I Love You to Pieces Craft | A Great Mother's Day Student-Made Gift Idea

Looking for a meaningful, easy-to-prep craft that your students can gift to someone special?  This "I Love You to Pieces" writing prompt and craft is the perfect student-made gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, Valentine’s Day, or any special occasion!

This craft is perfect for all ages!  It works well for students as young as Pre-K all the way through late elementary grades.

How it Works:

Students will tear pieces of construction paper and use them to fill in two heart shapes, creating a colorful mosaic effect.  

While having fun with the rip-and-tear technique, they’ll also develop fine motor skills.  

Best of all, it’s a simple to prep and budget-friendly craft!

 

What’s Included?

1 Ready-to-Print PDF (Not Editable)

1 Picture Template

 

How to Complete the Craft:

 Color - Students begin by coloring their papers using markers or crayons.

2.   Writing Prompt – Students complete the prompt about someone special they love and why.  Encourage them to use complete sentences and add meaningful details.

3Heart Collage – Provide students with a variety of construction paper colors.  Have them tear the paper into small pieces (no scissors needed!) and glue them inside the hearts to create a mosaic effect.  

**TIP* Encourage students to start with the edges of the hearts first, then fill in the centers.

Add a Picture – Take and print a 4x6 photo of each student.  

Using the template, cut the pictures down to size and glue them into the frame.  

No photos?  No problem!  Students can draw a self-portrait instead.

Laminate – Once the craft is complete and the glue has dried, laminate for extra durability. 

       Gift Time! – Students are ready to surprise their special someone with their heartfelt, handmade keepsake.

 

This quick, easy, and budget-friendly craft is a perfect, meaningful gift for any special occasion.  Whether for Mother’s Day, Father's Day, Grandparents’ Day, or Valentine’s Day, it’s a keepsake that families will cherish for years to come!

Click HERE to download the "I Love You to Pieces" Printable from my TpT store!

Grandparent's Day Gift Idea

Are you looking for a quick, easy, and cheap Grandparent's Day gift for your students to make?  These personalized oven mitts hit the mark!  Not only do these make a great gift for Grandparent's Day but you could also use this same idea for a great Mother's Day and/or Father's Day gift idea too!

Here's how to make these personalized oven mitts:

Purchase Oven Mitts

I found these oven mitts at Walmart for .88 cents each.  They had them in this solid tan color.

They also had these oven mitts with the different designs on them.

The back side of the mitts were blank so they still worked great for this craft!

You can also find a great deal on oven mitts at Dollar Tree.  They have this set of 3 for only $1.00 each!  They are available in a couple different color options. The great thing about Dollar Tree is you can order everything you need online.  No need to drive around town looking for a class set.  They also offer a free in-store pickup option.

Purchase Paint Supplies

For this craft project you will need to purchase a bottle of fabric paint and a fabric marker (or puffy 3-D paint).  You can find these supplies at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Amazon, etc.

I purchased a bottle of white fabric paint like the one below for the handprint on each mitten.

Then I purchased 3-D puffy paint and a fabric marker to write with.  I wanted to test both out.  The 3-D puffy paint is a lot harder to write with, especially for younger grade kids.  The fabric markers are easy to write with.  I would highly suggest having your students use the fabric markers to write with.

You can pick up this awesome pack of fabric markers on Amazon!

The great thing about this craft is the minimal supplies you have to buy!

Student Handprints

Once you have all the supplies you are ready for the students to add their handprints.

 Depending on the size of their hand you can do one or both of their handprints.

If you need to darken up the handprint you can always stamp it a second time or go over it with a second coat of paint with a paintbrush. 

Add Message and Details

You can have your students decide what they want to write or give them a couple of ideas on what message to include on their oven mitt.  Have them write their message and details on their oven mitt with the fabric marker (or puffy 3-D paint).

Here are some examples:

The message and details on this oven mitt were written with 3-D puffy paint.  This gives you an idea on how 3-D puffy paint looks.

Don't forget to have your students include their name and the date somewhere on their oven mitt!

That's it!  A simple and cute craft for your students to make for their grandparents!

If you are looking for a cute way for your students to wrap their oven mitt gift check out these gift bag crafts that students can make by clicking HERE!

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Father's Day Gift Bag Craft

Need a simple and quick way for your students to wrap their dad's gifts for Father's Day?  Check out my Father's Day Gift Bag craft!  

Simply have your students color, cut, and glue the shirt pieces onto a white paper sack! 

Your students can pick how they want to make their shirts look.  They can add pockets, a long tie, bow tie, handkerchief (a tissue cut up), a pen, or more!

Each bag turns out so cute and unique!

Click HERE to download my Father's Day Gift Bag Craft from my TpT Store!

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Cute and Cheap Mother’s Day Present!

This year I decided to try a new craft for my students to make to give to their mother’s for Mother’s Day.  The new craft idea turned out to be SUPER cute AND cheap – so I just had to share!

My students made these Shrinky Dink necklaces for their mom’s!

Here’s what it takes to make these super cute necklaces:

1. Shrinky Dinks Paper - I bought this paper from the craft store Michaels.  It cost 5.99.  (One package will make more than enough for a class set of necklaces.)

2.  Using a pencil, trace hearts onto the Shrinky Dinks paper.  You can download the heart shape template I used by clicking HERE.

3.  Cut out each heart you traced.  Using a hole punch – punch one (or two) holes in each heart.  The hole will become the perfect size to fit the string of the necklace through.

4.  Using colored pencils, have the students draw and color on the rough side of their heart.

5.  Follow the oven baking directions provided in the Shrinky Dinks packet to shrink the hearts.

(Here is a better look at the size the hearts start out at and the size the hearts shrink to.)

6.  Use some type of string (I used 1mm black string) or necklace chain to finish each necklace.  Finally, I tied the necklace ends onto the black string to complete the necklaces!

7.  I had each of my students color and decorate an envelope to wrap their mom’s necklace in!

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*UPDATED*

This year I took my Shrinky Dinks idea and altered it a bit.  Instead of making our mom's necklaces we made key chains!  They turned out super cute and took less time to make than the necklaces did. 

Here is how they turned out!

I also had my students wrap their gift in this super cute bag!

It was super easy for the kids to make.  All they had to do was color, cut, and glue the shirt together!  Then, they glued it onto a white paper sack.

Click HERE to download my Mother's Day Gift Bag Topper from my TpT Store!

You can't leave out dad!  Here is a Father's Day Gift Bag topper for dad's gift!

Click HERE to download my Father's Day Gift Bag Topper from my TpT Store!