Saturday, December 26, 2009

Mastercard Commercial Quality Gifts




I needed new gift ideas for teachers & friends who had already received my standard glass light block (see previous blog post). So, I came up with these tiles, which I already had in my basement left over from some past projects. I used the Opposites Attract Critcut cartridge to cut the letters for the Girl Scout Tiles. The Girl Scout sayings are part of the Girl Scout Law. The teacher's tile was adapted from a plaque I saw in a store that was actually intended for families. I used the Plantin School catridge to cut my letters and the Locker Talk cartrisge to cut my globe.

A couple of thoughts if you are going to do these projects yourself. The multi-colored tile is unsealed slate. Even though I washed the slate before I added my lettering, I still had difficulty getting the lettering to stick. After laying my letter down, I used modge podge on the whole tile, using a criss-cross motion so that in case any streaking showed, it would look intentional. This sealed both the lettering and my tile. There was some slight show of the modge podge, but the criss cross pattern actually made it look professionally painted.

Need help with sentiments for your tiles? Go shopping! Premade greeting cards, plaques at local hobby stores and home furnishing sections. You can find so much online as well. Then personalize the sentiment in some way. Making something you can't buy anywhere else will make your inexpensive gifts priceless. Isn't that what makes the Mastercard commercials so great??? 1 tile: $.90. Vinyl lettering: $2. Stand: $3.99. A gift made only for them, priceless!

4 comments:

  1. Okay, girl...put me down now for end of the year teacher's gifts (tiles), and next year's teacher Christmas gifts (light boxes). Amazing! I must say the KU light block is AWESOME!

    I will contact you soon to place my order. :)

    Love the blog background, by the way.

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  2. Linds - I learn from THE best!

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  3. Oh my gosh! We have so many tiles my brother-in-law gave us after he re-did his floor. We haven't used them and they are stacked so high under the carport back home. At Christmas, my daughter painted on them just a scrolling design and gave them to her grandparents. But we told them they weren't all weather proof. I didn't even think about Mod-Podge. You are so smart. :)

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  4. Janis: At Home Depot and the like, back in the tile department, they also make a tile $ grout sealer. A bottle goes for about $11, but it will last forever. If you are using vinyl on your tiles, I would think that it would work and seal the whole project from the elements well. Check the sealer though with the paints. I don't know if it would cause the paints to smudge or not. Post back if you try it so we can all learn!!!

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