Teacher & Graduation Gifts: Simple Ways to Dress up a Gift Card

With the end of the school year fast approaching, it’s once again time to think about teacher and graduation gifts! I like the practicality of giving gift cards but throwing a gift card into a plain envelope feels like a pretty thoughtless gift.  Over the years I’ve found several ways to dress up gift cards that are easy and inexpensive but show that you’ve put some thought into your gift. These are the ways that I dressed up my gift cards this year:

1. Dress up a gift card in under five minutes by placing the card in an inexpensive favor/treat box (I got a pack of three of these favor boxes for $1 in the Target dollar bins) and tying it up with a wide wire-edged ribbon.

To fill up the space in the box, throw a bunch of colorful candies in with the card or add something else that goes along with the theme of the store/restaurant that the gift card is for.  My gift card was for Starbucks, so I nestled it in amongst some coffee beans:

2. I found these colorful pinwheel flower picture/place card holders at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each (in the party goods section) and simply tied a small bow around each pot and used the clip to hold a gift card enclosed in a simple DIY gift card holder:

The gift card holder couldn’t be easier to make – just cut a piece of cardstock paper to about 3.5″ by 6.5″, fold the paper up about 2.5″ from the bottom, fold the paper down about 1.5″ from the top, and then round the two top corners (I did this with a scrapbooking corner cutter but you can just as easily do it by hand with scissors): 

Add your gift card (and a note if you won’t have a separate card), fold up the bottom, place a glue dot such as a ZOT on the top flap (or you can use Elmer’s or a glue stick), seal it shut, and then add the giftee’s name to the front. I like to use rub-on letters for my names (you can buy them at any craft or scrapbooking store), but the name can certainly be handwritten instead.

4. For my flowerpot gift holder, I picked up a small galvanized bucket in the dollar bins at Target, added some floral foam topped with decorative grass, and then stuck in the colorful dragonfly and flower that I picked up at Hobby Lobby (in the party goods section by the pinwheel flowers!). I used my old standbys of ribbon tied in a bow around the pot (glue dots will help hold it in place) and a DIY gift card holder to complete the gift.  The card is held in place by one of those plastic card holders with a long stem (a “cardette”) that you can get from any florist. From start to finish (including making the card holder), this project takes only 10-15 minutes.

5. My last gift was to a movie lover! I picked up a red & white plastic popcorn holder in the dollar bins at Target (you could also do this with a popcorn bag from a movie theater), added some popcorn & chocolate, and then stuck in a few “ADMIT ONE” tickets that I printed out on red cardstock paper (click here for the ADMIT ONE printable). I added the teacher’s name to a movie theater gift card with some rub on letters and attached it to a cardette that is stuck down into the popcorn. And of course, you gotta add the bow with a few glue dots to keep it in place!

A few tips for any of these projects:
*Use wire-edged ribbon – it allows you to manipulate the bow into any position and make it nice and full. At some craft stores, such as Hobby Lobby, the wire-edged ribbon is in the floral section rather than in the craft section with the other ribbons.
*If you’re not familiar with glue dots, you need to be. They are clear dots that are adhesive on both sides – kind of like the sticky stuff that they use to attach new credit cards to the paperwork they come with in the mail! All craft stores have them (most carry the ZOTS brand) and once you’ve brought them into your life, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them. Especially if you have kids – they are invaluable for all of those fun (not) do-at-home school projects!
*Always include a nice note – giving your sincere thanks and appreciation to a teacher means much more than any gift you could give.

If you have any creative ideas for dressing up gift cards, I’d love to see them – show off a pic on Driven by Décor’s facebook page! Have a great week!