DIY Gifts

Back To School: Easy To Make Dum Dum Trees For Teacher Gifts

Back To School Time Is Here!

Help your child create these easy to make Teacher Gifts to welcome back their favorite Teacher and school staff.

You can find All these craft supplies at your local Walmart or another big box store near you. You can even your clay pot a solid color or with design and even tie a simple burlap bow around the pot itself. Make sure you give your teacher an extra bag of Dum Dum suckers for an easy refill so all her/his students can joy a sweet treat year-round.

You will need:

Step 1: If you are spray painting your clay pots, I suggest laying the top down. Depending on what type of spray paint may depend on how long it takes to dry. You may need more than one coat depending on the color you are using as well.

Step 2: Place the 4″ Styrofoam ball into the top of the clay pot. Start your Dum Dum by placing the first row right along the top of the clay pot. You will only stick the sucker into the ball until the paper starts on the sucker.

Step 3: The next row you will go on top of the existing row. You will place your suckers in the next row in the space where the suckers meet as shown in the images above. (It’s easier to show than the explain).

Step 4: Keep making your rows as shown in step 3 until your Styrofoam ball is full. You can add a bow or ribbon along the rim of the clay pot to add a special splash of color too.

This is always a great little gift for any occasion with a little imagination you can create these DIY Dum Dum Trees for Halloween, Birthday Parties, Thanksgiving and more. Simply adjust your design to feature your current celebration with themed colors.

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Last Minute Mother’s Day Gift Basket Idea

Apr 26 by Jamie Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is coming up soon! If it is creeping up on you a little too quickly – no worries, I’ve got a foolproof last minute Mother’s Day gift basket idea for you. Walmart.com has some nice gift baskets – but when you make your own you can really personalize it.

Here are some tips to make it awesome, while keeping it frugal:

Get a cheap basket, or reuse an old one. Don’t waste $5 – $8 on a pretty basket when you probably have extras lying all over the house. If you can’t find one, check the Goodwill – that place is a basket gold mine and most will ring in at only 50¢ – $1.

Pretty it up. If your basket has a couple scuffs or is less than beautiful, do some camouflaging with a ribbon wound around the handle. Let the kids pick out some flowers at the Dollar Tree and hot glue them on the basket where the handle joins the base.

If you have a brown or black basket that has a few bare spots – filling them in with a brown or black sharpie does the trick!

Fill it with FAVORITES. Get the kids to help you think of all mom’s favorite things – like lotions, a gossip mag, nail polish, a Starbucks giftcard, a romantic dvd, etc…

DEFINITELY include gift certificates so she can treat herself a haircut, pedicure, massage, dinner out, etc… More than flowers or chocolates – moms really love getting time to pamper themselves a little (and the means to do it). The best place to get these is Groupon – where you usually save up to 50% on various local salons and restaurants.

Try the Gift Bag Trick. For this basket (that was mostly full of gift certificates) there wasn’t enough “stuff” to really fill it up. Easy fix! Cut a section out of a gift bag to serve as a colorful background for the items that are inside – while pushing them all up to the front to look like it’s “stuffed” nicely. Just grab your trusty hot glue gun again to secure the gift bag cutout to the back of the handle.

**I have this hot glue gun and it’s cheap and I LOVE it because it’s cordless.

A couple more last minute Mother’s Day gift ideas:

Pioneer Woman Cookware Set

Weslo Treadmill

DIY Dum Dum Trees: Great for Teacher or Mother’s Day Gifts

May 9 by Paul I. Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a super easy craft that even Dad and the kids can make for Teachers or Mother’s Day this is one for you. All these supplies can be purchased at your local Walmart or other big box store near you. Once you figure out if your clay pot painting or not this craft takes literally under 10 minutes to complete.

You will need:

Dum Dum Suckers $2.50
4″ Styrofoam Balls $2.97
4″ Clay Pot $1.97
Mini Clay Pot $0.34 (Optional)
Spray Paint $1.97-$3.86 (Optional)

Step 2: Place the 4″ Styrfoam ball into the top of the clay pot. Start your Dum Dum by placing the first row right along the top of the clay pot. You will only stick the sucker into the ball until the paper starts on the sucker.

Step 4: Keep making your rows as shown in step 3 until your Styrofoam ball is full. You can add a bow or ribbon along the rim of the clay pot to add a special splash of color too.

You can also make Mini Dum Dum Trees with only a few suckers and a much smaller pot. The mini clay pots are only $0.34 each at Walmart!

Easy Valentine Craft

Jan 7 by Paul Ivanovsky Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so I hit the craft and office supply isles at Walmart and put together a fun Easy Valentine Craft for you to make. These plaques can be made with hearts, initials, xoxox’s and many other sentiments for Valentine’s Day or for a year around decor piece.

Easy Valentine Craft

Supplies:

light weight wood plaques from Walmart – these come in a variety of sizes and shapes
plain thumb tacks
paint pens -in various colors

Instructions:

If you do not want the wood to be natural in finish, apply a couple of coats of paint or stain and allow them to dry completely before beginning your project.

Begin by sketching your letters or shapes lightly on the wood plaques. This is just a guide, you can skip this step if you feel comfortable placing the tacks without the guide.

Gently push the thumb tacks into the wood, following the shape outline you have drawn on the plaque. You’ll want to make sure they get a good grab into the plaque but are not pushed too far in. Depending on the plaques you’re using, the tacks should go in without a hammer but if you need to use something more than your thumb I recommend a rubber mallet.

Once your tacks are in place, remove the cap from your paint pen and prime it. Carefully apply paint to the top of each thumb tack. Allow the paint to dry and repeat with at least one more coat of paint.

These little plaques make great Valentine decorations, year around decorations in a child’s initials, or a great homemade Valentine Gift for someone you love. Place the heart between two initials to represent a couple’s bond. Girls could make a set for friends with B F F. There are so many possibilities!