Teacher's Note Holder

This teacher's note holder is a wonderful appreciation gift for any time of year. And it will be appreciated even more in return when it's dressed up with a warm note from the student and an appropriate gift card!


The materials you will need are as follows:
3 - wood slices (I used a 2"x2" piece of wood cut into 3/8" lengths)
1 - mini clothes pin
1 - 3" wooden star
3 - 1 1/2" x 3 3/8" pieces of colored card stock (see template option below)
1 - 8" piece 18g wire
1 - round toothpick
1 - 3/8" wide popsicle stick cut to 1 1/2" length
The tools you will need are scissors, white glue and optionally hot glue, a black fine-point sharpie, and a pink marker or highlighter.

Begin by preparing the supplies. The size of the book covers made from the card stock might have to be adjusted if you get your wood blocks from other than a standard 2"x2".

Now you can begin assembling. Apply a generous amount of glue to 3 sides of a wooden block (top, bottom and one edge.)

If you didn't use the prepared templates, use the sharpie to write the name of a favorite subject. This can be done before or after the book cover is applied to the wooden block. Wrap the construction paper around the block covering the sides with glue.

Do all 3 blocks of wood this way.

Next, take the wire and put one end just through the center of the hinge of the clothes pin.

Wrap the wire tightly around one side of the clothes pin handle .

Poke a hole in the top of the apple. If your apples are styrofoam, this can be done with the end of the wire. Otherwise, if your apple is a little tougher, you might have to be more creative, but be careful that you don't poke something you didn't mean to. (I had tough apples and 300 to boot, so I opted for a drill press.)

Now fill the hole with hot glue and insert the other end of the wire. My apples had a small leaf, so I twisted it around to cover the hole and excess glue.

Use the sharpie to draw measurement lines on the piece of popsicle stick to make a mini ruler.

Use the scissors to cut the toothpick in half. Use the sharpie to apply lead points to the mini pencils.

Use the pink marker or highlighter to add erasers to the other end of the mini pencils.

Now it's time to begin assembling. Apply glue to the bottom of a book and position it in the center of the star. Repeat with the other two books, off-setting the books for a casual look.

Next, glue the apple to the stack of books. If you're using liquid glue, you'll want to be sure that the craft doesn't get disturbed while it's drying. I like hot glue for this craft, but hot glue is not best for small children and supervision is needed to prevent burns.

Next, apply a little glue to the ruler and position it next to the apple.

Finally, apply a small amount of glue to the tips of the pencils and add them to the top.

That's it! Now you just have to insert a special note for that special teacher and present it to them with a big hug and thank you!

Please share your comments with others!

(book cover template)