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November 8 ~ Gifts for Teachers
| Don’t forget to tuck a little note of thanks in with any of these wonderful gifts for favorite teachers on your list. Your thoughtfulness will be appreciated! |  |
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Make It
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Easy Fabric Vase Cover Jessica from How About Orange has a nice Easy Fabric Vase Cover Tutorial that elementary school kids could probably even help create for their teacher. |
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Zippered Top Lunch Bag Quenna from Blissful shares a Zippered Top Lunch Bag Tutorial for the teacher on your list (or the student?!). |
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Quilty Mug This would be perfect with our “Mix It” recipe today! Liz from Lady Harvatine has an easy Quilty Mug Tutorial for you to try. |
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Reversible Journal Cover We’re sure teachers would love a gift made with this Reversible Journal Cover Tutorial from Lara at Kirin Notebook. |
Don’t miss these related tutorials from the SMS archives: For the Table, Reading & Writing, For Your Purse or Pocket, Tote Bags and Lunch Bags.
Here are just a handful of fabrics we love for some of these projects. Click on the fabric images to visit the Sew,Mama,Sew! shop:
| Meg’s choice | Lara’s choice | Beth’s choice | ||
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Buy It
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Washcloth Scrubbies from Cocoa Beans Diana has some beautiful crocheted washcloth “scrubbies” in her Cocoa Beans shop, in addition to dishcloths and more. |
Mix It
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Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti We think a little coffee card and a treat make a perfect teacher gift. Try this Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti Recipe from Nook & Pantry for the treat! |
Share It
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Holidays at Home and the Handmade Holidays photo pool! |
Win It
Interweave KNITS: Holiday Gifts 2008
From the Publisher:
The weather outside is frightful, but the knitting’s so delightful—so grab your yarn and needles and curl up with the third annual issue of Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts. From one-afternoon wonders to intricate treasures, there’s something to knit or craft for family and friends, other knitters, and even yourself. Learn easy techniques to dress up simple knitting, make luxury yarns go far, and get ideas for quick craft projects to share. And participate in our first-ever Count the Sheep Contest, featuring guest illustrator Franklin Habit, and win great prizes! Happy Holidays!
We know you’ve been oggling this one on the magazine stand. Now is your chance to win this special holiday knitting issue. There are some truly wonderful projects inside, which you can see on the Interweave site. Comment below to put your name in the pool. The winner will be announced Friday.
More Handmade Holiday Ideas
7 ~ Holidays at Home
6 ~ Pet Lovers
5 ~ Crafters
4 ~ Music Lovers
3 ~ Babies & Toddlers
2 ~ Travelers
1 ~ Tweens & Teens
We respect the copyright of all crafters. All links and photos from blogs on our Handmade Holidays posts are used with permission.
Oh I can’t wait to make a few journal covers. I think the lunch tote is great too!!
Very cute ideas! Maybe I’ll try lunch bag
My mother was a teacher and received loads of the same “world’s greatest teacher” type
gifts every year. She taught 35 years! She would’ve been delighted to get a great gift
like these!!
Fabulous ideas, even for the male teachers on my list. Take care.
As a 6th grade teacher, I’d LOVE to receive any of these handmade gifts.
I think I’ll try the vase cover! Great idea.
These are great ideas! I have been making the Quilted List Taker (from JCasa) this week for teacher gifts – they are simple and fast to make! I’ll be posting pics later today, come by my blog and take a peek!
The notebook cover is so cute – it’d be especially great on those classic composition books.
Those scrubbies are awesome! I love that idea and they look so plush. I think that biscotti recipe looks perfect for my holiday party. Thanks for sharing so many great ideas!
This makes me want to have a teacher in my life just so I can give them a present!
Quilty mug is brilliant, because I’m over photo mug. LOL
Love all the holiday ideas. Thanks.
I am always looking for something handmade and simple for teacher gifts. These are great! Something I made last year was lavender eye pillows using Dick and Jane fabric. They were so simple.
The reversible journal covers are wonderful. I’m sure my friends who spend a lot of time reading and journaling will appreciate these as much as any teacher. I’ve made covers before, but never thought to make them reversible. I’m so glad this site taps into so many creative minds.
Great ideas, not just for teachers of course. I have just finished my teacher gifts for this year but will keep these in mind for next year.
Love lookylooing, thank you for the giveaways, they are just the icing on the cupcake. MMmmmm
Michelle
As a teacher, I give these ideas an A+ (sorry, I had to go there!) I’d be delighted to receive that journal cover, but all of the gifts are great. It’s nice to see something beside the standard candle or bubble bath – what I really need is an hour to use those!
