teacher appreciation gifts

TURN YOUR KID’S ARTWORK INTO ART

A perfect art project for Teacher’s Appreciation Day or Mother’s Day. By simply taping the edges of fold-over notes, it creates a clean border for the chaos within. Then write your sweet note inside and send! Or make a few and bundle them together with twine and give as custom stationery. Step-by-step tutorial below.
WHAT YOU NEED:
acrylic or oil paints
paint brushes
masking tape or painters tape
foldover notes or cardstock
willing children
STEP 1:
Line up all notecards so that the sides are touching
STEP 2: 
Put one piece of tape down in between two cards just to save yourself time and supplies. Tape ALL edges down so that you have a tape border around each card.
STEP 3:
Have your kids fill each card with paint edge to edge. I like to choose the paint colors myself so that they turn out sort of nice no matter what! Start with warm tones, then cool, then have them finish with a clean skinny brush for a metallic paint. 
STEP 4:
Carefully peel off the tape and voila! A nice clean boarder that looks pretty enough to gift!
xo

TEACHER OF WILD ONES (FREE PRINTABLE)

Show your kiddo’s teacher some love with this free printable coffee mug! And throw in a gift card to Starbucks… because that’s what they really want! This is perfect for my preschool-aged kids. Trust me, they really are wild ones.
Scroll down for the link to download and to purchase the coffee mugs.
Simply print out the free download on cardstock, cut along the lines, and insert into the inner layer of the coffee mug (it just screws off really easily). It would be fun to have glitter or confetti in there too. Or you have your kiddo color the paper or put a photo in there… the options are endless.
For another free printable for teachers, click HERE!
Treat yo teachers!
xo

PARTY IN AN ENVELOPE

It was my boys’ last day of preschool today! It’s actually a year-round school, but it was their last day with their current teachers who have loved and cared for them like they were family. I think it’s always the most meaningful to write a handwritten note, but to step it up a notch, I added a little handmade banner and confetti to let them know they were THE BEST! My sister and I have this thing with “the best”. It’s the best donut, it’s the best movie, it’s the best book… we tend to think a lot of things are “the best”, and these teachers really were the best!!
You could totally use this idea for any occasion by switching up the saying on the banner. How cute would it be to get a “congrats” or “happy birthday” party in an envelope?! I’d for sure go [delightfully] inappropriate when sending it to some of my friends… but we’ll keep the blog PG.
Here’s what you need:
Pencil
Paper scraps
Scissors
String
Hole punch
2 pieces of washi tape
Time: 20 minutes
You can freehand cutting the letters or trace them out with pencil. I actually have a cutting machine but wanted it to look more homemade. I made the letters about 2 inches tall.
Using the scraps from cutting out the letters simply cut little squares to make confetti.
Punch holes through the top of the letters and string.
 Tape one end of the string to a piece of cardstock and wrap the letters around it, securing the other end with tape when finished.
Fill envelope with confetti (and add a handwritten note)!
Voila! You’ve made the tiniest party in an envelope! 
We’d love to see what you come up with! Tag us on instagram @loveandlion so we can see!
-L

TEACHER’S TOTE BAG – FREE DOWNLOAD

For teacher appreciation week I made Ari’s teachers these cheeky tote bags, and wanted to share with you! Every teacher needs a tote right? And they certainly need to know how much they are appreciated. You can fill your teacher’s tote with flowers, school supplies, or simply a handwritten note to tell them how much of a difference they have made in your child’s life. I know Ari’s teachers have a LOT to deal with! Oh the potty training years are fun, aren’t they? 
Scroll down for instructions and download.
“You’re TOTES the best teacher ever” Totes. It’s a tote. (Get it, Dad?)
Stuff you need:
Canvas tote bag (craft store)
Iron transfer paper
Iron
Scissors
1. Download the apple image HERE
2. Print image, following instructions given with your transfer paper pack
3. CUT carefully around image
4. Place image FACE DOWN and follow ironing instructions in your transfer paper pack
5. Wait until image is completely cool before carefully peeling off
For the GIFT TAG, download HERE.
For more teacher gift ideas see THIS POST.
Happy teacher appreciation week!
-L

TEACHER GIFTS ROUNDUP

Teacher appreciation day is coming up, and we know a lot of you busy mamas have been asking for some easy gift ideas. Let’s treat the (very patient) people who take care of our kids, feed them, change them, clean them, teach them, love them… and they’re not even their own kids! Who does that? Not these ladies right here. No thank you.
Here are some of our fav DIY/free printable gifts plus more on our Pinterest board HERE
Click numbers for links: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8
See more HERE
Remember A+ for effort, right?