Don’t you just love the Target Dollar Spot? When it comes to finding inexpensive goodies, it is one of my favorite places to meander. Recently during a visit, I found some wonderful Back to School stuff that could be used as DIY and craft items. Each year, my daughter likes to give a gift to her new teacher, and I like to hand out a few goodies to the neighborhood children and kids in the family who are heading back to school. So when I came across these fabulous items in the Target Dollar Spot, I knew they would be perfect for me to work some quick magic with.
As a #MamaMogul, I don’t have a lot of time to do time intensive crafts. But I also like to do creative things with my daughter that allow us to both bond while doing it ourselves—so when it comes to quick and easy crafts, I’ve sorta kinda become a pro.
With the items that I found at Target, I was able to come up with 2 easy back to school DIY gift ideas that could work for teachers and students. One is a simple Back to School Pail with supplies and such, and a Back to School Goodie bag with of course—goodies.
Here’s what you will need:
- Miniature pails
- Chalkboard labels
- Pencil bags
- Craft tags
- Chalkboard Ink Pen
Then you need things to stuff the pail and bags with. Suggestions are:
- Pencils
- Pens
- Small hand sanitizer (teachers love those)
- Post-it notes
- Erasers
- Markers
- Highlighters
- Glue Sticks
- Starbucks gift card(s) — for teachers
- Whistle — for teachers
Start by having your kids write their teacher’s name on the label with the chalkboard pen, then affix it to the pail. When that is done, have your child decide what items they want to add in the pail for the teacher, then fill.
The pail is something the teacher can use all year long as a catch-all or to spiffy up their desk. And for younger kids, writing their teacher’s name is good practice for the upcoming school year, so there’s an educational component to the DIY as well.
For your child’s gift, you can pretty much do the same thing, but add the items to these cute pencil bags.
For a little pizazz, you can affix a tag with their name on it to the bag by simply punching a hole in the bag at the top. Then add some of their favorite (and fun) items that are school approved. I made a bunch to give to my daughter’s friends which include a few neighborhood kids, and they were excited to get them (or at least, they made me feel that they were—LOL).
The bags, labels and tags were $1 and the pail was $2 each.
And there you have it. Some quick and easy back to school DIY gift ideas for your child and their teacher.
Looking for more Back to School goodness? Check out my 2015 Back to School Guide.
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