Need a great DIY teacher gift idea that even the kiddos can make? This paint dotted paint tote is easy to create, and can be personalized with any design!
This post contains affiliate links.
Let’s talk teacher gifts for a second – especially DIY teacher gifts. I am a teacher myself and I absolutely love thoughtful homemade gifts, even more so if it’s something that the kids make. But if you are a struggling to make a crayon monogram the day before school ends, just forget about it. Teachers really appreciate gift cards, so don’t stress out! But, if you want to package up a gift, this is a great option. It’s full of useful things that your child’s teacher will love.
DIY Teacher Gift
I helped my daughters make bags like this a few years ago for their teachers, except we did an apple version in green, red, and yellow paint. I didn’t write a tutorial for those, but I did share them on instagram and its exactly the same process as this one if you want to switch it up for an apple.
To create your own paint dotted tote bags, you will need:
*affiliate links included
- canvas tote bag
- freezer paper
- fabric or multi surface paint
- glue sticks (or something with a round, flat end so it can be “dabbed”)
- fabric markers (Tulip brand is my favourite, because the colours stay bright and vibrant.)
The first step is to cut your design out of freezer paper. You can easily create this with your Cricut, or you can print one out, trace it onto the freezer paper, and cut. Once cut, use an iron to adhere the freezer paper to your bag (glossy side down towards the bag). This will create a stencil for you to paint over.
My daughter picked the colors that we used – a canary yellow, bright orange, and a deep gold color. We used one glue stick for each color so that we didn’t have to worry about wiping them off when we changed color.
How to Paint Dot a Tote Bag
I started with the inside of the sun, and dotted around the circle with the first colour, staggering the dots. Overlap them with the freezer paper by different amounts – place one mostly on the paper, one mostly on the bag, one half on-half off, etc.
Repeat the process with the second and third colours.
Once all three colours have a full ring, fill in any empty spots as you find them. Then, repeat the same process on the outside, with the first rounds close to the paper and gradually staggering away from the paper as you go.
Once the paint is mostly dry, use tweezers to pull the freezer paper off the bag. It will come off easily, so don’t worry!
Finally, have your child write their teachers name in the middle. You can have them practice first in pencil, and if they print lightly, it is easily erasable in case of mistakes. Trace over their printing with the fabric marker.
Now you have a beautiful, personalized bag that you can stuff with all of your teachers favorite goodies. We grabbed a magazine, a huge Toblerone bar (which we wrapped in pretty paper with an attached note), notebook, pen, and pretty eos lip balm. It’s guaranteed to be a gift they will appreciate and use, which I think is the most important thing of all!
Are you a teacher? What would you like to see stuffed in a goodie bag like this? Leave a note below so everyone has a lot of ideas to fill a perfect gift bag!
And if you’re looking for more great teacher gift ideas, here are some of my favourites:
I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment!