Well, it’s that time of year again. Even if you’re not in school anymore, it always feels like the start of a new year…well at least to us. If you have kids in school, or know an educator, it’s a great time to think of them and gift them a little something.

In this post we are going to make a teacher’s gift with a personalized mug using the Cricut with a bouquet of crepe paper mum flower pencils. It’s the perfect little fall touch to say hello and thank you! If you’re new to cutting machines check out this post all about Cricut!

Materials

• Fiskars Die Cutting Companion Tools
• Fiskars Vinyl Alignment Tool 
• Fiskars Fringe Scissors
• Brayer
• Cricut Maker or Cutting Machine
• Cutting Mat
• Permanent or Removable Vinyl
• Transfer Tape
• Mug
• Handful of #2 Pencils
• Crepe Paper
• Floral Tape
• Craft Glue

If you’ve never added vinyl, check out this post explaining everything you need to know!

How To Personalize Mug:

Cut Out The Decal

• Have your cutting machine cut out your vinyl decals.
• Weed away any extra pieces of vinyl.
• Stick transfer tape onto the first vinyl design and press down firmly.
• Gently peel up the transfer tape with the vinyl attached.
• Line up the same transfer tape onto the second piece of vinyl and press down well. Use the scraper tool to help.
• Gently peel up the transfer tape making sure to have both vinyls on it.

Working with two pieces of vinyl might seem stressful, but the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and not rush!

Load the alignment tool

• Place the alignment tool on top of the mug.
• Rotate the adjustment bar into a horizontal position.
• Adjust the arms to the correct size of the decal.
• Weave the decal in between the arms with the adhesive side down.
• Lightly press the decal onto the arms to hold it in place.

Press and unload

• Lower the adjustment bar near a vertical position and adjust a the placement.
• Use the crossbar as a straight reference point.
• Once the decal is in the desired location, press the middle of the decal to the hurricane.
• Carefully lift the entire tool off the hurricane and fully press down the vinyl.
• Pell off the transfer tape leaving the vinyl on the mug.
• Repeat this method if using multiple colors of vinyl.

How To Create Pencil Mum Bouquet:

• Cut crepe into long strips about 1.5” wide.
• Fold the strip into fourths and cut fringe at the bottom. Make sure to not cut all the way through or the strip will fall apart. Repeat this process with different colored crepe paper. You will need at least two strips for each pencil.

• Unfold the strips and begin to wrap them around the top of the pencil. Start with one color then repeat with multiple if desired.
• When wrapping the pencil, use a little bit of craft glue to help secure the crepe paper.

• Carefully wrap floral tape around the bottom of the crepe paper at least five times. This will really help finish the look of the flowers.
• Repeat until you’ve made enough flowers to fill the mug.
• Use a piece of floral foam or add beads into the mug to help keep the pencils upright.

Tip on how to use floral tape: Lightly stretch it out without breaking it. As you place the tape down, rub your fingers on top of it to help release the adhesive. The temperature of your fingers will help! 

This is a great craft to have your kids help out with depending on their age. What we love about this craft too is that it could easily be personalized for someone not in the education field. This would be a wonderful gift for a nurse, boss, grandparent or even for yourself! However you customize it just have fun and enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Watch the full tutorial from our live class we did with Fiskars through Michaels!