Over the years I have done appreciation gifts for groups of all sizes. From a crafting group of 5 to Sunday School leaders in children's ministry numbering over 100. The projects you pick are often determined by how many of them you need to make. Here are some ideas to get those creative juices flowing...
Desk Set/Journal Set
Brown cover notebook from Target - stamped with SU Little Pieces
Pen from Dollar Tree - take off the end and insert stamped paper around ink stick
Paper weight from Oriental Trading Company - stamped with SU Big Pieces
Get Well Bucket
Bug catcher container and net from Dollar Tree
Ladybug made from circle punches and wiggly eyes.
Filled with: tissues, tea, pain reliever, soup packet and small word search book from Dollar Tree.
Clipboard, Cards and Paperweight
Card is layered strips of scrapbooking paper.
Clipboard is from Dollar Tree with scrapbooking paper adhered with a Xyron
Pen (on clipboard) has matching paper wrapped around ink stick.
Paperweight from Oriental Trading Company has coordinating rubber stamp, stamped and
colored, and attached to the paperweight by running through a Xyron face down.
Chocolate "Lollypops"
Simply melt colored chocolates and pour in to candy molds and add sticks.
If presenting to individuals, you would want to cover them with small baggies or plastic and tie with ribbons.
I Spy Bottle
For this Disney theme bottle I purchased "Jibbitz" (decorations you plug into Croc type shoes) from ebay.
I scanned and printed 2 copies of each Jibbitz that I put into the bottle. Each image was punched out with a circle punch and glued back to back with matching image using a Xyron.
Short pieces of ribbon were attached to the punched images with a brad.
Images were then threaded on to a large key ring from an office supply store.
Using 2 of each Jibbitz, I cut off the shanks and glued them back to back with E6000 glue.
Put Jibbitz into clean, clear color, sports drink or water bottle and fill almost to the top with birdseed.
Glue on the lid so contents cannot be dumped.
Set picture ring over the bottle cap to act as the key for what to look for.
Note: We have done this on road trips where we got a small token from each stop and had an I Spy bottle for the trip. Great as a rememberance, or to keep in the car when someone needs a quiet activity
Custom Hand Soap Dispenser
Remove all labels from any clear soap dispenser (Undo or Goo Gone work well).
Lay the bottle down on top of an overhead transparency sheet and trace the outline.
Cut out the transparency slightly smaller than the bottle.
Stamp image or print (before cutting - using a laser printer) and color if desired.
Note: The Texas flag colored above used Stazon ink. The black was fine, the red and blue wore off within a few days.
Remove the pump handle/lid, roll up the transparency and insert into bottle.
The transparency will unfold itself. Put the lid back on.
Folder Book
Made from pocket folders folded in fourths (fold each outside edge towards the center
and fold the center crease backwards)
Cover front and back of each section with scrapbooking paper.
Attach pens to the front if it will be used for field trips, vacations, or journaling.
Possible uses:
- Field trip - fill each pocket with paper strips for taking notes
- Scrapbook - fill each pocket with graduated lengths of cardstock for pictures/journaling
- Class gift to teacher - put pictures and signatures or text on cardstock strips to fit into pockets
- Vacation folder (before) - use in car for games like tic-tac-toe, complete the dots, list of states to cross off for found license plates, maps, or plain paper for score cards or journaling
- Vacation folder (after) - cardstock strips to glue on pictures, tickets, bulletins or whatever they brought home from the trip as well as journaling about what they saw or did.
St. Patrick's Day
Rainbow licorice and gold coins in long cellophane treat bags.
Black "pot" is folded cardstock and cut out leaving fold on the bottom so both sides of bag are covered.
Text done on computer and cut to fit the black pot.
Insert cellophane bag into pot, staple (top of bag, bottom of pot) and put label over the staples.
Santa-tizer
Hand sanitizer bottles from the Dollar Tree.
Cut red cardstock to wrap around the bottle, trim with white scallop strip at the bottom.
Cut black strip (belt) to fit around the bottle and use a slot punch and silver paper to make a buckle.
Tags were made with scrap cardstock and trim, hole punched and attached with black hair bands.
