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Mother’s Day is the perfect occasion to express love and creativity through heartfelt crafts. This year, in addition to making her a yummy brunch with all her favorite foods, the kids can make mom feel extra special by gifting her a thoughtful project that is both fun for them to make and meaningful for her to receive.
For the artistically inclined try hand-painted flower pots —simply decorate terracotta pots with floral patterns, and fill them with her favorite plants. For kids of all ages another charming idea is crafting handprint dish towels using fabric paint. DIY paper flowers are a timeless classic that all kids will love making. For a fresh and rustic touch, consider creating a hanging mason jar bouquet filled with fresh flowers from your garden, tied with a ribbon for added charm. Mom will also adore a painted bangle bracelet, a wearable piece of art showcasing her favorite colors or patterns.
These crafts are not only easy to make but also serve as meaningful tokens of love and appreciation that Mom will treasure forever. Whether working on these projects with kids or as a family, the time spent together will make Mother’s Day truly unforgettable. After a morning celebrating mom, why not head out and participate in a day full of Mother’s Day activities.
More Mother’s Day Ideas
Seed Packet Wreath
Bright, colorful, and ideal for a mom who loves to garden and decorate.
To make: Attach 12 to 14 vintage seed packets to a 12-inch foam wreath form with straight pins. If you’d like, slip a few freshly picked flowers into the packaging. Complete the craft with 1/2-inch-wide jute or hemp ribbon.
Kitchen Pan Hanging Planters
Transform items you probably already have on hand into hanging planters and fill them with mom’s favorites like succulents, herbs, or a cascading vine.
To make the Bundt pan hanging planter: Thread twine through a series of craft beads (making sure they are large enough to not slip through the center hole of the pan), tie a knot in the twine to keep in place. Thread the twine up through the center hole of a small Bundt pan. Add more craft beads on top, for decoration, then tie a loop in the top of the twine for hanging. Fill pan with pebbles, soil, and desired plants.
To make the loaf pan hanging planter: Choose a pan with openings in the handles. Thread craft beads through two separate pieces of twine, and tie knots in the twine to keep in place. Thread one of the pieces of twine up through each handle (the beads attached to the twine should nestle below the handles). Join the two pieces of twine above the pan, and add more craft beads for decoration. Tie the two pieces of twine together at the top for hanging. Fill pan with pebbles, soil, and desired plants.
Seed and Bean Flowers
Mom will loves these flowers for months to come! Take a quick trip to the kitchen and a stroll around the yard to gather the materials needed to make these perky beans and seed flowers.
To make: Cut flower shapes from cardboard. Use craft glue to glue beans and seeds to the cardboard. Once dry use hot glue or tape to attach a thin branch to the back of the flowers. Fill small pot with beans and insert sticks.
Paper Bouquet
Little hands will love cutting and gluing these paper flowers that Mom will cherish for years to come.
To make: Cut flower petals and centers from bright pastel and white paper. Use hot glue or a glue stick to glue petals together, forming flower shapes. Glue centers on top. Glue green paper straws to the back of each flower for a stem. Shape a piece of brown craft paper into a cone, using tape to hold it together. Tie a rickrack bow around the cone and add a paper tag. Insert flowers into cone.
Painted Terra-cotta Pot
Hand-painted flowers add color and help elevate a hardware store terra-cotta pot. Fill with a fern or other favorite plant for a gift Mom can enjoy for years to come.
To make: Use acrylic paint pens to draw and paint flowers on a terra-cotta pot. When dry fill with a fern or an herb.
Printed Dishtowels
Kids will have fun searching around the house for objects to stamp on dishtowels or napkins that Mom can use on special occasions.
To make: Spread a thin layer of fabric paint, or an acrylic paint mixed with a fabric fixative, on a paper plate. Dip found objects, such as flower-shaped cookie cutters and oversized paper clips, in paint and stamp on dishtowels.
Painted Wooden Bracelets
When Mom heads out to a fancy dinner party wearing her hand-painted bracelets, we can guarantee the kids will be grinning ear to ear seeing their crafty work going out for a night on the town.
To make: Use acrylic paint or paint pens to paint designs on wooden bracelets. Finish with a layer of Mod Podge if desired.
Hanging Mason Jar Bouquet
Surprise mom as soon as she opens her door in the morning with a beautiful flower arrangement hung from the bedroom doorknob.
To make: Snugly tie a length of ribbon around the threads of a mason jar (you can add a few dabs of hot glue for added hold, if desired). Fill the jar with water and flowers. Hang around a doorknob.
Handprint Dish Towels
While flowers are great Mom will find so much joy in using practical gifts, like handprint dishtowels, everyday.
To make: Sew or use fusible bonding web to attach ribbon to the bottom of a flour sack dishtowel. Spread a thin layer of fabric paint, or an acrylic paint mixed with a fabric fixative on a paper plate. Have kids press their hands into the paint and then onto the towel. Iron to fix the paint per the manufacturer’s packaging instructions.
