Teacher Gift Idea: Thyme

School is coming to an end and the fun of summer lies ahead.   I wanted to share this simple gift that your child can give to their teacher.

You will need:
terrcotta pot
terrcotta plate (the part the pot is set on)
thyme herb start
permanent marker
paint - color of your choice, although I really like yellow on the clay pots
foam paint brush
potting soil
thick wire - about 18 guage, 8- 12" long - depending upon the heigth of the pot
wire cutters
ribbon - approx. 8" long
water
hammer
plastic or paper bag
goo gone or fingernail polish
rag

Now that you have gathered your supplies, let's begin.

1.  Place the pot plate into the bag and break up with using the hammer.  You want different size pieces.  These will be used in the pot and as the plant label.  Don't go too small.  You can always make a piece smaller later if necessary.  (Read all the directions before doing this to get an idea about the pieces).

2.  Remove any sale stickers from the pot and plate.  You can use a goo gone or fingernail polish remover and a rag to remove any sticker residue.
3.  Paint the top of the pot.  This may take 2-3 coats so that it is well covered.  With a dry brush (not much paint on the brush) paint around the rest of the pot.  Do this to the broken piece that you have chosen for the plant label.  (I liked the dry brush look better instead of mostly painted).

4.  Place 1-2 broken pieces in the bottom of the pot (this does not need to be painted).  This will serve as a soil and water "stopper."  It won't stop all water from draining out, but slow it down quite a bit.  With this method you don't have to use a plate for each pot that you give.

5.  Put a little moistened soil into the pot.  You do not want your soil really wet.  Too much water can hurt a potted plant as well as too little.  Place your thyme herb start in the pot and fill in around it with more soil until it is lightly packed.  Leave about 1/4-1/2" space from the  soil to the top of the pot.
6.  Wrap the wire around the painted broken piece.  Start on the back, go up around on top corner, across the back, up around the other corner, the straight down the back.  You can also wrap it around a corner 2x or a different corner for added security.

7.  With the marker write the type of plant on the label piece.  Then write your message around the top of the pot.
2 message ideas:
~ Best Teacher of All Thyme, Love (your child)
~ Thank You For Your Love and Thyme, Love (your child)  I have used this one when one child has multiple teachers in the same class.
8.  Tie the ribbon around the wire stem and place in the soil.

** We still have some thyme herb starts if you need one. **

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