I saw this idea over at Family Fun a few years ago and have always had the itch to make one myself!

As I mentioned HERE, teachers really love getting gift cards more than anything else (especially more than crayon monograms or mugs).  If you don’t believe me, you should check out THIS POST – it’s pretty hilarious.

I emailed all of the mommies in the Happy Buddy’s preschool class and asked if they could send in 2 gift cards of any amount (1 for the teacher and 1 for the teacher’s assistant.  They happen to be a mother-in-law/daughter-in-law duo so they share the same name!).  I gave them some suggestions of our teachers’ favorite places – restaurants, stores, etc. – in case they wanted to cater the gift cards to their personal tastes.

I also printed these cute flowers (from HERE – found under the May 2013 issue) and sent them home with the students to decorate.

Once the gift cards and flowers were returned, I set to work!

I painted 2 terra cotta pots that I picked up at JoAnn’s in a pretty blue.

After they dried, my super awesome friend who has a Silhouette machine helped me add the teachers’ names and some adorable little polka dots.  Good gracious, do any of y’all own a Silhouette machine???  Oh my word, my life has changed!!!

A little ribbon around the top of the pot was just what we needed for a little extra pop!

I stuck a styrofoam ball in the pot, drizzled hot glue on top and then covered it with leftover Easter grass.

For the flowers, I stuck them to lollipop sticks (cut to different lengths) and added the gift cards with tape.

I think that’s it!

It was really easy once I had all the pieces that I needed to put it together.

If you have time, this is a really great gift idea that is SURE to be a winner with your Happy Buddy’s teacher.

Happy Gift Card Bouquet-ing!

There are mostly boys in the class, so we had to come up with something that would ring true in their little boy hearts.

What better 3-year-old boy theme than trains?

We had so much fun and it turned out so cute I thought I’d share it here in case you want to Pin It for future inspiration.

Are you doing anything for your teachers this week?

Check out all of my Teacher Appreciation Ideas and FREE Printables HERE.

And if you’re looking for more Door Decorating Inspiration, go HERE.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Door Decorate-ing!

But, man.  There are some seriously cute ideas out there.

And there are some seriously cute FREE Printables to go with those seriously cute (and easy and inexpensive!) ideas.

So I could not resist!  Here are 8 of my faves…

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Pop into your local grocery store for a small pot of flowers and stick in this cute tag from Landee See, Landee Do.

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I love everything that eighteen25 creates – especially these fun tags for hand soap.

What a useful gift!

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A girl can never have enough shoes or purses, right??

That is why this Tote-lly Terrific Tag to go with a cute new tote (lots of inexpensive bag options at Target!) from Uncommon Designs will be a fabulous choice.

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It’s easy and cheap (think Target Dollar Spot!) to put together a little package of notecards and pencils with this FREE Printable tag from Sweet Metel Moments.

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I have seen this saying before to go with a plate of cookies, but this design from Make Bake Celebrate is definitely my new favorite!

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You can never go wrong with the whole apple for the teacher theme.

This tag from Coton Colors Blog gives it a cute twist.

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Throw some M&Ms in with some popcorn and this cute tag from domesticated lady and boom!  Insta teacher snack.

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And finally, a nail file, some polish and a cute tag from She’s {kinda} Crafty and your teacher will think you’ve really nailed Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6th-10th).

Aren’t these ideas fun?

I hope y’all are having a great weekend!  I have 2 sickos here in our Happy Home so we are doing a lot of pajama and tissue and TV-ing.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Free Printable-ing!

I mean, who doesn’t?!

So I figured Munchkins would be a great little snack to put in the teacher’s lounge at the Happy Buddy’s preschool – in honor of all their hard work.

This idea is so easy – you just need to print the FREE Printable tag (see bottom of post) and then pick up a box of Munchkins.

Bam.  You’re all set.

And the teachers will love you.

I printed this tag on thick paper so that I could fold it like a tent and stand it up next to the donuts.

I brought these to the school workroom today and later as I headed back through the hall, I overheard a teacher say (after dropping her students off at the library), “I NEED A MUNCHKIN!”

Apparently they are excellent little stress-relievers.

Get your FREE Printable Teacher Appreciation Munchkin Tag HERE.

Happy Munchkin Teacher Appreciate-ing!

*Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6-10th.*

As much as we might want to score points as the coolest mom in the class by giving our Happy Buddies’ teachers handmade crayon monograms, 7-layer cakes, or pencil bouquets, the reality is that the best thing to get a teacher is…

A gift card.

