DIY Gift Ideas: For Teachers’ Day and beyond

Sep 23, 2021   |   Isabelle Goh

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Scented Candles

DIY scented candles have been all the rave with the millennials, and the idea of a handmade, one of a kind gift that is practical and aesthetically pleasing makes it seem almost too good to be true! Let’s not forget mention how simple it is to make within the confines of your home be it by yourself, with a friend or your family.

For starters, the things you would need are:

  • A simple candle in a glass jar (scented ones are available at Daiso for just $2)
  • A few skewer sticks / toothpicks or chopsticks
  • Some dried flower petals / leaves (try not to pluck from the flowers themselves!)
  • A microwave

Steps:

  1. You would first melt the candle in the microwave for up to 4 minutes, making sure wait patiently and check the candle to make sure all is going well.
  2. Once the time is up, carefully remove the hot candle wax from the microwave using a towel or oven mitten, and you can start customising your candle.
  3. You may use some of the melted wax to carefully place the flower or leaf petals you have gathered to the sides of the glass jar to have more flowers on display before pouring the wax.
    Quick tip #1: You can also carefully layer the dried flowers before pouring the wax and repeating this step once the wax has hardened. In doing so, the flowers would look more like it is mixed in with the candle wax.
    Quick tip #2:  Spices or herbs can be used to scent your candle too – but be sure to get an unscented candle instead of a scented one if you plan on doing this!
  4. After letting the candles cool and harden, feel free to decorate the exterior of the candle however you like!

Candy / Snack Bouquets

Have you ever heard of eating with your eyes? Candy and snack bouquets have been a popular choice for Valentine’s Day for many, and there is no reason why we cannot have it be an option to express our love for our teachers, friends and family alike! Of course, food is a very versatile medium as well, so this DIY gift can be customised to whichever food or design you think suits your gift recipient best.

The things you would need are:

  • Candy / snack of your choice
  • Tissue paper for bouquet wrapping
  • Wooden skewer sticks
  • Tape
  • String
  • Scissors

Steps:

  1. Tape a wooden skewer to the back of your first snack making sure it is nicely secured! Tip: Feel free to use more than one skewer for heavier snacks as well.
  2. Grab a coloured tissue paper and fold it into two to create a layered effect, before placing your snack with the skewer, on top.
  3. Take a piece of string and secure the snack and paper nicely, and there you have it — your very first mini bouquet!
  4. Repeat the first three steps on all your snacks, to create a lovely bouquet.
  5. You may choose to either wrap the whole bouquet you have now created with a piece of string tied into a ribbon, or you may place them all into another few pieces of coloured tissue paper to make it look more layered and beautiful!
  6. Voila! Your delicious snack bouquet is ready!

Trinket Tray

For those of you that are into clay modelling, or just looking to try something new, this DIY is the one for you! DIY trinket trays have been very trendy recently, and although it might be slightly time consuming, it is relatively simple to make a small dish with clay – even for beginners! This could also be a fun activity to do with your friends or classmates. So lets take a look!

The things you would need are:

  • Air dry white clay
  • Acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Glaze
  • water
  • Tablecloth or newspapers to protect craft table surface

Steps:

  1. First, mould the clay into a dish shape, you could use a bowl as a mould too if that is easier!
  2. Smooth out the clay’s cracks by dipping your finger into some water and going over the cracks gently. This should make the cracks less visible.
  3. Once you are satisfied with your dish, leave it aside for around 2 days to dry and set.
  4. Once the dish is ready, start painting on your acrylic paints.
    Tip: Do a quick online search for some simple design ideas!
    Do mix and match the colours to create new patterns! You may go over it for another coat if you would like a deeper and vivid shade.
  5. Allow the paint to dry for 20 minutes and take a break while you wait!
  6. Once the paint has dried, glaze the dish to make it look more polished. Take a bigger paintbrush and go over the whole dish, painting all over (except for the bottom!) to make sure it is nicely covered.
  7. Once the glaze has dried for up to 4 days, you’re good to go!

While the trinket tray takes more time than most DIY gifts, it will feel more rewarding when you gift it to your teachers, friends or family. Try making one of these DIY gift ideas the next time you want to surprise someone with a heart-warming gift!