My daughter’s teacher will now be getting a covered vase. I think I’ll incorporate an embroidered drawing of hers on some linen with some fun fabrics.
Love the zippered lunch tote..can’t wait to try this one. Thanks for the great ideas!
I think every teacher would love those biscotti! Keep up the excellent holiday work. Thank you very much.
Wow – the lunch bag idea is great.
This is SO thoughtful! And I can’t wait to make that lunch bag!
Looks like I’m the first one up this morning- great pics for teachers. I love your website!
So much holiday-crafty goodness. We are ever more inspired.
I am a teacher, so this section can cover gifts for all of my coworkers!!
I love the notebook cover!! Great job. Thanks
I really like the fabric vase project. I’m going to try it for one of the kids’ teachers.
I have a subscription to Interweave but the Holiday Knits is never included! I would love a copy.
Love those scrubbies!
Oh wow a biscotti recipe!! Now I can make some and try it! I have never tried biscotti before! Guess what I will be doing today!! Thankyou!
More great ideas!
Thanks for the ideas, I like the lunch tote and the biscotti look heavenly!
What great ideas! I have six teachers to get presents for this year! Going to try the journal covers and see what the girls think! A grand thank you to all the artists/crafters that have shared their projects! Tootles, Monica
I have been looking for a cover for my calendar. I think that I will try the journal cover for me. I am kids first teacher…RIGHT?
I think I’ll use some of my scraps to do a couple of vase covers…Thanks so much!
Cute ideas, I love the journal cover!
the little mug is so sweet. i would love to make it for myself….. =)
My kids aren’t in school yet but I think that vase would look great on MY countertop.
I am making the journal covers for my girls preschool teachers. What a great gift that is so versatile!!
Add journal covers to list – check = } thank you!!
Ooh, I think I might try the zippered lunch bags for my son’s teachers. What great ideas!
I love how there are new tutorials even on the weekends!! Can’t wait to finish the housework so I can get to sewing.
Great ideas. Love the vase and the reversible journal cover.
I was just wondering this morning what to make for the teachers – thank you for the ideas.
I just bought one of those travel mugs.. I think this may be a quick craft this afternoon!! Oh and Lara’s choice for fabric?? SO CUTE!
Those are great! I think my DH (a teacher) needs a new lunch bag.
I love that lunch bag! And the biscotti looks tasty, too.
Can’t wait to try the biscotti
I think I will use that journal cover for quite a few things. Thank you for that link.
I don’t have kids yet… but maybe some of those ideas will work for my coworkers. Thanks again for the inspiration
Lots of great ideas today. The zippered lunch tote is definitely on my to do list.
what fantastic fabric choices on that journal cover!
very cute. i can’t wait to try the journal cover and the lunch bag. I think I will be making those Pistachio biscotti’s sometimes soon too. Thanks again for the wonderful ideas!
Love it! Been trying to learn to knit, but never could quite get it. maybe now I will. Also I have to say I love the lunch bag!!!
I love the fabric vase idea!
I love all of these. I can def see me making the vase covers and the mug one too.
The quilty coffee cozy idea is wonderful. Who would have thunk?
And I’d love to win the magazine. New ideas!!
I’ve been looking for a lunch bag pattern for so long. Can’t wait to try it out!
that lunch tote is super cute! love all the fabric choices, seems Apples are popular this year
I *love* the reversible journal cover! There are no teachers in my life, but it would be perfect for me! So will the biscottis…
Thanks for all the great ideas!
Journal cover is perfect and the biscotti looks soooo yummy. Can’t wait to try them!
Meg, that fabric is GREAT!
I’ve used the journal cover tutorial many times, its a brilliant tut and always turns out well.
Biscotti looks so good!
I wanna win!
Those vases look great, I’ve been saving a lot of jars to use as vases… a nice inexpensive gift for lots of people! Thanks!
I am always at a loss when it comes to teacher’s gifts. Thanks for the great ideas!
I do love the idea of pairing the biscotti with the mug. That’s the perfect idea for any coffee lover!
The journal covers look great! So does the book
Oh, I love some of these ideas! Especially the coasters and the lunch bags! We homeschool… but I can definitely think of some great uses for these ideas. Thanks!
Don’t forget that JUST BECAUSE S/HE’S A TEACHER doesn’t mean she loves all things apple.
Teachers are normal people with normal tastes and preferences. Don’t drown him/her in apple motifs unless s/he actually likes apples.
Love the quilty mug. I’ll be looking for one of those next time I’m in Target!
Great ideas, thanks! It’s not so easy to give gits to male teachers, I think they’ll get some tote bags to carry their books around.
My mom will love the biscotti! thank you.
The fabric insert for the coffee mug is a great idea!
