Teacher Gifts x 2

I cannot believe that it is already July 1st.  The end of the school year is always such a whirlwind, and this year the kids didn't get of out school until June 25th, which seems much later than other years.

Having been a teacher and worked with teachers for years, I know how much extra effort they put into their work and the love, care, and guidance they give to our children. This is why I put a lot into the gifts the children give at Christmas and the end of the school year.

Sam is in middle school, so I simply baked the Orange Chocolate Chip cookies for his teachers, put them in plastic containers, stuck a thank you note on top, and delivered them to the teachers' mailboxes.  I didn't want to embarrass him by having him deliver them, but he had a fabulous year, and I wanted to make sure his teachers felt appreciated too.

For Brooke and Vince's teachers, I found two clay flower pots in the Crafting Oasis.  I got the idea from my local Jo-Ann Fabrics which had a display of Pinterest inspired crafts at the front of the store, and one was a pot that had been painted with chalkboard paint.  Perfect for a teacher!  I still have a lot of chalkboard paint left from the Chalkboard Ornaments from Christmas, so I was able to use what we already had. Brooke and Vince picked out mini-roses to go in the pots and then wrote their "sentiment" on the pot.  Brooke's says "I had a great year!" and Vince wrote "I loved being in your class."


For Max's classroom teacher and his band teacher (with whom he shares a birthday) I decided to make cookie tins.  I had made some for Max and Sam's teachers years ago, some for some friends, and had intended to make a few more.  I still had three of the tins in the Oasis.  I gathered the two that were in the best shaped (one some how got dented) and the rest of my supplies:

12 x 12 Red card stock
12 x 12 School themed paper
12 x 12 Music themed paper
Straight trimmer
Circle punch
Assorted Ribbon
Mod Podge
Paint brush

First, cut the red paper in half and then punch a hole in the

corner to accommodate the handle.

Second, paint the tin with the Mod Podge.

Place the two sheets of red card stock around the tin

(You may have to trim about a half an inch off the short ends)

Line up the holes that you punched.

Make sure to apply the Mod Podge thoroughly to where the two papers meet

Next, rip the decorative paper into two four inch strips. (You could cut them straight too, but I like the ripped effect, and on a paper like the "Music Time" it creates it's own border).

Now that your strips are ready, paint over the red card stock with the Mod Podge. Place the decorative strips on the tin, centered so that the red creates a border.  Paint over again with the Mod Podge, smoothing as you go. The Mod Podge creates a shiny look, and almost guarantees that the paper is not going to come unglued from the can.  It also dries clear, so you can see where you are slathering it on as you're working, but then it disappears.  

I wanted to use the chalkboard labels I had, but since the black label wouldn't show up on the black paper, I chose to put the label on the lid for the music teacher. I cut the circle of red paper, used the Mod Podge to adhere it, and then quickly put the label on, smearing the Mod Podge around the the edge of the label with my fingers so that it won't come off, but not so that the chalkboard surface is covered, which would make it useless.

For the classroom teacher, I put the label on the side over the school paper.  

After the tins were all dry, I tied some ribbons to the tops of the handles, and I filled them with cookies.  I hope the teachers enjoyed the cookies, and will get good use out of the tins too. 

Have you given homemade gifts to teachers? I'd love for you to share!