All of my three kids are in school all day and I volunteer my time at the school as often as possible. If there is one thing that I have noticed is that teachers are really unappreciated. These men and women have dedicated their lives to teaching our children and with all the budget cuts and political issues, teachers are not acknowledged as I believe they should be. My mom friends and I often get together to do nice things for the teachers at the school throughout the year, not only during teacher appreciation week. This week I will be putting a little "treat" tree in the teachers lounge. I call it a Thank You For Your "COMMITMINT" tree!
To me, gum is such a treat and once I saw these new Extra® 35-stick packs by the checkout lane at Walmart, I knew they would be perfect treat for a group such as teachers. 35 sticks means more gum for all!!
I purchased both the Extra® Gum Spearmint and the Extra® Gum Polar Ice varieties. I love carrying gum in my purse to share with others and I knew that I would need more than just one pack for a craft. I knew I wanted to make something different than what I had seen before and something that was easy to make. After some thought, I decided on a tree type craft where a teacher could just pass by, pull a stick of gum and go on their way!
For the tree, you will need the following materials:
(1) 9" foam cone(2) 35-stick packs Extra® Gum Spearmint(1) roll washi tape(2) "Thank you for your commitmint" printable labels(1) sheet of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper(1) popsicle stick or wooden dowelscissorsregular tape
First, you wrap the foam cone with the scrapbook paper creating a bigger cone shape. Tape the paper to the foam cone.
Then, trim off the excess paper.
My foam cone broke (thanks kids!) but your paper cone should look like this. This paper cone will go over the foam cone as a sleeve.
The next part is easy. Attach a piece of washi tape to the end of a stick of gum.
Attach the sticks of gum to the tree, side by side.
Repeat this same step until the whole tree is covered with sticks of gum. Washi tape makes it easy to pull off a stick of gum later.
Here is the printable for the top of the tree. A little "thank you" always goes a long way, especially for overworked teachers!
Click here to download printable
Attach the printable to the popsicle stick. I used the same washi tape. Then just push the popsicle stick through the top of the foam cone.
VOILA! Easy and cute gum stick tree that I know the teachers will love! I can't wait to drop it off at the teacher's lounge this week!
The Extra® 35-stick packs are easy to find in the checkout line at Walmart. The new packs feature durable, recycled packaging and feature more gum!!
Have you picked up a new 35-stick Extra® gum pack yet?What kind of "treats" do you make to show your appreciation to your child's teacher?