Last Minute DIY Gifts For A Teacher You Appreciate

Everyone can appreciate a good DIY gift, including the teacher in your life. A teacher will find it to be thoughtful and creative if you make them a gift yourself. It will also be fun if you can make it represent aspects of their job. You can easily create cool things using items that are common for teachers to use.Whether it’s a teacher’s appreciation day, birthday, or a holiday, we’ve put together a list of easy DIY that anyone can pull off at the last minute. Keep reading and you will certainly find the perfect last minute DIY for a teacher you know!

1. A GiftYa Gift Card

A gift card gives a person a bunch of options. 

A gift card is always one of the best gifts that you can choose for someone, and one of tne of the best places you can get a loved one a gift card is GiftYa. GiftYa is a digital gift card supplier that manages to make everything easier when it comes to giving out a gift card. GiftYa allows you to send reminders so that the person with the card doesn’t forget to use it, it allows the user to change the merchant, and it is stored digitally, making it impossible to lose. 

With GiftYa you can purchase a gift card online and text or email it to and the person you send it to can use it straight from their phone. This method simplifies everything for everyone involved. GiftYa also offers gift cards for all kinds of local and national establishments. GiftYa offers great options for every kind of person. 

Send someone a GiftYa gift card

2. Crayon Monogram

This picture is worth so many words. 

A creative picture to hang on their classroom wall will make any teacher happy. A crayon monogram will make a great gift for your teacher. It will represent the first letter of their name and represent a popular symbol of their profession. It will make the classroom a lot brighter to have a rainbow colored art piece on the wall which will make everyone in the room a little happier. And it’s super easy to make!

Here is what you need:

• Box of crayons
• Picture frame
• Glue
• Printer
• Scissors/Knife

First you need to remove the glass from the picture frame and then print out a large letter as a template. Glue the letter onto a blank piece of paper and cut up the crayons to fit as you glue them onto the letter. Then let it dry and you’re ready to go!

3. Chalkboard Mason Jar

A vase someone can write messages on fits perfectly in a classroom. 

A chalkboard has long been a symbol of a traditional classroom, and it still is today despite the fact that many classrooms today use electronic boards. Giving a teacher a chalkboard on a different surface that they are used to, it can feel like a really cool novelty. A great surface to use for this will be a mason jar. Many people use mason jars for storage, and a teacher is someone that can really need a lot of space for that. 

This project will be an easy one that can quickly be done at the last minute, and still look like there was lots of work put into it. With a mason jar like this one being used for storage on a teacher’s desk, they can really have some fun with it. 

Here’s what you’ll need for this:

• Mason jars
• Chalkboard paint
• Ribbon
• Chalk

Once you have everything, what you need to do is prepare the mason jar for paint. You can apply primer or you can go straight to putting on a coat of chalkboard paint. When the first coat dries, add on another. Then you will let that dry and go on to decorate it further if you would like to. 

4. Printable Bookmark

A message on a bookmark will periodically remind your teacher that you appreciate them. 

Most teachers enjoy exploring books of many kinds, and will be happy to get any gift that contributes to this hobby. You can get involved in your teacher’s reading process by getting them a bookmark that you make yourself! A custom made bookmark is a DIY project that will be very quick and easy. You can make a quick design digitally and then print out your image or message on a thick piece of paper. 

You can really be creative when it comes to this project. There are lots of templates on different websites to choose from and ways to create your own message or image. 

Here is what you need to make a bookmark:

• Computer
• Printer
• Colored ink
• Cardstock paper

What you will need to do is use a website or app that allows you to pick out or decorate your own bookmark size images. Then all you will need to do is print the image and then cut off the excess paper so that it’s shaped just like a bookmark. Using cardstock paper will make this DIY bookmark extra sturdy for use. 

5. School Survival Kit

A gift basket with the right treats inside can put a smile on your teacher’s face. 

A school survival kit can be a fun and useful gift for a teacher. Creating this gift involves packing some treats and necessities. Any container can work, though a sturdy one will work well for storing. This gift will just require a quick last minute shopping trip where you’ll have to pick up the things you would like to place into the container. Those items can include hand sanitizer, lip balm, white out, and band-aids. 

Snacks or candy will also make great fillings for this gift. Sometimes what a person needs to get through the rest of their day is something sweet to enjoy, like a chocolate bar. Try getting mini sized candies so that they can fit into a small container. And you can choose to go the all practical route, the all fun route, or mix it up!

Here is what you will need to get started:

• A container: basket, emergency kit box
• Filling: toiletries, t-shirts, chocolate (everything optional)
• Paint
• Ribbons

What you need to do is decorate the container you will be using. You can get a little emergency kit from a drug store like CVS and then put a nice set of paint on it. You can even paint a message into it or paint an image. If you use a basket, you should get ribbons to decorate it once everything is in there. 

