do the math, but I would guesstimate this gift costs less than $2 to make.  It's the perfect gift to show a teacher that you care without spending a lot of money.

Related Posts:

 Glittered Dollar Store Stapler

 String Art Apple Chalkboard Frame

Monogram a T-Shirt with Your Silhouette