Can you believe school is about to start? I know I talked a little bit about it the other day, but I’m still in denial that summer is over (besides the fact that in-service started this week…). The past few months have flown by, and I can’t believe I’m about to start my third year of teaching in a little over a week. Meet the teacher is next Thursday, and I’m getting excited to meet all my sweet kiddos and welcome in a new year. It’s going to be a crazy year, but I’m ready for it and can’t wait to see my students learn and grow these next 10 months!
I don’t know about you, but I love making crafts as gifts for coworkers, friends and family. Not only does it have a personal touch that I know people appreciate, but you are able to customize your gift to fit the different interests of the person you are giving it to. And with stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels readily available, making DIY gifts and crafts has never been easier!
Today I’m sharing some super fun crafts you (and your kiddos!) can do for back to school teacher gifts. As a teacher, I know I would LOVE to receive any of these gifts, especially the ones involving coffee. ;) All of these crafts can be made for under $20 (except the ones involving essential oils, unless you already have oils at home), and they’re easy enough to do with your kids! Which is your favorite?
DIY Teacher Gifts
Hand Lettered Coffee Mug
Materials:
Coffee mug
Sharpie
Rubbing alcohol/Witch Hazel
1. Clean your coffee mug with rubbing alcohol or witch hazel.
2. Draw your design with the Sharpie. If you mess up, don’t worry! You can “erase” your mistakes with the rubbing alcohol. (It helps if you practice your design on paper first, before writing on the mug)
3. Bake your mug at 250F for two hours to set the Sharpie on the mug.
4. Fill the mug with some candy, coffee or other little trinket and you’re done!
*Handwash ONLY*
DIY Air Freshener
Materials:
Spray bottle
2 cups Distilled water
1 Tbsp Baking soda
10 drops Essential oils
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a spray bottle.
2. My favorite oil combo is
Original recipe from here!
Teacher Survival Kit
Materials:
Paper Mate pens
Gum
Snack bars
Cough drops
Lip balm (get yours here!)
Keurig pods
Aleve
Assemble all the materials in a cute little basket and you’re done! Trust me, coming from a teacher, I’d LOVE to receive a basket full of these goodies.
Check out these other DIY crafts that also make fun teacher gifts!
Tassel Earrings
Homemade Sugar Scrub
Basket Full of Sunshine
Now it’s your turn to talk! Answer one of these questions in the comments below:
Do you like making DIY gifts?
What are your feelings about going back to school?
Those hand-lettered mugs are so cute and make a great gift! I’ve been practicing my hand-lettering this summer so now I want to try making some mugs :)
This is a fantastic idea!!! I loved it!!!! I adored the “keep calm” mug! Wish my handwriting/lettering was as pretty though???? Thanks for sharing this! :) The DIY air freshener is a great idea!
Such cute ideas! I love the mug. Our parents did that for all of us last year and it’s the perfect desk pen holder. The survival kit is so great too!
These are all so cute! That DIY air freshener is a great idea!
These are great ideas! I kinda missed the ‘back to school gift’ thing since my kid is already staring her second week of school, but I think these would work for Christmas or end of the year gifts too, so pinning for later!
Great gift ideas! I love making homemade gifts, but now that I have all three of my girls in school it can be a lot harder to do. I love the idea of the survival kit. I need one of those for myself at home. LOL.
I love these ideas. My mom and I were just talking about gift ideas for teachers. These are fantastic
Such great ideas for teachers!! I love the mugs. :)
These are awesome ideas! I’m pinning these for later (we have a few weeks left of summer vacation!)
When you’re on a budget diy is the way to go. Plus it shows the teachers you have such a warm place for them in a way.