Happy Owlidays!

Those who have been reading my blog for a while know that I was a teacher before having kids, and therefore have a heart for all of those who work at a school. We like to give a small token of our gratitude to the men and women who teach Annaliese, whether it be all day in the classroom or for a little bit each week in special area.

You probably also know that their school mascot is an owl, so it should come as no surprise that when Embroidery Garden shared this owl post it note holder as a freebie in the yahoo group in November I knew immediately what we were going to give this year!!

(The design is no longer a freebie, but is available for purchase on her website, in two sizes: Owl Post It Holders Set. Reen is very generous with in the hoop freebies each month, be sure to join her yahoo group and like her facebook page!)

Now, did I jump on it and make them right away, or wait until the last possible minute? Sigh.... I guess it doesn't matter really, they would have been delivered on the last day of school either way!

The directions call for one loop of ribbon to hold the pen, but I was inspired by another project (posted on the EG Facebook wall) that used 2 loops of ribbon -- looks like feet sitting on a branch! My goal was to find natural wood pencils, but I ran out of time to track those down.

To streamline the process I merged 2 copies of the design in my 6x10 hoop, and got an assembly line going. I stitched out 10 of them in one day! Ready to go:

And here are two in the hoop ready to be trimmed. There wasn't much space between them, so I had to trim carefully. (Also thankful to report that all 26 loops of orange ribbon stayed in tact, too! Whew!)

This is the front of the completed post-it note holder:

And the back, with two magnetic strips glued on. Man, that E6000 glue has a strong smell, my head ached the rest of the day!!

We were able to personally deliver 11 of the 13, and they were very well received. I love being able to make cute unique things. :)

Recent events make me mindful of how the responsibilities of educators extend far beyond just teaching academics. I find peace knowing that when we drop Annaliese off she is loved and cared for by professionals that keep her safe and happy while she learns. To all of you who have chosen a career in education -- THANK YOU!! May you have a restful holiday break.