Gosh, these make great gift ideas, too! I love the idea of a vase cover. I have never heard of such a thing, but it’s fabulous!
All these projects are so cool.
I love all of them.
Nice to see some more practical, useful teacher gift ideas. My mom’s been teaching for over 30 years, and the gifts she actually LIKES are the ones she can use and/or the kids actually made or helped make (like the mug or vase ideas). A close second is gifts for the classroom like gift cards for school supplies/office supply stores and bookstores, which takes some of the burden off what she buys out of her own pocket. So how about the vase sleeve- have your kid help you pick out the fabric/make it and include a gift card and a note about your child helping with the gift! My son’s only 2, but this is a great one for me to put in my “someday soon” file!
more great ideas. now I just need to find more time!
love the journal covers and that biscotti looks yummy!
Love the journal covers and lunch bag.
Some fantastic ideas!
Yummy! We love biscotti!
Oh…love the lunchbag!!
My mum, mother in law and sister are all teachers and I can tell you that some well thought out gift s like these would be very much appreciated.
Love these ideas!
I love the reversible journal cover and wow does that biscotti recipe sound good!
Love these ideas for teacher gifts!
awesome – you guys are really cranking it up – keep it coming!
Purely selfish suggestions: gifts for – gardeners, outdoorsmen (working on some camo stuff for my dad now!), and professionals (nurses, doctors and new lawyers, for example).
THANKS!
No excuses for having scraps laying around – to many ideas for them!
I love those sewing ideas, and also the cute crocheted scrubbies!
Fabric vase cover and biscotti are on my gift list…
i think I want that lunch bag! i can gift to myself, can’t i?
I really need to start making gifts, thanks for the inspiration!
When I was teaching, I loved getting coffee cards — would have loved them even more with biscotti! What a clever idea!
I love it! My sister is a teacher and these are great gift ideas for her.
Great ideas! So different from the usual teacher’s gifts : )
My Mother-in-law is a retired teacher. I know she’ll love that lunch tote. It seems teachers can never have too many totes…
The quilty coffee mug is genious! Adorable.
What a great lunch tote! By the time my little Evie is old enough to have teachers I will have such a stockpile of ideas it will be hard to chose just one!
The lunch bag is amazing and I can’t wait to try to make one!
I’d love to win this for my grandmother – she’s my knitter and would love some new ideas!
I’m liking the fabric covered vase, it seems like a great way to snazzy up a cheap vase and make it personal. And of course the apple fabric is adorable!
Great Ideas!
I am a teacher and would love to get the mug with a coffee gift card tucked inside.
Thanks for the ideas!
Love the lunch bag and journal covers. Thanks for the tutorials.
I love the lunch bag tutorial! Thanks!
I’m a teacher and those would be welcome gifts! But I must admit, the thing that really caught my eye was the IK Holiday Gifts magazine. I’ve been checking our BX since the day it came out in the states and we still haven’t gotten it… and now I can’t remember if we get special issues!
Thank you for these ideas…we’ve been brainstorming for something for our teachers!
so much better than the usual box of chocolates!
Great idea’s!
I can’t get the post for Gifts for Pet Lovers to open. I even googled it and Google gave me the link but even that would not load. Is it just me?
The project are amazing!!! I loved that lunch bag..perfect incentive to take something healthy from home!
i love all of these ideas.
I enjoy your giveaways! Thanks!
Love the journal covers and the lunch bag.
Hope I am not to late to post, up late with a teething baby! Busy day and did not
get until now to look!
LOve the ideas! The quilted cup is so country cute in a modern starbucks kinda way…
but if you tote your own coffee in this it is country cute and cheep! I seen these cups
at the everything for a dollar last week!!!! I hope they are still there!!
I am going to go check out the scrubbies… thanks all and good night!
Rane and baby
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really cute ideas, I like the look of the lunch tote
I love the vases. I have so many of these sitting under the sink. I feel too guilty to throw them away. Now I know how to give them a second life!
Wow, I just went on quite the craft journey by following some of these links. There are some seriously amazing crafters out there (so humbling, so intimidating, so inspiring!) I love the lunch bag tote, and I think any teacher would be thrilled to have any one of these thoughtful, handmade beauties.
Oooh – I hope my students see this!
Will try to find plastic vases to cover so the techers can use them in the classroom arounf the preschoolers. Great ideas!
as a teracher I definetly would love the lunch bag and the journal cover.
Wonderful projects…definitely unique & useful at the same time!
I love the quilty mug, it would be a great addition to a gift basket!
Those biscotti look delicious. If I were still a teacher, I’d love to get one of those lunch bags from a student.
Those fabric vase covers are a great idea. It would be perfect for my son’s Montessori teachers since they have so many plants in the classroom.
