End of Year Teacher Gift

Posted by TheRoomMom

If you are new to TheRoomMom, you may not know about a fixation I have for teacher gift giving. I love putting together small appreciation gifts for my children’s teachers throughout the year. For our end of year teacher gifts, I don’t even pretend to think about new ideas any more. We repeat the scratch off lottery ticket gift that we have been giving to the teachers and staff at our school for the past three years.

The part we do change is the receptacle we use to deliver the lottery ticket. This year we made mini pocket folders with cardstock weight scrapbook paper. They are easy to make, and it was fun choosing the paper and coordinating washi tape.

Mini Pocket Folder Materials

stiff scrapbook paper (5 1/2″ x 12″)
tool to score paper (I have THIS ONE)
double sided tape in an E-Z dispenser, .27″ width (like THIS)
scissors
labels (~2″ x 2″)

Directions

Set the paper in a landscape direction. Using the tool to make score lines on your paper, press a line at 2 3/4″, a line at 6″, and a line at 9 1/4″. Fold the paper in half along the 6″ score line. Open the paper and fold the two outer edges towards the middle. The decorative side of the paper should be on the outside.

Near the top of one flap, trim the corner. Start about one inch from the outer fold at the top of the paper and cut down at an angle to cut a triangle. Take your triangle scrap and flip it over to use as a guide to cut the triangle on the other side of the folder.

Run an adhesive strip at the bottom of the paper on the outer flaps.

Press the flaps down to attach the bottom of the paper together to form the pocket.
Stuff the pocket folder with your materials. We filled with three $1 scratch off lottery tickets, but the pocket folders are a good size for gift cards or even a thoughtful note.
Attach a label on the front cover. I printed Avery 2″ x 4″ labels and cut the sides down to make the labels ~2″ x 2″. You could also print on plain paper, cut apart, and glue to the front of the pocket folder.
Seal the folders closed with a piece of washi tape or a sticker.

To see my other ideas for making lottery ticket– or gift card– holders, CLICK HERE or HERE or HERE.

Teacher Gift Card Boxes

Posted by TheRoomMom

New craft tool + end of the school year = excessive amounts of time designing an end of year teacher gift for the faculty members and staff at our school who work with my children all year. I found THIS VIDEO on YouTube to make small gift boxes using cardstock paper and got busy. First, I needed a new paper cutter tool that also had the option for scoring paper (highly recommend!). Next, I fiddled with the box proportions to come up with a size that would hold a giftcard, or in our case, scratch off lottery tickets. Finally, I spent many hours cutting and folding boxes with coordinating colors and patterns. Time well spent in my opinion– not so much for the rest of my family.

To see more DIY envelope type crafts to hold gift cards for teacher gifts (or any person) click HERE and HERE.

Materials

paper cutter with paper scoring tool as well (I have THIS ONE)
cardstock paper in various colors
double sided tape in an E-Z dispenser, .27″ width (like THIS)
Elmer’s glue
Washi tape or stickers to close flap

Directions

Watch THIS VIDEO to get the hang of folding the boxes and attaching the sides and flap.
Each box with flap needs two pieces of paper. The box paper is 4″ x 8 1/4″. The flap paper is 8 1/2″ x 3 1/4″.
Place the box paper (4″ x 8 1/4″) landscape direction on the paper cutter and score lines at 4″ and 4 3/8″. Turn the paper portrait direction and score at 3/8″ and 3 5/8″.

Place the flap paper (8 1/2″ x 3 1/4″) landscape direction and score lines at 4 1/2″ and 4 7/8″.
Fold along all of the scored lines and using the scoring tool or a dull edge, press the folds to make them crisp.

On the paper that will become the box, cut 3/8″ into the center on the folds that are near the middle of the paper. Then cut a small triangle out of the paper, so you have center flaps that can tuck into the box when you fold up the sides.

Place the box paper flat on your work surface. The side of the paper that will become the outside of the box should be facing up. Run a strip of double sided tape along the edge flap of the bottom half of the box.

Fold the little triangle notches into the center and then fold the box together. Carefully press the non-taped side strip onto the taped side strip to form the box. Put the attached sides of the box on a flat surface and press/rub the scoring tool inside the box along the taped edges to stick the sides together firmly.

Line up the flap along the back of the box. The shorter edge of the flap should come over the top of the box. With a light bead of Elmer’s glue, run a little across the back of the box and attach the flap making sure the edges line up evenly.

Let the glue dry. Fill the box and then close flap with a piece of Washi tape or a sticker.

Notes

The finished box is ~3 1/4″ wide x 4 1/2″ tall x 1/2″ deep. You can make the boxes bigger or smaller by playing with the original paper sizes.
We added a square of cardstock (2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″) to the front of our flap to be able to write a note.

End of Year Teacher Gift

Posted by TheRoomMom

Not too long ago, I found pictures of Gift Holding Cards made with scrapbook paper. I filed the idea away knowing I could do something along the same lines in the near future. Miss Priss and Mr. Star Wars wanted to give scratch off lottery tickets as end of year teacher gifts again (mostly because they know they get to scratch any leftovers), and I have spent three days engineering my own gift holding cards to hold the lottery tickets.

I used scrapbook paper and located all of the various trim, ribbon, sequins, and embellishments I have from American Girl projects. I dug out craft scissors with the decorative edges and my fancy hole punchers. You can really use any kind of decorative materials you have on hand (stamps, stickers…).

Cut two coordinating pieces of paper to 4″ x 6″. Fold one piece over about 2/3 of the way along the 4″ side and press firmly to crease. I first sewed the folded piece and any front trim together along the folded edge before attaching to the back piece. I then stacked the two pieces together, lining up the edges, and sewed around the outside to attach the folded piece of paper to the back leaving the top of the pocket open. If you don’t sew, double sided adhesive roller tape along the edges would work too, but I must tell you, sewing paper is super fun.

We filled our gift pockets with the lottery tickets and slipped a small handwritten note in the front of the pocket. The pockets also fit gift cards. I think they would be a pretty way to deliver a thoughtful note too. The Original Blog Post with the pocket idea had single fancy tea bags in the pocket.