It’s Teacher Appreciation week next week – do you have something special picked out for the educators in your kids’ lives? If not we’ve totally got you covered with an easy DIY you can use to appreciate a teacher, for Mother’s Day, or even as a hostess thank-you gift. Here’s Janssen with the full details…
One of the things that makes me happiest in the spring is live plants. They look so vibrant and remind me that winter really is winding down.
Whether you’re looking for a simple Mother’s Day gift or a teacher gift for this week or the end of school, these useful and pretty chalkboard pots are perfect. (Speaking as a former elementary school librarian, your child’s teacher probably doesn’t need another candle or more lotion). A basket of them also work beautifully as a simple center piece or display.
You’ll need:
- Mason jars (or empty jam or spaghetti sauce jars are also great)
- Painters tape
- Chalkboard paint
- A paintbrush
- Chalk
- Potting soil
- Seeds or small plants
- A card
- A small basket
With your painter’s tape, tape all the way around the jars (I like doing mine at various heights for more visual interest).
Paint below the tape with chalkboard paint. Let dry and repeat with another layer of paint until it’s opaque. Mine needed 3 coats.
Remove the tape when your paint is completely dry.
Write the names of the herbs or flowers on the chalk paint with a piece of chalk.
Fill your jars with potting soil, plant seeds or small plants, and place in a small basket. If you’d rather leave the jars empty, add a bag of dirt (did you know dirt could look this cute?), some seed packets, and a couple of pieces of chalk.
Tuck in a cute card (something clever like “thanks for helping me grow so much this year!” if you’re sending it to a teacher is fun), and it’s done.
A few variations:
- If you’re sending this with your child to school, try painting the lids of the jars instead and writing the name of the herbs you’ve planted on the top. Then you don’t have to worry about the dirt spilling out during transport.
- If you go with herbs rather than flowers, add a little list of ways to use the herb in cooking.
- You could do the same basic idea as a baking kit instead. Fill the jars with sugar and flour, add a bag of chocolate chips, and tuck in a recipe card. For extra credit, add a cute spatula or mixing spoon.
- Use these pots as name cards at a spring party or Mother’s Day brunch. Write the names in chalk on the chalkboard paint and fill the pots with pretty flowers.
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Janssen