Autism Awareness Necklace

Now that the Easter insanity has come to a close, I can finally show you this easy-to-make and able to be worn with everything necklace to celebrate Autism Awareness month. As some of you might know, I am an Autism Support teacher and hold this cause very near and dear to my heart. Autism now effects 1 in 68 children and there is no cure at this time. Researchers continue to work tirelessly to determine its cause and are getting closer to determining factors. Knowledge is power, folks, and bringing awareness to this cause can only help increase support and understanding of individuals on the Autism spectrum. For more info., feel free to check out this awesome site. Here are the steps to make a necklace of your very own!

Materials:

-chain with closures (mine was about 18")

-puzzle piece charm (Hobby Lobby and Michael's both sell them in their "Charms" sections)

-split ring

-blue, faceted glass bead

-head pin

-wire cutters

-needle-nosed pliers

Instructions:

1. Using needle-nosed pliers, open the split ring and place the puzzle piece charm onto it.

2. Place blue bead onto head pin and cut remainder of the pin about 1" above the bead. Create a loop using needle-nosed pliers

3. Place blue bead onto split ring. Close split ring using pliers.

4. String pendant onto the necklace. If closures are too large, simply open the split ring and close once around necklace.

Together, let's Light it up Blue for Autism Awareness!!!

Autism Awareness Rag Wreath

April brings the promise of Spring...flowers that have waited all year to bloom, children's laughter when it is finally warm enough to play outside, enjoying friends and family at Eastertime, just to name a few. For myself, and for the incredible families and staff members I have the pleasure of working with, it brings awareness to a cause very near and dear to our hearts...Autism Awareness month! As a special education teacher in an Autism Support classroom, I can say with complete confindence that it is, by far, the most challenging job I have ever held. With that being said, I also find it to be the most unbelievably rewarding and fulfilling job a girl could ever ask for, as it creates in me such a sense of pride in the progress my students continue to make, in spite of the obstacles they encounter every minute of every day. Going into teaching, I assumed I would be doing exactly that...teaching; however, I find myself humbled each day in how much these students teach me and will take those life lessons with me into the future.

Here is my first (of a few) projects to celebrate Autism Awareness, along with how to make one of your own...

Materials:

-wire clotheshanger

-puzzle piece fabric (to learn the reason for the puzzle pieces, check this out!) I used about 1/2 a yard in total

-scissors or a rotary cutter and mat

-wooden puzzle pieces (most thrift stores sell them very inexpensively)

-acrylic paints (I used red, yellow, blue, and green to go along with the color scheme)

-black ribbon

-glue gun/glue sticks

Instructions:

1. Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut strips that are 1" in width (typically, once a small cut is made, the fabric can be ripped the remainder of the way)

2. Cut long strips into 4" strips.

3. Bend the wire hanger into a circular shape for the wreath form.

4. Double each strip of fabric and place under the wire hanger (as shown in the picture)

5. Thred the open ends of the strip through the folded end and pull to form a knot (pictured below)

6. Continue to repeat step 5 with 4" strips until the wire hanger is covered

7. Paint 16 wooden puzzle pieces using acrylic paint (I made four of each color)

8. Once the puzzle pieces have dried, use hot glue to place 12 of them around the wreath)

9. Cut ribbon into 2-6" pieces and 1-8" piece. Hot glue one puzzle piece to the end of each 6" ribbon and two pieces at the end of the 8' piece.

Interested in a wreath you can make with your child? Check this out! For more information on Autism, please check out the Autism Speaks website, an incredible resource that I would highly recommend!

Autism Awareness Puzzle Piece Wreath

April is Autism Awareness Month! As an Autism Support teacher, I recognize the dire importance of helping people understand what Autism is and isn't, not only this month, but as often as I possibly can. Did you know that 1 in 88 children are affected with Autism (1 in 54 boys) and that it affects 2 million people in the US alone? Of the $30.86 BILLION dollars allotted to the National Institutes of Health in 2012, only $169 million went directly to research on Autism. Further proof that education and awareness are key!

