how to make super-easy, beautiful flower pens

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, a time I really believe teachers should get a little love, a pat on the back for all of their hard work, effort, and energy.

Though my kids’ school has a whole committee who plans a week of total awesomeness for our teachers, the second day of the week is usually reserved for a small note, treat, drawing, or handmade gift from the children.  In the past, Maddy, Owen,and Cora have made sweet fingerprint notecards or little storybooks for their teachers.

And we even made some water bottles a little happier--and a whole lot prettier–when it was all we could do to help.

But this year, Cora and I have been on a flower kick, so I thought we’d continue it through Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother’s Day (fyi: Mother’s Day spoiler alert to all the moms in our lives!).  Since both Grandma and Nanny love flowers, we thought they’d love a hand-painted pot of flower pens for their kitchen or desk.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Super-Easy, Beautiful Flower Pens: These were so easy, and they turned out so totally cute.

Cora and I picked up the supplies the last time we ran errands: medium-sized clay flower pots, floral tape, two packs of pens, a huge bag of beans, and three bunches of silk flowers (from the dollar store!).

We started by painting the pots.

I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora what color paint they wanted, and I squirted it in their ‘palates’.

 

Owen decided to flip his pot for easier painting. . .

. . . and Cora wanted to paint hers the ‘normal’ way.

While the kids were painting their pots, I worked on assembling the flower pens.   It was so easy, and once I hit a groove, it went really quickly.

First I cut the flower from the stem, leaving about 2-3″ of stem below the flower.

Then I pulled off the leaves, including the small plastic part at the bottom, and I put the leaves right under the flower. I wanted the leaves to hang somewhat loosely so the top of the pen was covered.

I took the top off of the pen and used a small piece of floral tape to secure the flower to the pen so it wouldn’t wiggle while I taped it.

Finally, I started at the top of the pen and wound floral tape tightly along the pen, making sure to wrap the bottom part of the flower several times so it wouldn’t be a bump and it would be more subtle.

Once I got to the bottom of the pen, I wrapped the whole thing from bottom to top, ending at the flower.  I thought it would better secure the flower and make the pen look more ‘green’ instead of ‘grey’.

I created a really simple document with six Flower Pot Notes, and we printed them on pink and green cardstock.  They each had simple messages:

• You are awesome!
• Thank you!
  
• I love you!
  
• Thank you for all you do! and
• Here’s a hug for you!  

I thought they could be used for either Teacher Appreciation gifts or Mother’s Day gifts.

 

The Flower Pot Notes can be downloaded and printed here: flower pot notes

Then Maddy, Owen, and Cora wrote little messages to their teachers, and their note cards were ready!

I grabbed some small yogurt containers and hot glued them into each flower pot.  I didn’t know how else to cover the small drain hole, but I also wanted to keep the pens in the middle of the pot, not flopping over the edges.  Yay! Another super way to re-use our yogurt containers!

Then we filled each pot with beans.  They were the most affordable choice for us, though I’ve seen pots filled with foam, playdough, rocks, and beads.

Maddy adds beans to her pot. . .

 . . . and then she ‘plants’ her flowers!

We even found a use for the pen caps that we had discarded!

We used the pen caps as card holders; after the kids wrote their messages on the Flower Pot Note Cards, we taped them to the pen cap.  We stuck the flowers into the beans, added the note, and the Teacher Appreciation Gifts were ready!

 

 

Awesome!

We absolutely love how these turned out!

And that’s it–just a super-sweet way to recognize teachers, mothers, or grandmothers–or anyone!–for any occasion.  And it’s a gift that has a practical use–it’s not candy that teachers and mothers want but will be frustrated that they ate; it’s not another coffee mug or teacher ornament.  It’s something they’ll use and smile every time they do.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week and happy, happy Mother’s Day!

Want a few more fun gifts to give for Mother’s Day or Teacher Appreciation Day?

Check out:

• flower pens
• teacher appreciation gifts
• finger print note cards
• garden stones
• butterfly pens
• give the gift of words
• mother’s day ticket book
• best books as gifts
• gifts that give back
• happy flowers
• quick thank you for teachers
• wooden thank you tray
• father’s day gifts

Or follow these two pinterest boards: