Adventures in Pinterest: Back to School (or Fourth of July?) Gifts for $.32 each

Now that summer is here, I finally signed up for Pinterest!  After much "pinning," I decided it was time to start trying some of these ideas out.  I thought it would be fun to share my results, as well as a cost breakdown.  I plan to try various home and school projects, as well as some recipes.

My first idea came from this pin:

Photo Credit: Pink Buckaroo Designs

No, I'm not that eager to get back to work, but it seemed simple enough for me to try!  I think my second graders will love receiving these as a back to school surprise!

My breakdown of supplies and costs:
10 Pieces of Scrapbook Paper at Michael's, on sale 5/$1, Used 15% off coupon...$1.70
1 Roll of Celebrate It 360 Ribbon (10 yd) at Michael's, on sale 2/$3, Used 15% off coupon...$1.28
5 Packages of Glow Sticks (5 ct), $1 each at Dollar Tree...$5
Total Cost: $7.98

This will be enough for 25 students, with more than enough paper and ribbon for my mistakes.  That works out to $0.32 per gift.

Breakdown of Steps:
1. Cut paper into 2"x12" strips.
2. Fold paper up at 3.5" and fold back down over self. (I did this so that the pattern would show on the "pocket" since the back of the paper is white.)
3. Staple pocket.
4. Cut 12" of ribbon.
5. Tie in bow around glow stick.
6. Slide glow stick into pocket!
7. Add messages that says "We're going to have a bright year!" (This step isn't shown because I want to type it along with my students' names.) I think I'll glue the message to the "pocket" rather than tie it with the ribbon.

With the Fourth of July coming up, it might be cute to make these for the kids you see over the holiday.  You could say something like "Have a bright Fourth of July!" or "Help light up the sky this Fourth of July!"  They'd have fun breaking these out for the fireworks!