Teacher Gift: Lanyard with Mini-Tut

Hi friends,
Today is Day 2 of Teacher Gifts and I thought that for today I would share a super quick & easy project I call...
A Teacher's Lanyard
I luuuv lanyards! That's right, I said it. I luv them because I just throw it on & (in my best mob voice) "forget about it" I always know where my keys are. Some people like the coily bracelet thingy, but it bothered me. I talk with my hands so the keys would fling about & whack my hand. I didn't appreciate nicks to my perfect mani & swollen knuckles so the coily thing had to go!

Here's what you'll need:
36-40" of ribbon (depending on the person it's for)
Strong Fabric glue or glue gun (you can also sew this, but I so don't sew!)
Badge ID clips & holders

Ribbon Selection 101
You can use just about any kind of ribbon you'd like. I stress just about because there are some ribbons that just aren't lanyard material. Not sure what kind to use? Here's a little test. Get the ribbon you have in mind. Grab one end with one hand and the other end with the other hand. Now, glide it across the back of your neck. Is there any chafing? Welts? Bleeding? Then that would not be a good choice for your lanyard. Save it for wrapping presents. Good choices would be Twill, Grosgrain, & Satin (aka Sateen, 100% Polyester). You also want to choose ribbon that is 7/8" or smaller. It's a lanyard, not a scarf, OK! Now that you've got your ribbon, we're ready to begin:

Lay out the ribbon (as shown) so that the right side of the ribbon will lay on your neck & the rest will come down flat.


Add some adhesive to one end of the ribbon & lay the other end on top slightly angled.

Most permanent fabric adhesives set in 24 hours. I used my glue gun so it bonds speedy quick.

Now for the badge holder. (Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!) Well, my district disagrees so I'll be adding a badge holder to mine.
I get these at Walmart (in the Office supply section) for $1 something a dozen & the quality is pretty good. They also carry the vertical badges, if that's what you need. I've purchased some from Oriental Trading Co in the past, but they were not good :(

Run the strap through the opening of the badge holder, snap it closed & clip it to your lanyard. The clip hangs on tight!

Get your keys on an O-ring & work it through the lower hole as shown. NOTE: These lanyards are meant to hold your classroom essentials (i.e. keys, ID, a whistle, & a mini-pen.) If you're someone who walks around with a million keys- you must be the custodian or an administrator. Teachers, don't carry every key you've ever owned on your lanyard! I'm here to help :)

To finish it, embellish however you'd like. I just tied a little bow on it. (This also serves to reinforce it.)

Stick a fork in this one- it's DONE! How super easy was that, right?

I'm also working on 2 more. They just need to be dressed up.
Here's one for Breast Cancer Awareness. It reads "Once you choose Hope, anything is possible. -Christopher Reeve"

And one representing for Hello Kitty :) Woo! Woo!
Now for the matching card:
I kept with the ruler theme (same as the lanyard) to create this card. I added the same ribbon to the opposite corners. I cut out a frame in Kiwi Kiss & used the pattern paper underneath it. I stamped "You Rule" on the PP. (Doesn't it look like it's part of the design of the PP?) It just worked out nicely that way!

Finally, Here's how I'm gifting it: in an adorable little Gable Box.
Again I used the same PP & ribbon to tie it all together. I placed the lanyard in a piece of tissue paper & in the box it went!

Actually everything I showed you took me about 15-20 minutes to complete.

There's so much pretty ribbon out there, you can make a personalized, one-of-a-kind, beautiful lanyard for yourself speedy quick! You can add different hardware to attach your keys. I've also made these for friends who were here visiting Disneyland. Instead of a badge, I made a little autograph book & attached a mini-gel pen to it. They bought some pin souvenirs & attached them right onto the lanyard. (Sadly, I didn't take a picture of it :( I literally cranked them out right before they came over! You can make them for any number of reasons.

That's it for Day 2. Two down, 3 to go! Today was simple & easy peasy. Tomorrow I've got one that will help point you in the right direction for a great teacher gift! Hmmm. What could it be?

Thanks so much for peekin' at my projects today. And thanks SOOOO much to those of you who left a comment yesterday! I'm so glad you want to give these a try :) I'm off to spend some time with Dexter--- Gotta Go!