Have you noticed the daylight is starting to slip away a little earlier each evening? That can only mean one thing: back-to-school! This year, we wanted to send the kiddos back with a little something for their teacher. Teachers regularly champion for our little ones, and they pour their heart and soul into cultivating tiny, educated humans – we think they’re so great! And just like teachers encourage our little ones to grow and be their own unique person, we wanted to send the same message of encouragement back to them in the form of a colorful momento for their desk. Your child’s teacher will be delighted by the encouraging message hidden inside these colorful petals. BONUS: these tiny pots double as a treat dish!

• Tiny terracotta pots
• Your favorite brand of Plaid acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Pencil
• Popsicle sticks
• Colored construction or scrapbooking paper
• Scissors
• Mod Melter
• Candy of your choosing

Step 1
Paint your terracotta pot with several coats of your favorite Plaid acrylic paint. You can decorate the pots as much or as little as you like – we chose to keep ours solid so that the flower message is what stands out! Then, paint your popsicle stick. This will become the flower’s “stem”.

Step 2
Pick out several colors of your favorite paper (tip: it works best if the paper you choose has color or pattern on both sides!). Cut into desired flower shapes. Layer 2, 3, or 4 shapes on top of one another, then glue in place. On the center portion of your flower, write a special message to your child’s teacher. Our favorites include “You’re an A+ Teacher!” and “Thanks for Helping Me Grow!” Using your Mod Melter, attach your popsicle stick “stem” to the back of the flower.

Step 3
Cut out a circular piece of brown construction paper for the “potting soil” by flipping the terracotta pot over and tracing the outer rim. Then, with a craft knife, cut a slit large enough for the popsicle stick to slip through.

Step 4
Place a tiny dot of hot glue on the outer lip of the terracotta pot and press down the brown circular piece of paper so that it acts as a lid of the pot. Then stick your popsicle stick flower through the slit and down into the pot. Then fill the pot with candy and present to teacher!

Happy school year!

This post is sponsored by Plaid.