Teacher Appreciation Gifts ~ Tutorial

Upcycled Gift Box

Scroll down for step-by-step instructions....

The children and I got creative over the weekend and made some adorable school themed gift boxes.  They are the perfect size for holding small presents or perhaps a few yummy home baked goodies.  We also designed and printed various tags including 'Back to School', 'First Day of School' and 'Top Teacher' versions.

They were very easy to make, simply using the bases of two upcycled fizzy drink bottles.  The little polka dot fabric leaf was free motion embroidered onto a scrap of green felt.  To make it an even more family friendly project, you could draw a leaf shape onto card or paper for a young child to colour.

I am going to put one on the breakfast table for each of the children on the first day back to school in September, filling them with cute rubbers, loom bands and a new memory stick for holding homework. 

Tutorial

Materials

Two empty plastic bottles

Red tissue paper

Red ribbon

Gift tag

Twig

Small scrap of green felt

Small scrap of green material

Twine

Equipment

Scissors or craft knife

Black thread

Sewing machine

Computer for tag (optional)

Glue

Step One

Carefully cut the bottom from two plastic bottles. They often have a line around them which can be followed but a height of anywhere between 4 and 8 centimetres is ideal.

Step Two

Cut or drill a hole in the base of one of the plastic pieces and insert a twig as the apple’s stalk.

Step Three

Cut a leaf shape from the scrap of green material and layer it onto the felt.  Using your sewing machine, stitch around the leaf, adding in veins.  Go over each line twice and aim for a ‘sketchy’ feel to create texture and interest.  Glue the leaf into place next to the stalk.

Step Four

Wrap a little gift in red tissue paper and pop inside the bottom apple piece.

Step Five

Create your apple by placing the two bottle halves together.  Depending on the thickness of the plastic you might be able to gently insert one piece just inside the other.  If your bottles are too rigid for this simply use clear sticky tape to hold the two halves together.  Glue or tie a length of red ribbon over the join.

Step Six

Create a gift tag with suitable wording, ‘Back to School’, ‘First Day at School’ or ‘An Apple for the Teacher’ all work well.  Tie to your gift box with twine or ribbon. 



   
What will you put in yours?