Back to School Teacher Gifts ~ DIY Mason Jar Caddies

So, when Michaels contacted me to create a back to school project, I couldn’t say “Yes!” fast enough.  Back to school and crafting are already two of my favorite things ever.  But throw in a trip to an awesome craft store?  Heaven!!  And when I spotted a stack of gorgeous vintage blue mason jars at my local Michaels store, I knew that I could fill them with goodies, tuck them in a wooden crate for adorable and useful Back to School Teacher Gifts!

Each crate holds four vintage blue mason jars filled with back to school essentials I found at Michaels:  markers, stamps and mini ink pads, small incentives (pencils and eraser pencil toppers) and gummy bears!  The matching plaque can be personalized with a message or a teacher’s name.

Here are the supplies I used for each mason jar caddy:

• Unfinished wooden crate
• 4 blue mason jars & goodies to fill them
• Small wooden plaque
• Wooden dowel
• Acrylic paint & paint brushes
• Honeycomb stencil (for the bee caddy) – found with the scrapbook supplies
• Ribbon
• Scrapbook paper – cut into circles to top each mason jar

I painted the first mason jar caddy to look like a bee hive since your student is so “Glad to BEE in your class”!  I am in love with the honeycomb stencil and the sweet little bee themed scrapbook paper that tops the jars!

I painted the caddy with acrylic paint in a warm gold shade and then stenciled the honeycomb on with a soft cream colored acrylic paint.  I used the same colors and stencil for the matching plaque, too.  I filled each mason jar, topped them with some scrapbook paper and tucked them in the caddy.  After gluing the plaque to the dowel, I added a few ribbons from my stash and tucked it into the caddy as well.  Once we know Kaleb’s teachers’ names, I’ll stencil or stamp the plaque for a personal touch.

Here is a closer look at the bee-utiful details …

The second caddy is painted to look like notebook paper since this year will definitely be “Noteworthy!”

This caddy got a coat of white acrylic paint.  Once that was dry, I hand painted (obviously, ha ha!) blue and red lines reminiscent of classic notebook paper.  The plaque got the same treatment and a few red and blue ribbons from my stash.  I added notebook themed scrapbook paper to the top of the blue mason jars, filled them up and tucked them inside.  Notable details to follow …

And just because I am smitten with these vintage blue mason jars and  might have taken just a few extra pictures, take a peek at the fun finds from Michaels that should bring a smile on the first day of school!  (I mean gummy bears in a vintage blue mason jar?!  LOVE!)

While we’re all a little sad to see the end of Summer, Kaleb is excited to meet his teachers in the next few weeks and deliver these back to school teacher gifts!  Do tell … do you take a little something for your children’s teachers on the first day of school?

Did you know …

• Michaels offers a 15% discount for teachers every day. Find a store associate during your next trip to learn more.
• If you need a large quantity of one back to school item but don’t see enough on the shelves, Michaels offers a bulk ordering program.  That means you can order as many supplies as you need and save up to 20%!
• Don’t forget to download the Michaels app – I love it! – so that you will always have the latest deals and coupons at your fingertips!  I used mine for a coupon the day of my shopping trip – score!!

Disclosure: I was provided a Michaels gift card to purchase the supplies needed for this back to school teacher gift.  The ideas, excessive exclamation points and cheesy puns are allllll mine 🙂

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