Along with Christmas there is another time for giving in the school calendar - the end of the school year. Many children like to say "Thank you" to their teacher who has guided them through the ups and downs of the school year and it is an ideal time for us parents to show that we recognise their hard work and the valuable input that teachers can have on our childrens' development.
My oldest boy is now too cool to take in a gift for his teacher, apparently it's not the done thing when you get to secondary school, so this year there were just three presents to organise - two class teachers and a very special much loved English teacher. After consultation with my two younger boys we decided to go handmade - that is "made" mainly by my hands...
....here's what we came up with:
A lovely fragrant gift comprising of a set of lavender sachets and a vintage style jar full to the brim with fabulously scented Lime, Mandarin and Basil soaps.
The soap was completely home made and we had lots of fun making it and in order to get a vintage look I packaged it in a Kilner Jar. These lovely chunky glass jars were first invented in the 1800s by the Kilner family. Originally they were used for preserves as the rubber sealed lid made them airtight and ideal for keeping food fresh for long periods of time. These days you find Kilner Jars used for all kinds of craft purposes and they make lovely vintage packaging. They can be found in most supermarkets and hobby shops and are inexpensive to buy. The finishing touches were gingham ribbon tied around the top and a luggage label with a fabric heart stuck on the front as a gift tag.
The lavender sachets make a lovely home made gift. I made them as a set of three with co-ordinating fabric tied with some cream cotton tape - simple, but cute and effective. The tutorial for these will follow shortly.
