Does it seem like Christmas shopping gets harder each year?! Despite getting a bit of a head start with Black Friday sales and even wrapping a few presents right after Thanksgiving, the month of December still flies by so quickly! We are in the home stretch!! I’m running on hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles. Yes, sprinkles. You can never be too old for sprinkles.
On my Christmas shopping list are my son’s preschool teachers for whom I am so grateful. They have not only taught him how to write his name in upper- and lower-case, counting to 100, but more importantly, have shared important lessons on feelings and kindness. There is a wonderful book they read called “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” that teaches a very simple yet meaningful message: kids have the “power” (think kid-like fun super-hero power, not the bossy authoritative kind) to “fill” people’s buckets with kind and positive words versus actions/words that can “dip” buckets. It is such a simple concept but has made a huge difference in our child’s understanding of empathy, especially towards his little sister! Ha!
Anyways, I’ve digressed but you know it’s hard to not talk about something you love! Hey, maybe it could even be a good Christmas present…there’s still time with Amazon Prime!
So! To thank the wonderful teachers, some of the parents and I are getting what I hear is the most favorite (and practical) gift for teachers…gift cards! Perfect! But then came #craftersproblem… I kind of wanted to do something a little special/different with the gift cards rather than slipping them into a card/envelope. Because crafters never make things easy. 😬
Luckily, this gift packaging idea was not too complicated and I’m really pleased on how it turned out! Hooray for an idea in my head actually working out! #winning
I purchased regular wide-mouth mason jars and white crinkle paper shreds from my local crafts store. The rest of the supplies I already had at home. Yes, I kind of have a mini mini craft store at home. You’re more than welcome to “shop” and help me with my craft supply hoarding issues. 😳
I have always loved the look of upside down mason jar snow globes and thought it would be neat to create a faux snow globe scenery by papercrafting.
- First, I measured the interior cavity of the mason jar to create the main piece which also served as the background. I used scrapbook paper that had a snowfall design.
- The snowy hills were also custom designed and cut out with my Silhouette CAMEO. There are three hills, which were put together with foam scrapbooking adhesive giving a dimensional look.
- Next, I created a Silhouette mash-up featuring designs from two of my favorite artists, Amy Robison and Lori Whitlock.
- The super cute tree and deer can be found on the Silhouette Design Store as Design ID#108550.
- The adorable house is Silhouette Design ID#104461.
- Lastly, I glued mini iridescent sequins in the sky to give the illusion of snowflakes. Plus, a little sparkle is always fun!
Then, I wrapped the gift cards to look like a little present and secured it to the back of the main piece with strong adhesive. I added a little gift tag with the kids’ names. Finally, I added white paper shreds to the base (aka jar lid) so that it would look like snow and tied a cute red ribbon for a finishing festive touch that also helps keep the neck of the jar from looking bare.
The practical side of me loves this gift because after the teachers retrieve the gift cards, they can re-use the mason jars for whatever else. I’m sure they have plenty of ideas being teachers!