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 🙂
This post may be shared at these link parties …
Jessica @ Mom 4 Real says
I absolutely adore these, Keri! Too cute!!!
Hannah says
what is the plaque thing for?
Keri says
Hi Hannah – Once I know my son’s teachers’ names, I’ll stamp/stencil their names. You could also add a cute little phrase like, “So glad to BEE in your class” or something similar. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Wendy Hogue says
I absolutely LOVE these! Awesome!!
Vanessa says
What a sweet idea, I never would have thought to paint the front of those crates like paper!
The Partiologist says
Any teacher would be thrilled to have these!
Suzie says
Wow…. You did a fantastic job. I love the “notebook paper” tote! What a lucky teacher to get these awesome back to school treats!
Stopping by today from Dorothy Sue and Millie B’s too.
Suzie
Kim: Too Much Time says
This is KRAZY creative! I adore this project and your teachers will be so excited to receive such lovely and thoughtful gifts! Awesome job:)
Kim
Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family says
What a fun idea! It’s so cute, and I know the teachers will love them!
Jennifer says
Happy Friday! My Friday Flash Blog linky party is live @ The Jenny Evolution – a flash mob of blogs where you share your favorite posts of the week. Hope to see you there — you may just get highlighted next week!
Jennifer
malia says
These have that special Keri touch! Awesome projects as always. What was the brand of that honeycomb stencil? I LOVE it!
Keri says
Malia – it was a Heidi Swapp stencil – now I want to honeycomb stencil everything, ha ha! Thanks for stopping by!
Allison @ The Golden Sycamore says
So, so cute! What adorable gifts! You did a great job!
Nichi - The Mandatory Mooch says
What a fun project idea, Keri!! I would love for you to link up to my Tasty Thursdays party going on right now.
Thanks, Nichi – The Mandatory Mooch
Krista @ the happy housie says
These are sooo cute! I love the lined paper one especially – how amazingly creative are you? So impressed! As a teacher, I would be over the moon to get such a cute gift!
Shannah @ Just Us Four says
Oh my gosh, what a fantastic idea! I am definitely pinning this and will be featuring it on my Facebook page tomorrow. It would be perfect for back to school which {thankfully} I still have some time to prepare for because we don’t start until September.
Ashley says
I love this project! I would love it if you would come and link this up at my link party
Dandelion Wishes Wednesday I’m also pinning this 🙂