My students never cease to amaze me on a regular basis, and I am so fortunate to be their teacher. I feel it is our job to speak out for these individuals, particularly for those that cannot do so for themselves!

 To celebrate Autism Awareness month, my students created these puzzle piece wreaths. Autism is represented by puzzle pieces to highlight the puzzle that is the disorder and to honor those working tirelessly to piece things together to determine possible causes, prevention, and methods of treatment.  Here are the steps we took to create these awesome decorations that I will hang proudly in my classroom and home in honor of these incredible individuals.

Materials:

-cardboard ring (ours were 10" in diameter)
-light blue construction paper
-scissors
-glue
-large puzzle pieces
-red, yellow, green, and blue acrylic paint
-paint brush
-hole punch
-blue ribbon-approx. 6"
-Autism Awareness ribbon (we found ours in the craft section of Wal-Mart)-approx. 8"

Instructions:

1. Trace the cardboard ring onto the light blue, construction paper
2. Cut along the traced lines
3. Glue the light blue ring to the cardboard ring so that the cardboard is not seen
4. Paint the non-printed sides of 10 puzzle pieces and let dry
5. Glue puzzle pieces around the ring
6. After the glue is dry, use the hole punch to make a hole at the top of the ring
7. String the blue ribbon through the hole and tie both sides of the string together
8. Loop the Autism awareness ribbon and glue to the bottom center of the ring

Please take a moment to look through this incredible website and share it with others, because the more educated we become, the closer we get to putting this puzzle together!



Hanging proudly in our school's hallway



How To: Scrabble Tile Pendant-Autism Awareness

Autism Awareness Scrabble tile necklace

So, I tend to develop a new, craft-related obsession every few weeks, whether it be a new craft material I’ve discovered or an awesome project I’ve found online (this is the part where I plug www.pinterest.com once again!). This week, my obsession is SCRABBLE TILES!!! Who knew you could do so much with game pieces and some craft materials (which I happen to have a few of)! My first Scrabble tile-related craft is a pendant.

As a teacher of children with Autism, I not only have the privilege of working with some amazing kids, but also with incredibly dedicated, caring, and gifted adults. In my classroom, I have three other women who work with me on a daily basis which (just ask my husband) isn’t always easy. Despite the challenges that our students present, these women handle every situation with positivity, humor, and grace. When it came to figuring out appropriate Christmas gifts to give them, I knew it had to be something appropriate to what we do on a daily basis and made with love.

The fantastic thing about Scrabble tile pendants is that you can virtually use any picture of your choosing as the centerpiece of the jewelry. Since the symbol for Autism Awareness is a multi-colored puzzle piece, my choice of picture was simple.

Here are the instructions to make your own:

Materials

*Square bail plate (sized a little smaller than a Scrabble pendant)

*Scrabble tile

*Picture printed and cut out to fit Scrabble tile

*Modge Podge

*foam paint brush

*necklace chain

Directions

1. Using a very sturdy, craft epoxy (Tacky glue or a hot glue gun simply won’t cut it, folks!), glue the bail plate (I bought mine in a pack of four at Hobby Lobby) to the lettered side of the Scrabble tile. Let dry overnight.



2. Print out an image of your choice to fit the blank side of the Scrabble tile. Note: An average Scrabble tile is 2 cm. x 1 ½ cm, or .75 inch  x .83 inch and cut out.

3. Using your foam brush, brush a layer of Modge Podge onto the blank side of the Scrabble tile.



4. Adhere your picture to the Scrabble tile. Give it a few minutes to dry a bit so that it does not slide all over the pendant for the next part.

5. Paint a heavier but consistent level of Modge Podge over the top of your picture. Let dry and paint on another layer.

6. After the pendant dries, spray an acrylic sealer over the picture-side of the pendant

7. Once the pendant is completely dry, string the necklace chain through the loop at the top of the pendant.



Voila! Easy breezy!!! PS-If you know any of my classroom assistants, mum’s the word until Christmas!