gifts

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Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Teacher Appreciation ideas

impatien

Impatient Plant – Plant a simple impantien into a bright colored plastic pot. Tape a card onto a pencil and stick in dirt. Tie a ribbon. Cute and witty.

teacher appreciation gift lanternLantern – We bought a lantern from Target and fill with chocolate covered pretzels.  Attach a card with a reference to the teacher being a “light” in your life.

personalized teacher appreciation gift starbucks Personalized Starbucks treats –  I bought cups from the dollar store and a package of chocolate covered shortbread from costco. I personalized these labels with each teacher’s name from this link. Printed them on sticker paper, cut and attached. Great way to start any day!teacher appreciation tea gift printable  Tea Jar – Fill a canister with tea and then print this label from  www.lifecreated.com

teacher appreciation poem Personalized Heart Poem – I asked my child what they love about their teacher, typed in his reply on this link , and it generates a heart shaped card. Print and give. You can never go wrong with a child’s sweet words.

gift of strawberriesHand Picked strawberries – with a cute tag “I couldn’t have picked a better teacher”(from Dixie Delights).

teacher apprecaition

photo from “Hello from the Natos”

Homemade Cookie Dough – Wrapped adorably in parchment paper, a favorite cookie dough has always been a well received gift. You can write a recipe directly on the parchment or print it out. You can also print the label from Nato’s photo from this link. double-chocolate-chews-l

teacher-munchkinsMunchins – Cute idea from the Happy Home Fairy to bring in Munchkins with note. Click here to print their note.

finished gift bags“Orange you glad it’s summer” Printable – I found the  printable over at Coley’s Corner and you can attach it to pretty much anything. Thanks to them for allowing us to use it.

teacher appreciation gift idea Gift Card – “A teacher can’t survive on apples alone…” – I saw this months ago as a Christmas gift but think it’d be just as cute for a year end gift.

cake pops

Cake Pop Stand – after packaging each cake pop in plastic bags from Michaels, we wrapped a styrofoam rectangle in wrapping paper, stuck them in, and made a sign. Great Grab and Go treat when lots of teachers are involved.

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Personalized Gifts – These ideas are easiest if you have a die cutter machine. Here are some ways we personalized an inexpensive item which are just so much fun to receive.

teacher appreciation ideas

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Monogrammed Rainboots Tutorial

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I am a little obsessed with my Die Cutting machine at the moment. So when I saw these boots on sale, I knew my sister needed them to wear as she cleared out the woods behind her house.

Here’s how I made them:

  • Lay a 12×12 sheet of  Waterproof adhesive vinyl on my cutting mat.
  • Designed initials using “Boys R Crazy” font. Increased the size of the center initial
  • After it was cut, I picked the background vinyl
  • Stick transfer tape on to of name, rubbed it for 10 seconds and then remove backing to vinyl
  • Position transfer tape on boots and stick. Rub vigorously for 30 seconds and then peel
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Photo Coasters

DIY coasters photo tutorialDSC_0425coasters

Photo Coasters are a great inexpensive but personal gift. It is a similar craft to the Patterned Coasters and Hot Plate tutorial. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 4 square bathroom tiles from Home Depot. They are about $.17 each. I like the look of a black tile with photographs, but it’s a preference.
  • mod podge and brush
  • 4 photographs
  • sealant spray 

Cut your photographs into a square just smaller than the size of the tile.  Brush on a layer of mod podge onto each clean tile. Position and then firmly press the photograph where you want it. Make sure it is perfectly flat with no air bubbles. Then apply another layer of mod podge on top of the photograph. Allow an hour to dry before adding another layer of mod podge. Not waiting an hour can cause stickiness and bubbles so try to be patience. Then add a 3rd layer of mod podge. When that is dry, take them outside and spray on a sealant which will protect them from the drink. You can package them cute and you have a great personalized gift.

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Patterned Coasters and Hot Plate tutorial

coastersPatterned Coasters are similar to the Photo Coaster Tutorial except scrapbooking paper is used instead of photographs. We wanted to add pop of color, so I cut up a Lilly Pulitzer shopping bag for paper.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 4 square bathroom tiles from Home Depot. They are about $.17 each. I like the look of a black tile with photographs, but it’s a preference.
  • mod podge and brushIMG_6236
  • scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, or even shopping bags
  • sealant spray 

Cut your paper into a square just smaller than the size of the tile.  Brush on a layer of mod podge onto each clean tile. Position and then firmly press the paper square where you want it. Make sure it is perfectly flat with no air bub

bles. Then apply another layer of mod podge on top of the paper. Allow an hour to dry before adding another layer of mod podge. Not waiting an hour can cause stickiness and bubbles so try to be patience. Then add a 3rd layer of mod podge. When that is dry, take them outside and spray on a sealant which will protect them from the drink. You can package them cute and you have a great personalized gift.

The Hot Plate below is created the same way as the coasters. The only difference is the size of the tile you purchase from Home Depot. This was a bathroom tile for about $.80.
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“My top 65 Memories for your 65th birthday”

IMG_5275IMG_5274What do you get a parent when they have a milestone birthday? My father was turning 65 and nothing seemed right. What gift could possibly communicate how much he means to me? There isn’t one. When I began reminiscing of him in my life, I started laughing and then crying at my memories. So I started writing them down and before you know it, I had 65 of my favorite memories. They ranged from “When you would take us to the grocery store for junk food trips” to “Our fishing trip to the Bahamas”.  I typed them, printed them on a really thick cardstock, and then cut them into stripes. I bought a neat leather and wood box from TJ Maxx and stuck them inside. After his birthday dinner, we went around and took turns reading them. It lasted hours as we reminisced together.