The journal cover is very neat! Who needs a teacher to gift to? This would be perfect for me.
I like the lunch tote – I may just have to make one for myself
Cute stuff, as always.
The biscotti looks delicious!
I could use all of these tutorials for myself! What a great group. I especially love the lunch bag, mine is shot.
that biscotti sounds wonderful! Loving the vases!
as one who functions as a teacher (early childhood special ed), i love the fabrics used!
I should make that lunch bag…
love the lunch bag and mug!
I love the fabric choices for this one. Awsome!
Wow, the biscotti and coffee card is a great idea!
I love the lunch bag!
love all three fabrics today! and the journal covers are great!
How did I miss yesterday’s post? Did Saturday just pass me by?
I did find the insulated tumblers like the one used in the Quilty Mug at the Dollar Tree!
Another day of wonderful ideas. Thanks everyone.
Peace,
Lynne in NC
So cute…love the journal covers.
I love the lunch tote idea! That was too cute!
Mmmm….biscotti.
It just keeps getting better! Thanks!
A a teacher myself, I can say that I love the idea of homemade gifts! I certainly value something functional that I can use all year. I really have enough chinsy Christmas decorations!!!
I agree the biscotti look yum but doing the vase cover with kids is the best!
I love all of these ideas. Like many of the above posters, I’m a teacher, and I truly appreciate a handmade gift from one of my students more than anything else. : )
How cool are those vases?? That is an excellent teacher’s gift…. Note to self…… vases for teachers!
OMG! Guess what my daughter’s teachers are getting for Christmas this year?? Those mugs are GREAT!!!
oohooohoooh I want to knit! Me! Me! Me!
This is a great list & thanks for the reminder links to archive links! I think the lunch tote might be perfect for dd’s teacher and a couple others on my list!
what a neat idea. can’t wait to make some for the kids to take
Oh I’ve been wanting a pattern for a journal cover for some time!
oh, I am loving that tut., for the zipper topped lunch bag…thanks for sharing!
I love that lunch bag! It’s huge!!! I’m out of the house for 10+ hours a day so I tend to pack more than just a lunch. This would be perfect!
Love the lunch bag! I made a whole lot of these last year and this tut would have been awesome!!
I love Quenna’s Lunch Bag!
i love the reversible journal cover — and the fabric picks are great!
Loving the vases. We are not really giving gifts this year (a recent decision) but those would be great hostess gifts
That biscotti looks delicious, and I’ll take a magazine too!
I am having so much fun looking at all the handmade Christmas stuff this year. Its all too wonderful.
The journal cover tutorial is awesome! I love how it has the actual fabric in the tutorial!
I love that lunch tote. I am really enjoying the daily ideas… it really inspires me to make more things.
That lunch bag is so cute! The journal cover looks really great too.
I love, love, love the dishcloths, how simple, yet beautiful!
I also love the journal covers and lunch tote.
Love these ideas! I just need to quit looking and start working!
Oh, I heart Interweave Knits – a holiday gift version would be divine!
this was a great post. the vase is great, but so it everything else.
Love the fabric choices!
I’m loving that quilty mug. How perfect!
I just started taking up knitting and crocheting again, this would be so much fun!
I love the vase coves, what a neat idea!
Just found your site through Whip Up. Love it! I wish I had more time for more crafts– I’m mostly a knitting girl, but would like to sew more too.
recipe looks yummo
Love the journal covers. Wish there was a way they could be modified to fit a moleskine (or any notebook w an elastic closure).
Love the journal cover!
Gotta get over that “zipper” phobia I have…
I’m a teacher and I would love to get any of those lovely presents. I love the vase idea. So lovely!
What a cute lunch bag! I love the fabric.
Thanks so much for all the ideas….and a chance at the book!
makes me wish i was still a teacher…
I LOVE the zippered lunch bags!
Thanks so much for all the lovely ideas. I think handmade gifts are very much appreciated!
mmm that biscotti looks awesome and i love the ideas. Keep em coming ! I’m getting so psyched for Christmas!
They also have a new “Stitch” issue that I’ve just ordered!!
Am I too late? I’d love it.
Another brilliant selection of gifts to make. And I’m the teacher in my house, so I shall have to make them for me. Woo Hoo!
I have a mug that needs some quilty goodness added to it!
The biscotti look yummy! Thank you!
Thanks for the gift ideas! Iwasn’t sure what to give my sons teacher, now I have plenty of ideas.
I just found your ideas for teacher’s gifts! It’s May and I’m thinking the quilt mug would be a great end-of-the-year gift – as would the other ideas! These aren’t just for Christmas!
Oh, teachers gifts! You saved my butt with these great ideas. Thanks!