When I was in school, I was always teacher’s pet. But wow, I would’ve really gotten brownie points if I had brought this school supply cake to class. This “cake” made of school supplies is filled with items teachers can actually use — pencils, crayons, glue — and even antiseptic wipes. It also doesn’t cost much to make: taking advantage of great back-to-school sales (boxes of crayons for 50 cents!), this cake cost less than $40. 
What you’ll need:
School supplies
Tub of disinfecting wipes (105-ct)
Pencils, 9 boxes (12-ct)
Crayons, 8 boxes (24-ct)
Glue (5 bottles)
Glue sticks (10 sticks)
Pencil cup
Colored pencils
Other materials
12-inch to 14-inch round piece of cardboard
Roll of glue dots
Rubber bands
Ribbon
Note: Of course, you can vary the type of supplies you use based on the student’s grade level.
- Position the tub of Clorox disinfecting wipes in the middle of a cardboard round. (You can cover the cardboard first with wrapping paper, if you wish.) Place glue dots on the bottom of the tub so it won’t move around.
- Line the Ticonderoga pencil boxes around the tub of wipes, keeping them in place with a rubber band. They happen to be the exact height of the disinfecting wipes.
- Wrap the crayon boxes around the pencil boxes, using another rubber band to keep them in place.
- Arrange the glue sticks horizontally end to end around the crayon boxes. Secure them with glue dots to keep them from rolling off the cardboard base.
- Wrap the glue bottles around the pencil cup with a rubber band, then place them on top of the tub of disinfecting wipes, securing with glue dots. Fill the pencil cup with colored pencils for the cake topper.
- Tie a ribbon around each tier of the cake to hide the rubber bands. I found this cute chalkboard ribbon at Michael’s. I then layered it with plain yellow ribbon on the top tiers to help it stand out a little more.
When it comes to teacher appreciation gifts, this takes the cake!