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Simple Teacher Gift Basket Ideas: $3 DIY Valentine Gifts For Your Favorite Teachers

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By Candida Jagger

crafts for kids,teacher gifts,Valentine's Day crafts

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Teachers Valentines Gifts

This DIY Valentine gift candy basket for teachers also works as a desk pencil holder once all the candy is gone.

It seems like we just finished Christmas and Valentine’s Day is already fast approaching!

I wanted to think of fun (and useful!) DIY Valentine gifts for all the teachers in my son’s Parents Day Out program.

I saw a clever crayon idea on Pinterest and decided to add my own little spin to create a Valentine’s gift candy basket for teachers… which also works as a desk pencil holder once all the candy is gone!

I needed to create 10 (because my son has a lot of teachers) — so I gave myself a budget of $30, which worked out to $3 per teacher gift basket.

These DIY teacher Valentine gifts were fun and easy to make!

Here’s how I did it…

These DIY teachers Valentines gifts were fun and easy to make!

Materials Needed

These are the supplies I used to create 10 DIY teachers Valentines gifts:

Assorted Valentine candy from the dollar store that I used for these handmade teachers Valentines gifts.

How To Make Simple DIY Teacher Valentine Gifts

First, I went to the Dollar Tree store — so I could stay within my $30 budget to make 10 DIY teacher Valentine gifts. Dollar stores are great places to get inspiration for any special occasion. With everything $1 or less, it’s the only store where you know exactly what everything costs!

I also included some pencil erasers in red and pink colors from the dollar store for these handmade teachers Valentines gifts.
DIY Teachers Valentines Gifts - Each teacher gift basket includes one little dinosaur that's attached to a dinosaur-themed Valentine message from my son.
These are the pencils I chose for our handmade Valentine gift baskets to give my son's teachers.

Once I had all of my supplies and was ready to work on the project, I plugged in the glue gun to get the glue hot.

These are the steps I used to create each teacher gift basket, one at a time:

STEP #1 – I started by dividing up the candy into 10 wire mesh pencil holders. Then, I emptied the candy out of one of the pencil holders into a separate dish — so I could start the process of gluing the crayons.

These wire mesh pencil holders held all of the candy and pencils together for our DIY teacher Valentine gift baskets.
Each DIY teacher gift basket cost us to make -- what a "sweet" teacher gift idea from a small child!

STEP #2 – I organized 28 crayons from dark to light in a hue sequence — in the order to be placed around the perimeter of the wire mesh pencil holder.

This is how I arranged the crayons (from dark to light colors) that I glued along the outside of the mesh pencil holder.

STEP #3 – I started with my first crayon in the order line-up (according to hue) and added glue to the back seam — so the crayon logo would be visible. I held the crayon in place until it set securely onto the metal mesh.

I used a glue gun to adhere the crayons (in color of hue -- from light to dark) onto the mesh pencil holders.
As you can see, the glue gun works quite nicely with these DIY teacher gift baskets.

TIP: The easiest way to secure the wire mesh pencil holder on its side is by using a couple rolls of modeling clay underneath. The clay keeps the pencil holder from rolling while you’re gluing the crayons in place!

STEP #4 – Then, I moved on to the next crayon — adding glue to the back, and lining up the crayon base with the bottom metal base ring again. This time, I used a nickel as a spacer between the top of the 2 crayons (as seen in photo) — because the wire mesh pencil holder is wider at the top and not a true cylinder shape. A nickel is the perfect spacer!

I used a penny to create the same approximate gap of spacing between each crayon.

TIP: It’s important to not place the crayons too tightly to each other at the base — or there will be too much of a gap once you get to the 28th crayon. (The gap won’t be big enough for a 29th crayon.) I used a penny to create the same approximate gap of spacing between each crayon.

STEP #5 – As I added crayons, I continued to rotate the curved top of the pencil holder and adjust the modeling clay — to continue holding it in place.

As I added crayons, I continued to rotate the curved top of the pencil holder and adjust the modeling clay -- to continue holding it in place.

STEP #6 – I kept repeating the process of rotating, spacing, and gluing until all 28 crayons covered the perimeter of the wire mesh pencil holder.

I made sure to line up the bottom of each crayon with the bottom metal base ring of the pencil holder.

TIP: You can see that I lined up the bottom of each crayon with the bottom metal base ring of the pencil holder, following the grid lines up — as seen here.

STEP #7 – Then, I re-filled the completed crayon/pencil holder basket with the Valentine’s candy.

Then I put the Valentines candy into the finished crayon-covered pencil holder basket.
My toddler son helped me fill each basket with candy for his teachers.

STEP #8 – I placed the crayon-covered pencil holder filled with the Valentine treats into a clear cellophane loot bag.

I used "loot bags" to make it look more like a "gift basket".
These little gift baskets cost to make, but the smiles on the teachers faces were priceless!

STEP #9 – I cut a length of Valentine ribbon and tied a bow — leaving a small hole for the pencil to be placed.

For these DIY teacher Valentine gift baskets, I cut a length of Valentine-themed ribbon.
When I tied the bow for these handmade teacher gifts, I left a small hole for the pencil to be placed.

STEP #10 – Next, I inserted the eraser end of the pencil into the loop which holds the dinosaur in place on the dinosaur Valentine card — and placed the heart-shaped eraser tip onto the eraser end of the pencil.

For these DIY teacher gifts, I placed the heart-shaped eraser tip onto the eraser end of the pencil.

STEP #11 – Finally, I inserted the pencil into the finished teacher gift basket via the small hole at the ribbon knot — leaving the Dino Valentine card and heart eraser exposed.

Finally, I inserted the pencil into the finished teacher gift basket via the small hole at the ribbon knot.
When I put the finishing touches on each of these teacher Valentine gift baskets, I made sure to leave the Dino Valentine card and heart eraser exposed.

The Bottom Line…

I love how these DIY teacher Valentine gifts turned out!

Each teacher gift basket includes 1 little dinosaur that’s attached to a dinosaur-themed Valentine message — which I think adds a cute, boy touch and worked out perfect as a gift coming from my son.

Each teacher gift basket includes 1 little dinosaur that's attached to a dinosaur-themed Valentine message.

I think these DIY Valentine gifts would be super cute for anyone with a desk job — if the gift is intended to come from a kid.

I like that Valentine’s Day is another chance to tell the special people in our lives how much we appreciate them.

I used to loathe the constant commercialism and bombardment of all the holidays. But now that I’m older with an almost 2-year-old son, I can start to appreciate the purpose of these celebrations again.

It seems to me that life has become one big hurry. I mean… we’ve already returned back to the reality of our everyday lives with the blur of the Christmas whirlwind behind us and the fresh start of the New Year.

But I like that Valentine’s Day is another chance to tell the special people in our lives how much we appreciate them — or at least that we spent some time thinking about them with a thoughtful gesture.

Since my son has started a Parents Day Out program (one day a week), I get a few hours of toddler-free time to do whatever my little heart desires. And it’s important for me to let his teachers know how much I appreciate them for taking such good care of my son.

I hope you enjoyed this handmade teacher gift basket tutorial. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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