While browsing through Pinterest for Valentine’s-Day-Card inspiration, I spied a brilliant card/gift idea that incorporated the verse from Isaiah that says “I have engraved you on the palm of My hand”. Beautiful verse, beautiful thought, perfect for Valentine’s Day!

Plus also, perfect for gifting with a pencil instead of junky VDay candy. Can I get an Amen?!

The particular card that inspired me was not exactly what I was looking for, though, and as it turns out, what I’m looking for really wasn’t out there. However, I’m very grateful I spied it because it started my wheels turning… and they kept turning… and turning… until they came up with this cute little Valentine idea!

I re-worded the verse just a bit (call it the Simpson Limited Edition Version) to make it more personal and easily understood by its future recipients… and also to make it fit even better with the pencil idea. As I was making the cards with my boys, I explained to them that sometimes people write something very important on their hand that they want to remember, and that’s exactly what we are to God: very important and unforgettable!

I intentionally made these cards with the bold turquoise/red theme because I love that color combo and because - hello - I have boys. Pink and purple - not their thing. ‘Nuff said. You can use any color scheme you want, depending on the paint you have and the color of doilies you find. I kept you in mind when creating the printable circles with the verse on the back and made a set with pink and purple just in case.

Palm of His Hand Valentine’s Day Cards

Supplies

• 1 package of medium sized doilies
• paint
• white card stock
• printable verse circles
• glue stick
• black pen (or whatever dark color works best with your color scheme)
• sharp scissors or X-acto knife
• Valentines’ themed pencils

Instructions

1. Have your child make one handprint for each card using whatever color of paint you’d like (we used a bold turquoise).
2. While the handprints are drying, cut out the printable verse circles and glue them onto the back of each doily right in the center.
3. Once the handprints are dry, cut them out and glue on the front of each doily in the center.
4. Write the name of the recipient across the palm of the handprint.
5. Use sharp scissors or an X-acto knife to cut a slit a little bit above and a little bit below the name. Thread the pencil from above into the bottom slit, and then from below into the top slit so that it is held securely on the heart.
6. Spread Valentine’s Day cheer by giving to friends and loved ones.

I’ve been a teacher of one kind or another for most of my adult life, but it’s been a new experience for me the past couple of years to be the parent of a student. Having been on both sides of the equation, I know the importance of a thoughtful gesture that shows appreciation for the hard work a teacher does throughout the school year.

At the same time, I’m not exactly rolling in dough! Quite the contrary; every penny counts around here. So as the end of the school year rolls around, I have to put my thinking cap on to come up with a teacher appreciation gift that will be appreciated but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. This year, my Certain Little Someone helped me out with his own ideas and his own special flare. He’s only 5, but I thought he put together a great gift with only a few minor suggestions and input on my part.

An Inexpensive Teacher Appreciation Gift

He was quite insistent that he wanted to buy his teacher a beach towel, which at first I thought was rather an odd gift until it rather grew on me. I mean, what could be more perfect to herald the start of the summer (and the end of the school year!)? So from there, we came up with a perfect summer-themed gift, including a card that he helped me design. He wanted to be able to color part of it, so I made one with black and white flip flops that he could color in himself.

I thought his little gift turned out so well that it deserved to be shared with the world at large, so I’ve created two PDF printables of the teacher appreciation card we designed: one that can be colored in and one that is ready to print and give. There are 2 cards on each page, so you can use them to gift multiple teachers. You can personalize the card with a note on the back.

I recommend printing on card stock, but you could also print them on regular copy paper, then cut out and glue onto scrapbook paper for a little more pizzazz.

The 3 R’s for Teachers

Click on the images below to get your free printable teacher appreciation cards!

There are lots of great summery gifts that go perfectly with this little card! We chose a beach towel and some flip flops, but the possibilities are almost endless:

• a brightly patterned beach towel
• cute flip flops
• trendy sunglasses
• sunscreen and/or aloe gel
• a swimsuit cover-up
• a breezy beach hat
• a picnic cooler
• a gift card/certificate covering the entrance fee to a local pool or water park
• beach reading material (Walmart carries an inspirational line of clean - if sappy - romance novels. Not what I would read on a regular basis, but perfect brain candy for a relaxing day at the beach!)
• an insulated cup
• or all of the above in a beach bag!