End of the year - teacher gifts - Candy Bowl!

It's that time of year again, to think of teacher gifts.  As Jo's kids are finishing up, we still have 3 more weeks left here...sigh!  This weekend my boys and I worked hard to make up the gifts so I'm not doing last minute scrambling.  This year, I decided to bring back an oldie, but goodie.  Jo and I used to make these up by the dozen and sell them at craft fairs, over 10 years ago...Jo, how is that possible?  These are SUPER easy to make, and the best part is that you can make them your own, and personalize as you like (and it's dirt cheap if you use the below links)!  The sky is the limit....

Yes...I had to make FIVE!

What you need:

• 4" craft pots or flower pots....(I ordered a dozen from Oriental Trading, and they got here, Africa, all in one piece)
• Glass bowls (I got these for a STEAL of a deal from the DollarTree...again, all in one piece)
• Paint (if I could, I would have used spray paint, but craft acrylic worked just fine...Jo, didn't we use to spray paint them?)
• Paint pens
• Glue (As you will see in the photo, I didn't know what glue would work best...turns out the Tacky Glue worked famously!)
• Ribbon
• Optional, but SUPER cute:  I couldn't figure out how to send them here, but if you can find flower pot saucers that match your 4" pot, glue a wooden ball to the bottom, paint them the same color as the pot, and you have a lid to your candy dish...how I wish I had them this year!

Directions:

• Paint the flower pot the color of choice.  If you want them to look like an old fashion gum ball machine, red is the way to go.  But, as we were painting, I thought chalk board paint could be fun, too.  Keep in mind, with red paint, you will need many coats to be even.  I lost count at 4 :)!  The good news about the Oriental Trading pots, is that the paint dries super fast, which means, if you have 2 (or more) little helpers, you will need to keep an eye on their painting, to ensure there are not paint bumps.  This is why spray painting them, may be better...Let us know if you spray paint, and how it comes out :)!  
• Then decorate as you like (minus the ribbon, do this last).  I used a black sharpie for the "dispenser" and highlighted it with a silver paint pen.  I then used paint pens to write the teacher's names, school name, and class/year.  
• Glue the glass bowl to the top of the pot.  
• Tie your favorite ribbon around the top of the pot, under the bowl.
• Fill with your favorite candy!  (I did choose the obvious "gum balls,"  but that's because many of our teachers are not American and I thought it would be fun to give them something "Americana.")

Savvy Tip:  Glue the bowl after you decorate the pots.  It's easier to handle.

The one with a white ribbon, is for my son's male teacher's aid...My son said the polka dot ribbon was "too girly."