Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and I’ve been busy preparing gift bags for Beckett to give each of the kids in his preschool class. I started (as I often do) by searching around Pinterest for ideas, and as always I found lots of inspiration, but nothing was quite what I was looking for. I had a few requirements: no candy; something fun and age appropriate for 2 to 2.5 year olds; low budget; and, finally, something that Beckett could help to create.
A few weeks ago while shopping in the Target Dollar Spot (it’s an addiction, people), I found some adorable cellophane treat bags {you can buy similar ones on Amazon here}. They had several options, but I was smitten with the bags that had a red heart and teal chevron stripes (that teal makes them feel a little less girly to me). And at 20 for $1, I was on the right track for the low-budget requirement
Since I didn’t want to fill these bags up with candy, I went on a search for other things to stuff them with. The Target Dollar Spot also had $1 packages of Valentine’s pencils in shades of red, orange, pink, and teal {similar pencils are available on Amazon}. I put them in my cart as a “maybe.” As I continued my shopping, I was brainstorming for a project that Beckett could help me create and that would fit in the cute cello bags. Then it came to me – he and I could make some fun pencil toppers!
My mom has a Sizzix die cutter, and the last time I used it Beckett was fascinated and wanted to help turn the handle, so I knew this would be the perfect way for him to help make pencil toppers for all of the kids in his class. We picked up a large sheet of red foam from Michaels, and my mom cut it into squares a little larger than her largest heart shaped Sizzix die. Beckett placed a foam square on top of the die, and then my mom helped him to turn the handle, rolling the die through the Sizzix (the pressure cuts the die shape as it rolls through).
After just a couple of times, Beckett had the hang of it and didn’t need {or want} any help! He was able to turn the handle on his own, and loved removing each completed heart, showing it off, stacking them up, and of course, wearing the negatives as bracelets!
Once Beckett had finished cutting all of the hearts that we needed for the pencil toppers, I cut two slits in each so that we could slide the pencils through. I used my new Slice Precision Cutter, but an Exacto knife would also do the trick. Don’t forget to put a mat of some sort below the hearts before making your cuts – I simply used a kitchen cutting board.
Once the pencil toppers were complete, we needed to find a couple more fun items to fill the Valentine’s gift bags. While picking up supplies at Michaels for another project, I came across small, colorful flutes, as well as small tubes of bubbles. Music and bubbles are two of Beckett’s favorite pastimes, and he was excited to see these going into our shopping cart! {Buy heart-topped mini bubble wands here}
Last, but not least, we decided to round out the gift bags with one of Beckett’s favorite treats – fruit snacks! We had plenty of individual bags left over from his birthday party, so this was a no-cost addition.
Now we needed a way to close up the bags, and a personalized bag topper seemed like the perfect choice. I am ga-ga for the photo of Beckett holding out one of the hearts he cut for the pencils, so I wanted to incorporate that as a way of letting people know the gifts were from him, and that he helped to create them! While searching for a cute Valentine-y saying on Pinterest, Beckett gave me the inspiration I was looking for by singing the ABC’s to his little brother. I designed the bag toppers with Beckett’s photo and the alphabet, replacing the “o” with a heart, and highlighting I <3 U. I just love how they turned out!
I printed and cut out the bag toppers, folded each in half, and wrote the names of the children in Beckett’s class on the back-sides.
I added strips of double-sided tape to the inside of the toppers to affix them to the cello bags. I placed the toppers so that they only overlap the very top of the bag (because the pencils are tall and I wanted the pencil toppers to remain visible).
Beckett is really excited to give these bags to all of his friends at his preschool Valentine’s party next week!
If you are putting together similar gifts for your son or daughter’s classmates, feel free to download and print the topper I designed! These toppers fit the 4″ wide cello bags available in the Target Dollar Spot.
There are two versions of the bag toppers available for download. The first is the simple, non-personalized version that just has the alphabet and a place to write in your child’s name. If you are comfortable using a simple photo editing program, you can instead download the customizable version of the bag topper, with a place to layer in a photo of your cute kiddo, and you can type or write in your kiddo’s name.
I had so much fun working on this project with the help of my little man, and I’m a happy mama because we put together 18 of these gift bags and the grant total was just over $10. Who else is getting in to the Valentine’s spirit?!
Linked up to: Home Stories A to Z Tutorials & Tips Link Party and The Makers link party at Persia Lou.