Hall Passes for a Happy Teacher

Happy Saturday!

Today's post is going to be one that has been requested from several people, so I am super excited to share it with you all and I apologize to those who have been waiting for this one!

For months I have been drooling over these cute DIY hall pass boards that I have seen on Pinterest. I always knew I wanted to make my own someday but I didn't really know how to go about it. I'm sure I could have looked at one of those pins and read some nicely written directions, but being the stubborn crafter that I am, I decided to just wing it! I must say my winging-it turned out much better than I expected, so here I am ready to share my secrets with you in hopes that my boards will encourage you to make your own! :) 

Normally I would keep the finished product for the end of the post, but I just can't wait! So below are my hall passes and hall passes that I made for a friend.

[My own]                                                                          [My friends]

First things first, I am most likely going to take the black lettering back off of mine, and choose a thicker font like the one I chose for hers! I did mine first and didn't realize how difficult it would be to read. So, with that being said, stay tuned for a follow-up post if/when I make that adjustment. :)

 Materials needed:

[to make one board and set of passes]

~ 1 unfinished, wooden board [I bought both of these from Michaels for about $7]

~ unfinished, wooden pieces for passes [amount depends on the hall passes that you want]

~ sand paper [to sand down any rough spots on the wood]

~ spray paint, 1 regular can [to coat the board and your passes]

~ a drill [to drill holes in the passes]

~ metal screw-in hooks [to hang your passes]

~ your choice of vinyl, acrylic paint, or stickers for decorating [I used permanent vinyl]

~ ribbon [to tie hall passes and make a loop to hang board, it will be heavy!]

~ clear sealant to seal it all together [I recommend Mod Podge Spray, clear coat in semi-gloss]

Directions:

1. After purchasing your desired wooden slabs for your hall pass board and your hall passes, use sand paper to sand down edges and any rough spots. This will make your hall pass set smooth and will make the spray paint adhere much easier. Make sure you buy UNFINISHED wooden pieces. Michaels, A.C. Moore, and other craft stores will have a wide variety of these. The board costed me about $7.00 and the passes were about $0.75 each. [My passes were thicker than the ones I used for my friend, but either will work just fine!]

2. After sanding the wood, you will want to drill small holes in your hall passes in order to hang them. I drilled holes that are about a quarter of an inch wide [0.25"]

3. Next, find a spot outside in the grass [or a place where you are able to spray paint], lay your pieces down on a piece of cardboard, and spray a nice, even coat of spray paint. Let dry for 30 minutes to be sure that you can flip all of your pieces over and spray those sides as well. Be sure to spray the edges too, not just the tops and bottoms!

4. Once you have finished spray painting both sides, you may want to spray another coat on. Depending on the color you chose, you may  not need another coat. This is up to you but be sure to allow appropriate time to dry in between coats. I used white spray paint and applied two coats over the course of several hours.

5. After your spray paint has dried, it is time to decorate your board and passes! I used my Cricut Explore Air to cut polka dots out of permanent vinyl. I also used my Cricut to cut out the letters and patterns and symbols on the passes. If you do not have a Cricut or similar cutting machine, you can free-hand the designs with acrylic paint or find stickers at your local craft store!

6. Once your passes have been decorated, seal your board and passes with your favorite crafting sealant. I personally love Mod Podge, and for this project I chose to use their Clear Acrylic Sealing Spray in Semi-Gloss. I gave everything a good coating and let it dry for 30 minutes. Afterwards, there was a clear and glossy finish which really made it all come together.

7. Screw in the metal hooks wherever you desire, attach the ribbon to your passes and to your board, and ta-da! You've got yourself an adorable hall passes set! :) 

I chose to have two hall passes for the bathroom, one hall pass for the library, one hall pass for the nurse, and one hall pass that says "other," for things like the office, getting a drink, going to their locker or quickly visiting another teacher. 

My friend chose to have two bathroom passes, one office pass, one nurse pass, and one library pass!

Below are some more pictures of our hall pass sets! The passes I chose for my friends' set are thinner, but still feel sturdy enough to hold up for that long and dangerous trip down the hall and back. ;) Plus, they were only $0.27 each at Michaels! 

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The next project on my to-do list before Kauai is DIY Crate Seating! Stay tuned and have a great holiday weekend. :)

~Ms. Jones