I don’t like giving gift cards because there is nothing super glamorous about sticking one in an envelope and handing it over.

But when I saw how these amazing bloggers used giving gift cards as an opportunity to get creative, I had to share!

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With all those crazy hours (early morning conferences, late night grading sessions, endless hours of lesson planning…), teachers need their caffeine!

Love this easy and fun way to present a Starbucks gift card from Hi Sugarplum!

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I thought this FREE Printable Starbucks Cup Thank You Teacher Sleeve from Alphamom was way clever.

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The Happy Hubby prefers the taste of Dunkin’ Donuts‘ coffee, so maybe your teacher does as well.

This adorable FREE Printable from Sweet Metel Moments is just what you need.

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Look how Just A Girl gussies up a bookstore gift card (with dollar bin items, I might add!).

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You can make a Gift Card Snow Globe (it’s quite easy!) at The Creative Mama.

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Tatertots and Jello came up with this happy way to give a gift card to Jamba Juice.

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Anyone else a fan of Pei Wei?!

You can find this Asian-inspired gift card ensemble over at 71 toes.

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The Taylor House sure knows how to send a teacher to  the movies!

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Look at this amazing iTunes Giftcard FREE Printable from Alphamom!

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No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  That is a Candy Lei with Target Gift Card attached.

How. Awesome. Is. That.

Check out Whipperberry for the how-to.

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Speaking of candy – wouldn’t it be to find a surprise gift card nestled into a jar of M&M’s??

Happy Clippings has this idea AND shares a FREE Printable Teacher M&M Poem (cutest poem EVER) to attach to the jar.

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If I was still teaching, and one of my students gave me a gift card to Target using this great FREE Printable from g*rated, they’d be getting some straight A’s on their next report card.

I’m just sayin’.

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And, finally, I think these hilarious FREE Printables from Chickabug pretty much sum it all up!

You seriously can’t go wrong with any of these ideas.

I guarantee it!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Gift Card-ing!

*You can find all of my other fabulous Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas HERE.*

My little brother asked for money for Christmas this year.

I have a hard time just throwing some cash in a card, so I thought I’d take some inspiration from THIS GREAT POST and give him something profitable and fun.

First I took twenty one dollar bills and taped them together.  Then I rolled them up.

I placed them in an empty square tissue box with the first dollar from the roll of bills peeking out the plastic flap.

The tissue box got wrapped up with cute paper and I cut a slit for an opening over the tissue box’s plastic top.

Next I added a ‘Pull Here’ tab to the first dollar and thread it through the slit.

Then the fun began!

It was so easy and so worth the fun of watching my brother pull that tab.

I think he was actually kind of nervous at first that if he pulled the tab something was going to pop out at him!

If you want to get even more creative, I think next time I would tape the first dollar bill to a tissue and include a note that said, “Don’t BLOW it all in one place!”

Happy Money Gift-ing!

Do you need a little last-minute something to give to your Happy Buddy’s teacher to let them know how you feel about the upcoming year?

Simply purchase a bottle of Iced Tea.

Then attach the FREE Printable tag (see bottom of post for download)!

I just used some double-sided tape.  Easy peasy!

Would you believe that we made 125 of these as favors for all of the Moms at our MOMs group kick-off last Friday?

Get your FREE Printable tag HERE!

Happy Easy Teacher Appreciation Gift-ing!

*If you looooved this FREE Printable, then I know you’d be blessed to hop on over to FACEBOOK and ‘LIKE’ the FAIRY so that you can stay up-to-date on all the magic!*

You’ll love these FREE Printable Teacher Gift Ideas!

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One can never go wrong with homemade cookies in a mason jar as a special treat for a special teacher.

It’s Overflowing has the cute FREE Printable tag to go along with your baked good!

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I just loooooove this I was MINT to be in your class/You were MINT to be my teacher FREE Printable from The Celebration Shoppe.

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Tammy Mitchell Designs added this simple FREE Printable tag to a package of soup mix.

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Lil Luna always has cuteness – this vase of long-lasting (laminated paper) flowers and FREE Printable tag is no exception!

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Man, when I was teaching my pencils and pens kept walking off!

This fabulous Pencil Can with FREE Printable Wrapper from Anders Ruff will provide your Happy Buddy’s teacher with something they can count on day after day.

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Candy is excellent therapy for that after-lunch lull.

