Hi there, TT&J Readers! I’m Amy, aka One Artsy Mama, and I am beyond thrilled {and a little nervous too!} to be here today to share a Teacher Appreciation gift idea with you!
My “Little Crafter” will be 5 years old this August and is looking forward to staring school in the fall. Right now, though, he has some very special teachers in his life who work with him every week in his Little Dragons karate program!
Although they’re not traditional classroom teachers, they put a lot of time and effort into what they do. Training children ages 4 and up, they teach not just kicks and punches, but self-control and character too. I thought that it was only appropriate to come up with a little gift for them during Teacher Appreciation Week to show them that we truly do appreciate all their hard work.
What does a teacher want? I polled the peanut gallery {ie: my One Artsy Mama Facebook community} and asked readers who are or have been teachers what their favorite gifts are to receive. Almost half of the those who commented said they love receiving gift cards, particularly to coffee shops, restaurants, and bookstores {and/or cash!}. About a quarter of those surveyed also talked about their fondness for handmade and/or personal gifts. Apparently, if you want to make a teacher really happy, give him or her a gift card to a favorite place, accompanied by something handmade. So, that’s just what I decided to do!
“THANKS A LATTE” TEACHER GIFT
Materials I Used:
Gift Card Holder:
– Cardstock {white and brown}
– 1 3/4″ Circle punch
– Silhouette Cameo, cutting mat, and software
First, I purchased and downloaded the coffee cup gift card set from the Silhouette online store. Then, I cut out the pieces using my Cameo. I cut everything except for the coffee cup sleeve out of white; for the sleeve I used a light brown. I printed out the Starbucks logo onto a piece of white cardstock, punched it out with a 1 3/4″ circle punch, and glued it to the brown sleeve. Then it was time to glue all the pieces together.
I inserted the Starbucks gift card I had purchased, then wrote a little note inside. You could also pre-print or stamp words, but I like the handwritten touch.
The last step was to add a crochet coffee cozy I made! Since the gift card holder is a little smaller than an actual cup, the cozy is a little big for it, but all you have to do is fold it over in the back and secure with some cute washi tape or a little safety pin.
To make a cozy like mine, you can follow this simple pattern I created. All you need is yarn, a crochet hook {size J}, a button, a needle, and thread. If you’ve never crocheted before, I recently started a “Crochet 101” series to walk beginners through the basic steps, from knotting the yarn to the chain stitch, the single crochet, and more. I also have it available for download as a free e-book! Why not give it a try; crocheting is easier than you think!
What if I don’t have a Silhouette?
If you don’t happen to have a Silhouette Cameo/Portrait or other cutting machine, don’t worry, you can still adapt this idea for your favorite teachers! Next time you’re in Starbucks, just request an empty cup and lid {to go along with the full one you’ll be ordering}! When you get home, put the gift card inside the empty cup, and place the cozy on the outside. Just for fun, if you happen to know a little about the teacher’s coffee habits, you can mark up the cup to show what beverage they might order.
So, there you have it, friends! A simple idea you can adapt to make just about any teacher really happy this Teacher Appreciation Week!
Thanks so much for letting me share with you today, and a huge thanks to Jen for the honor of posting here! And, of course, a shout-out to all the teachers out there; thank you for all the time, energy, hard work, and love you put into your job each and every day for the sake of your students. We appreciate you!
Hugs & Glitter,
What a fun project Amy! I love that you crocheted the coffee cozy!
Here are a few other projects I love from One Artsy Mama:
Crazy Coasters – a fun gift idea!
Handstamped Ring Tutorial – such a great gift idea!
Be sure to head over to One Artsy Mama for more fun ideas!!
Have a Happy Day!
xoxo
Heƴ very nice blog!
What’s Going down i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It positively helpful and
it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & assist different customers like its helped me.
Great job.
So appreciate you discussing this! I am doing one for all the workplace employees at my daughters’ university. THANKS!!!!
A motivating discussion is definitely worth
comment. I do think that you need to publish
more about this subject, it may not be a taboo subject but usually people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Kind regards!!
Such an adorable teacher gift! I love Amy’s crafts and her blog!
Aww, thank you so much, Kelly! Love you right back!
Fantastic ideas, can’t wait to try them.
Great Idea’s:)
Really cute idea!! It’s so important to support our teachers!!
I love this!! I can think of a several teachers that this would be the perfect end of year gift for!! Thanks for sharing with us all.:)
Funny idea ! We also came up with a new way imaginative gift for friend or actually can be someone you dislike. Call Prank Them ! see a service we set up here http://www.fixxi.net/funny-services/prank-call-a-friend
Great gift ideas. Gift cards are just so simple too
Great ideas, Amy! The coffee cozy is so adorable – I’d be thrilled to receive this!
Thanks so much, Tara!!
I love this idea. I’m sure any teacher would love to receive this.
Thanks for the awesome post.
This is adorable! Thanks for sharing your idea! Off to download the Silhouette cut file and make one.
I LOVE all these projects! Thanks for having Amy here! 😀
Love this!! It’s so cute!!
Love this idea! And the button on that cozy is perfect!
What a nice idea!!
Awesome gift idea Amy! I love the crocheted cozy and the cut-out Starbucks cup. This is definitely something I could put together. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful tutorial!
Such a fun idea for a teacher gift! LOVE this Amy 🙂
SO cute!! Love this idea!
Omgosh, I love this idea. Super cute and creative!
Stephanie
Thanks so much for having me on the blog today!!