DIY Teacher Appreciation Gifts – Crayon and Pencil Gift Boxes for Teacher Gifts

DIY teacher gifts do not have to be hard or expensive, but it really is the thought toward them that teachers cherish the most.

Teachers are honestly one of the most underappreciated and hard-working groups of individuals on the planet. My own husband is a middle school teacher, and I see the efforts that go into molding young minds!

One of my favorite times of the year is Teacher Appreciation Week. But I also know life gets busy and sometimes we forget to honor our teachers until the last minute, and we may be scrambling for a heartfelt idea. There are so many ways we can appreciate our teachers. Not just during teacher appreciation week but also throughout the school year.

DIY Teacher Gifts – Crayon and Pencil Gift Box Templates

Today’s 3D paper pencil and crayon box project is a craft even teachers themselves can enjoy as a classroom decoration! These paper crayons and pencil boxes can hold candy, a small gift, or a gift card very easily just like these spiral-closing gift boxes I made last year.

What’s better is these templates can be used with your cutting machine as a layered design or you can change them to a Print Then Cut design for even faster creation. Oh, and did I mention the templates are FREE?!

Let’s cover the necessary and optional supplies you will want for this adorable and colorful DIY teacher gift box project.

Supply List for Crayon and Pencil Gift Boxes

• 50-65 lb text weight Recollections cardstock. View my full list of the Best Paper For Paper Flowers/Crafts here.
• Cricut machine (Maker or Explore)
• Quick swap housing and Scoring wheel or scoring stylus for Explore users.
• Crayon and Pencil/Colored Pencil templates. These are all FREE inside my Freebie Vault in the SVG section! Details below to access the free pencil and crayon gift box templates below.
• Glue gun
• Liquid glue
• Black iron-on vinyl for the Crayons (optional)
• Easypress mini
• Heat safe surface

Download Template Freebies Here

The pencil and crayon templates are available as a FREE gift to my readers. A year after I created this craft, I decided to make a larger 3D pencil version with the teacher’s name customized and some rosette paper flowers added to the pencil – something lovely a teacher could place on their desk. The large pencil variant is now available in the Freebie Vault as well!

Download my free templates by signing up via the form below. If you are already a member, log in right here and find the giant pencil, crayon, and color pencil templates by searching the keyword “teacher” inside the Freebie Vault. Need help entering the vault? Read this helpful post here. 

Looking for More Teacher SVG Files?

Download my full teacher appreciation SVG set that can help you create endless gifts any teacher will love, like mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, and more!

Design Space Template Set Up

View these steps in detail in the video below! I used Mustache Round Font for the color words.

1. Import the template of your choice to Design Space. Upload > Browse.
2. Scale to your preferred size. Make sure you scale when the items are all GROUPED so they remain proportional.
3. Decide if you want to cut out the template on colored cardstock or turn it into a Print Then Cut.
4. If you wish to turn it into a print image then change the Fill to Print in the Edit Bar. You can also change the color that will print next to Fill.
5. Click on each of the black lines on top of the templates and change the Line-type to Score.
6. Using your Attach tool attach the scorelines to the colored template.
7. Proceed to send the items to your cut screen.

How to Use Iron-on Vinyl on Cardstock

Why would you want to use iron-on vinyl or cardstock? Two words, transfer tape. Transfer tape rips cardstock when you try and place a vinyl design. But the iron-on liner does not!

1. Cut out your HTV making sure to MIRROR your image.
2. Weed the vinyl.
3. Heat up your Easypress mini to the medium setting.
4. Place your paper template cutout on a heat-safe surface.
5. Align the black border to the top and bottom edge of the crayon’s wrapper piece and press gently for 30-40 seconds.
6. Let the cardstock cool for about 30-40 seconds and then carefully lift the clear liner off. If it does not lift effortlessly then heat again for another 20-30 seconds.

Again, you can view this process step by step in the video below!

Crayon and Colored Pencil Gift Box Assembly

1. Carefully fold along the scored lines of the paper crayon or pencil template.
2. Connect the bottom to the biggest crayon piece first.
3. Fold and close the top of the crayon template.
4. Connect the top to the center of the crayon template. Hot glue works best for this part.
5. Close the entire crayon center.
6. Add the crayon wrapper to the outside of the box with liquid glue.
7. The bottom of the crayon can be opened and closed as needed to insert a gift, candy or anything special!
8. Watch the video below for complete steps!

I really hope you all love this craft. Creating easy DIY teacher gifts is a fast-growing love I have. Some other great teacher gift ideas include making a vase of paper flowers, personalized engraved jewelry, or even a pair of custom shoes!

What other ideas do you have for teacher appreciation gifts? Share with me in the comments below!

More Crafts to Love!

• Free July 4th Printable – Happy Independence Day Wall Print
• Free Printable Planner Stickers: Tropical Summer
• 9 Best Paper Flowers Crafts: Easy Papercrafts to Brighten Your Day
• The Best Free Summer SVG Files For Cricut And Silhouette Crafts
• Paper Flowers for Baby Showers: A Special Guest Post

About Abbi Kirsten Collections

I have spent the last 9+ years building my creative skills and sharing them with others. My flower designs are created with simplicity, color and crafty fun in mind. If you haven’t yet, be sure to join the subscriber community to gain access to all my freebies or visit my signature design shop Catching Colorflies!

Want to join my Facebook community to share your crafts and learn from the best? Click here to request access to my group, Crafters and Cricut Lovers.

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