Everything on the list can be bought with a CVS gift card. 

6. Crayon Vase

Pretty decorative pieces that also work as storage can save a desk top’s appearance. 

Any teacher can use all the desktop storage they can get, so why not make them a cute one that’s classroom themed? Why? A teacher spends a lot of time at their desk, so making that space a nice one will help to make their days more pleasant. Crayons can be used to create all kinds of cool crafts, including a vase. 

You won’t need to do much to make this crayon vase a nice one. With just one pack of crayons, you will have what you need to create a colorful display piece. 

What you need: 

• Empty can 
• Pack of crayons (more if needed)
• Colorful paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Hair tie

What you will need to do is remove the wrapping from the can so that it’s bare, then cut off a strip of colorful paper and glue it around the top of the can. Put the hair tie around the bottom to keep the crayons in place, and then put a strip of glue on a crayon and place it underneath the hair tie. Continue to glue on more crayons until you’ve gone all the way around, let it dry, and remove the hair tie. 

With a Target gift card you can get everything on this list!

7. DIY Ruler Vase 

This ruler vase will make a cool display on a desk. 

You can easily create cool things using items that are common for teachers to use. One good item is a ruler. You can make some pretty useful things using rulers. One thing you can make with rulers is a vase. You will need multiple rulers for this, enough of them to connect them in a circle.  

Do you know this teacher’s favorite color, or the color of their classroom? Use that information to help you make a decision on the color of rulers you should get. Go with one color for something simple, go with a rainbow theme, or try two alternating colors. This teacher will end up happy to display this DIY ruler vase on their desk. 

Here’s what you need:

• Several rulers
• Hot glue sticks
• Mason jar/Vase

What you have to do is use the hot glue to stick the rulers onto the mason jar or the vase you have chosen to use. You have to glue them in a circle around the vase, covering every part of it that you can. It’s very quick and easy to do. Once you are done with this, all you have to do is let it dry and add any extras you want!

You can order all supplies with an Amazon gift card. 

8. DIY Apple Tote Bag

A great gift for teachers with supplies to carry. 

Any teacher you know has to carry school supplies from time to time, or even everyday. So an apple print tote bag will definitely be useful to them for day to day use. All you need to get started is a plain tote bag, which isn’t much of an expense at all. The most common symbol you’ll see representing the teaching profession is an apple, so painting apples on the tote will be a great decoration choice!

Here is what you need:

• Plain tote bag
• Paint
• Cardboard inserts
• Paint brushes
• Apple
• Disposable plates

What you need to do is cut an apple in half, stick it in paint, and then use it as a stamp to get accurate apple pictures on the tote. But before that you need to put cardboard inserts into the tote so the paint doesn’t bleed, pour paint into a disposable plate, and then dip the apples. 

You can get what you need with a JOANN gift card!

9. Apple Cake Pops

A sweet treat shaped like a teacher’s favorite fruit. 

Everyone loves sweet treats, and apple shaped cake pops is one of the best treats you can give someone. You might think that baking a cake sounds complicated, especially turning them into apple shaped pops, but it’s all actually surprisingly easy! It doesn’t take much to make cake pops, it’ll feel like a fun creative project and it will look like you put a lot of work into it!

What you need:

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 can frosting
• Sucker sticks
• Red candy coating
• Cookie scoop
• Pretzel stick
• Green tic tac

The first thing you need to do is bake the cake according to the package’s directions, then cut the finished cake into squares, and crumble them. Mix the frosting in with the crumbled cake so everything sticks together, and use the cookie scoop to form them into perfect balls. Then you put the balls into the fridge for a few minutes, then melt the candy coating in the microwave, stick the balls in. Then you will decorate them and let them dry. 

10. A Custom Visa Gift Card From Gift Card Granny

A gift card you make on your own for someone you care about. 

Get a Custom Visa Gift Card

A gift card is usually something you buy that is premade, but you can always customize one yourself. If you get a custom gift card from Gift Card Granny, you can do just that. You will get to customize a gift card for the teacher in your life, and they can go on to buy exactly what they like. 

Building a gift card with Gift Card Granny is a simple process. All you have to do is add a personal photograph and message to a Visa or Mastercard, add the amount you want, and you’re good to go. You can even add a video.

Get a Custom Visa Gift Card

There you have it – great last minute DIY gifts that any teacher would appreciate.

Whenever you’re in need of a great last minute gift, GiftYa has got you covered. This list of creative, classroom themed gifts should be able to please any teacher in your life. Any one you choose should be a hit, so get to work shopping and making your last minute gift as soon as possible!