Love this Smarties Jar and FREE Printable from That’s Country Living.

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This Rain Boot Gift with FREE Printable tag from Whipperberry = Most. Adorable. Thing. Everrrrr.

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As a teacher, I loved knowing that I could count on parents to give me a hand when needed.

This FREE Printable tag and Soap Gift from Skip to My Lou is brilliant.

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I used to give my parents questionnaires to fill out about their kids at the beginning of each year – their learning styles, likes/dislikes, etc.

It was sooooo helpful in getting to know my students a little bit faster – a gift in itself!

Busy Kids = Happy Mom provides some questions you can answer about your Happy Buddy for you to give to the teacher as a way to ease the transition into that new relationship.

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And, finally, print this happy little sheet from Life (Sweet) Life and have your teacher fill it out to give you a better idea of how to bless him/her throughout the school year.

With these ideas, your Happy Buddy’s teacher is going to have the BEST year YET!

Happy Teacher Gift-ing!

*Check out more inexpensive, easy, and cute Teacher Gift Ideas HERE!*

She is the Happy Buddy’s Sunday School teacher.

She serves the 2 year old class every week – faithfully sharing Jesus (and changing diapers!).

She also happens to be the love of the Happy Buddy’s life.

Several weeks ago I was putting the Happy Buddy to bed and I said, “I hope you have the BEST dreams tonight!”

He looked at me with this big goofy grin and said, “Hehe, I hope they’re of Morgan.”

And he’s only 2 years old!!  Good grief, people!  What am I going to do??

Our church gives the Sunday School teachers a break during the summer, so the Happy Buddy and I had to make something for his special lady.

This is what we came up with (inspiration HERE).

We simply used construction paper and crayons and a little bit of tape.

Then we attached a gift card for an ice cream store to the cone part.

It was the perfect little gift as we head into the hot summer months!

She loved it!

And I am not even kidding when I tell you that usually I have to bribe the Happy Buddy with M&M’s to get him to smile for a picture.

But not with Morgan.

I hope this little idea helps you bless your Happy Buddy’s Sunday School teacher!  What a comfort to know that our children are in such loving hands.

Happy Sunday School Teacher Gift-ing!

Go out with a BANG using one of these simple End of School Year Gift Ideas for your Happy Buddy’s TEACHER…

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Grab a cute notepad and attach this FREE Printable tag from Mommy By Day Crafter By Night for a sweet end of year surprise.

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Vintage Umbrella bought a package of highlighters and spiffed it up with happy ribbon and a cute saying.

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The Busy Budgeting Mama added the tag above to a movie theater gift card as a creative way to say thanks.I think this End of Year Candy Gram is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

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What parent doesn’t have a million bags of goldfish crackers hanging around?

Package up a few handfuls and include this sweet note from Lauren McKinsey Designs.

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Or use this FREE Printable tag from The Hip Momma’s Journal to attach to a bag of cookies or even a jar of homemade!

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Store and Style picked up an inexpensive pair of flip flops and included a handmade card with a gift card for a pedicure.

How cute is that???

Any teacher would love to get her toes done for summer shoe season.

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Do you remember the Teacher Survey I posted about at the beginning of the year?

You can use the answers you got from that to fill up a simple brown paper package like Counting Our Blessings.

I just looooove stuff like that – a whole bag full of favorite things!!!

Ooo, if I were to receive a bag like that it’d have the Happy Baby in it along with a hundred bags of chocolate granola.

And tickets to Disney because when life gets tough that’s the place I want to escape to!

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Rachel Berry loaded her Happy Buddies’ teachers up with all of the ingredients for this quintessential summer treat.

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This Summer Relaxation Kit from The Lovely Cupboard couldn’t be more perfect!

Any teacher deserves a kit like this to help them kick back and enjoy the stress-free days of summer.

So easy and inexpensive to make – everything you see in the photo came from Wal-Mart!

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Finally, I say it all the time, but the BEST gift you can give a teacher is a handwritten note.

Lil’ Blue Boo makes it easy with this FREE Printable Fill-In-The-Blank Teacher Thank You Card.

Need some more End of School Year Teacher Gift Ideas?  Check out THIS FABULOUS ARTICLE featuring 10 perfect ideas that were created based on the feedback of actual teachers.

Come back tomorrow for an awesome post revealing my favorite End of School Year Gift Ideas for your Happy Buddies to pass out to their friends!

Happy End of School Year Gift Idea-ing!