Is your child’s school year over yet? Are you looking for ideas for a gift for a friend or teacher? I’ve got a tutorial for you today for a teacher gift idea or a gift for a friend. This is a chalkboard paint idea to create a garden fresh veggie bin out of a crate.
As you may know, I homeschool our girls. We are part of a homeschool co-op and I am friends with the other moms in the co-op. Those friends also happen to be teachers of my girls. It is fun at the end of the year to come up with gifts for my girls teachers because they are also my friends. I know them well and enjoy finding something I think they will really enjoy.
The woman who has taught our geography class loves to garden and has a large garden every summer. I thought it would be fun to make her something in which to put all those fresh veggies as they come in from the garden. Let me show you how, so you can make one for yourself or as a gift as well.
You will need a crate, chalkboard paint, paint brush, stencil, craft paint, and chalk for this project. I found a really pretty blue chalkboard paint that I thought would be fun and more colorful than the traditional chalkboard color.
Paint your crate with at least two coats of the chalkboard paint. My crate covered very easily, so two coats was enough. You may need a third coat.
Come up with the wording you want to stencil on your crate I went for a simple, Garden Fresh. I wanted to do Fresh from the Garden, but it wouldn’t fit at the size I wanted.
You can make your own stencil, which I showed you how to do if you look at that post, or you can purchase a stencil for this project.
Once you have completed the painting and the stenciling you will want to prime your new chalkboard surface. Do this by rubbing the entire surface with chalk and wiping it off. This makes it so that when you write on the chalkboard surface the words don’t leave a permanent mark but will easily erase.
I added a tea towel with my gift as I’m not sure of the food safety of the chalkboard paint. I wouldn’t want to put my fresh veggies in contact with it, so the towel can act as a barrier and it looks nice, too.
A couple of pieces of chalk, some handmade cards from my girls and this gift was ready to go. I hope that my friend enjoys her garden fresh crate. I know she will have plenty of homegrown veggies with which to fill it.
What kinds of gifts do you like to give? Is it fun to you to come up with personalized gifts?
More Gift Ideas for You:
I love this! It turned out awesome. What a neat idea.
Thank you!
KC
You do the cutest stuff!
Thank you… that is very sweet of you to say! 🙂
KC
OK – I am the non craftiest person on the planet, but I think I can manage this one! And it’s a GREAT idea! And not too expensive! I love it!
I bet you can do it, Ilene! It is just paint and a paintbrush. You don’t even have to do the stencil part if that intimidates you. You can use the chalkboard surface to write whatever you want, so the stencil isn’t necessary. Yes, you are right. Not too expensive at all. Under $10 in fact…if you use a craft store coupon.
Take care,
KC
How adorable! Great idea! Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday! 😉 Bonnie
Thanks, Bonnie! Thanks for hosting each week, I appreciate it.
KC
So adorable! Whenever I finish my garden, I might have to make me a crate like this to show off our harvest!
Morgaine @ Madcap Frenzy
P.S. I would love if you would join me in celebrating my Blogiversary by linking up any of your awesome posts at my Blogiversary Link Party: https://www.madcapfrenzy.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-my-blogiversary-and-ill-link-party.html
Hugs!
Thank you! I wish I had a garden and things grew in it…then I could make one for me, but I don’t have a green thumb so Trader Joe’s is my garden. lol!
KC
This is super cute!! 🙂
Thanks!
That paint color is so pretty – gotta love Martha!
Thank you, Ruth! I am really into this blue…so pretty. Martha does know her stuff, doesn’t she?
KC
What a great idea to display those beautiful fresh veggies! I don’t think I could give it away, though…I’d keep it for myself! I am featuring this on my blog today 🙂
https://www.unoriginalmom.com/original-fridays-10/
Thank you! It was a little difficult to give it away, but I am so sick of how much stuff we have in our house lately that it made it A LOT easier to give it away. Thank you so much for the feature. I’m heading over to check that out.
KC
This is fab! Pinned
Thank you for sharing & linking up at “Pin it” Tuesday!
PowerfulMothering.com
See you NEXT week!!
Thank you!
KC