DIY Teacher Gift - Tropical Leaf Clipboard

I think it’s time for another stationery project, but with a tropical vibe. Throughout the school year, there always seems to be a reason to say thank you to teachers. This DIY Teacher Gift is sure to be a modern, handmade addition to her desk. It’s mini too, so your teacher can slip it into her tote! It’s super easy and I promise, it will be well appreciated. Read on for the full tutorial!

*This post contains affiliate links for products that I use and love!

A Little More About Temporary Tattoo Paper:

As you can tell from some of my projects, I use Printable Temporary Tattoo Paper frequently. I thought an introduction to this versatile medium would be useful to you, and will hopefully answer any questions you may have before using it.

You can design and make your own temporary tattoos with Silhouette America’s Temporary Tattoo Paper. The temporary tattoos are perfect for kids’ and adults’ party favors and sporting events. What’s even more of a bonus with this medium is that you can also use it as an image transfer tool to make projects like this DIY Teacher Gift! The temporary tattoos can be applied easily with water to a smooth, hard surface. To preserve the images, you can apply a clear sealant.

Silhouette America makes a variety of temporary tattoo paper options:

Clear
Gold
Silver
White

For today’s project, we will use the clear sheets, because you can print images on the sheets that are provided in the package.

Materials: DIY Teacher Gift – Tropical Leaf Clipboard

Silhouette Studio (there is a free version available for download!)
Printer
Tropical Leaf .png images
Scissors
Temporary Tattoo Paper
Wet towel
Scraper
Mini white clipboard
Optional: Sealant

Instructions:

DIY Teacher Gift – Tropical Leaf Clipboard

Source Your Tropical Leaf Images

You can use Tropical Leaf Images you own or you can purchase images from places like the Silhouette Design Store or Creative Market. As mentioned above, I used these Tropical Leaf .png images from Creative Market.

Download your tropical leaf .png images
Open your tropical images in Silhouette Studio

Prepare Your Leaf Images in the Silhouette Studio Software

Resize your tropical leaf .png images so that they will fit as part of a pattern on your clipboard
Mirror your images (this is so that when they are applied as tattoos to your clipboard, they will appear the correct way)
Replicate your mirrored image throughout the printable area of Silhouette Studio

Print Your Leaf Pattern on Temporary Tattoo Paper

Load your white temporary tattoo paper into your printer, making sure that your leaf pattern will print on the glossy side. I recommend using the highest quality or photo paper settings
Send to print
Let the ink dry

Prepare Your DIY Leaf Temporary Tattoos

Apply the clear adhesive sheet (with the green backing) to the top of the tattoo paper sheet you just printed with your leaf images
Use the scraper to smooth out any bubbles and rub the adhesive sheet to the tropical leaf images

Cut Out and Apply Your DIY Temporary Tattoos To The Clipboard

Cut very closely around each image with your scissors
Remove the clear adhesive paper for the first cut image
Apply the tattoo face down on to your clipboard and cover with a wet cloth or sponge for 10-15 seconds until the white paper backing slides off easily
Repeat the process for each tropical leaf, making a pattern with each tattooed leaf image
Optional: After all the tropical leaf tattoos have been applied, you can apply a clear sealant to the clipboard to protect the temporary tattoos

And that’s it! Now you have a lovely DIY Teacher Gift that your teacher will love to add to her stationery collection and stay orrganized. Tell me in the comments below, how did you design your tropical leaf pattern?