I made a "Gift Card Basket" a couple of years ago, for our elementary school's silent auction of baskets from each class. I went to the florist, and got a bunch of the long plastic card holders that they put in a floral display, when they deliver the flowers to you. I then got a vase, and filled it with colorful shiny stones, then the green foam that the plastic long card holders poke down into. I made them all different lengths, as a floral display would have. I added a pretty display of flowers intertwined, and a big bow. Then wrapped celephane shrink wrap around it as well! It was a huge hit!! Now my school does this each year!!
Hi Karen,
I just looked through our File Exchange and was surprised that we don't have any auction flyers! Thought the following might be helpful though:
We have been doing a basket auction for about 5 years and it gets bigger and bigger each year. Last year, the basket auction brought in $4000. That was tremendous, especially when you consider we only have 200 students in our small Christian school!
EVERYTHING was donated for the baskets. We had a "Hearth and Home" basket, "Nothing But Gift Cards" basket, "Family Night" baskets, "Horsey" basket, etc. We do not sell baskets for less than the amount of the gift cards in the basket. The basket that brought in the most money was the "Night on the Town" basket, which included a free limo ride to dinner with our pastor and his wife.
At our preschool auction we did a quilt which the kids all had placed a fabric paint handprint- big project with great payoff- $3,000.
We also did individual class ceramics- go to paint your own pottery place , buy a ceramic piece for each class, we took them back to school and had the teachers decide on a class theme , the kids supplied thumb prints (ala' ed emberly drawing style) which were incorporated into the theme, each plate came with a list of whose prints were whose. -payoff about $100 per piece
We bought a wooden andirondack chair and had a local artist paint it for free. payoff about $300.
The trick is to start early- send letters to everyone and anyone-you'll be suprised by all the donations of museum admissions, family entertainment, etc- Air Tran used to be great for a free airfare- though now they've changed hands not sure about that.
Also consider raffles- a restuarant raffle with 12 donated certificates (eat out once a month for free!) netted us $3500.
our school is doing an arts on the green themed event. We are using the top 10 most famous paintings and making baskets around a painting. ex: starry starry night-limo ride, restaurant gift certificate, tux. dress from a boutique, symphony tickets. Mona Lisa spa basket candles, slippers, robe, spa gift certificate, lotion, make over. In addition each grade is doing a basket similar to others described. One idea is a gift card basket each child brings in a gift card put them on floral stakes and plant them in a painted flower pot with handprints on it. student decorated bird houses. ( we used recycled items ( pop tops, milk lids, cut circles out of aluminum cans, dried up markers, flattened soda cans cut to fit, get children to bring in small trinkets and glue then shellac bird house, decoupage with newpaper, parents can't resist buying their class item and it creates friendly competition!!