Coffee Filter Poppies
Mom can hold onto the fleeting beauty of poppies this season and into the next with these DIY flowers made from dyed coffee filters. Tip: Make these outside as dye can be quite messy and get into and onto unexpected things.
To make: Dip paper coffee filters in Cherry Red Rit Dye. Lay flat on a cooling rack fitted in a rimmed baking sheet or hang over a drying line. When dry, kink and fold the filters so they have a little movement. Use a dab of hot glue or a glue stick to glue the centers of two filters together to create petal layers. Cut a 6-inch piece of black pipe cleaner and roll into a flat circle; use hot glue to glue to the center of the poppy. Twist three green pipe cleaners together; use hot glue to glue to the back of the poppy. Arrange poppies in bud vases.
Celery Root Cards
A lot of moms love flowers and these celery prints give the impression of a perennial favorite, roses. Choose a classic rose color like yellow or pink, or simply take inspiration from spring and go with blue or green. Either way Mom will be smitten with her DIY flower card.
To make:
Cut 2 to 3 inches off the bottom of a head of celery. Pat the cut end dry with a paper towel. Press the cut end on a stamp pad and then onto a blank note card, tapping the root side to help make an even print. When dry, add a sweet greeting.
Party Prep
Throwing a fête for Mom? Have the kids get involved with the party decor. They will certainly enjoy creating a pretty bunting by simply attaching vintage hankies to a string with mini clothespins. They can also help ferry items for a lemonade station, which we’ve set up on an antique French garden stand, but you can use a buffet table or even a cooler.
Felt Flower Wreath
Help mom make the front door welcoming to guests with a fun and colorful felt and leaf flower wreath.
To make: Make or buy felt flowers and leaves. Hot-glue flowers and leaves to a grapevine wreath form and hang with a length of ribbon.
Tart Tin Coasters
Give moms sips a pretty place to park with fluted mini-tart tins.
To make: Remove the bottoms from the tins and trace the outline on fabric. Cut out and adhere the fabric to the bottom discs using glossy, water-resistant Mod Podge. Allow to dry completely, then replace in the tart rings.
Hand-Penned Garden Stakes
For the mom who loves to spend time with her hands in the soil these DIY garden stakes will make her heart sing. Kids will love writing the veggie names and maybe even drawing a cute picture of the fruits and vegetables.
To make:
Drill a small hole in the wood handles and tie hand-penned wooden tags through the holes with twine. Insert the pointy tips into the soil so the markers stand upright. *Coat wood with clear varnish to protect the handwriting from the elements.
Coffee Filter Flowers
Kids will love crafting these flowering candy dishes with an item you probably already have in your house: coffee filters.
To make: Submerge regular-size white coffee filters (you’ll need four to six for each flower) in a watered-down Rit Dye solution (here, Petal Pink); dry completely. Cut into flower shapes of various sizes, and stack largest to smallest. Attach at centers with craft glue. Glue a papier-mâché or store-bought candy cup to center of each. Fill with candy.
Flower Brooch Wreath
Shiny, sparkly, and made from jewelry = a wreath that mom is guaranteed to love!
To make: Wrap a small wire wreath form in white ribbon. Attach brooches using pin backings. Add a small bow made from sparkly ribbon, if desired
Dip-Dyed Baskets
Mom can store candy, keys, or whatever she pleases in this cute and simple to craft dip-dyed basket.
To make: Dip the top quarter of a cotton basket in desired color of fabric dye. When dry, fill with moss and candy.
Egg Carton Wreath
Turn the common paper egg carton into flowers, then attach them to a wreath form to create the perfect gift for the mom who loves all things flowers.
To make: Cut individual egg cups from paper egg cartons. Notch and cut decorative edges with scissors. Dye or paint cups desired colors. Attach cups and craft paper leaves to a painted craft ring with hot-glue.
Stitched Paper Cards
Show Mom the love with a hand-cut and stitched card. Start by cutting a shape (try a flower or an animal shape) from medium to thick craft paper. Punch holes along the border with a small hole punch. Stitch, using embroidery floss, thin twine, or yarn. Add additional flare like a pipe cleaner stem and a pretty vintage button.
Fabric-Covered Paper Weight
Make Mom’s desk pretty with a personalized paperweight. Start by cutting fabric into strips. Adhere to a small rock (2 to 3 inches) with glossy Mod Podge. Cut an initial, or “M” for “Mom,” and a heart from felt and adhere to the top of the rock. Allow to dry completely.
Flower Petal Change Bowl
We know moms love all things organization, so what’s better than a handmade bowl that she can use to corral loose change. To create your sculpture, use Sculpey (or another oven-baked clay) to form a large flower petal. Form a smaller petal and press it into the center of the larger petal. Place plastic beads in bottom of the bowl. Bake, per package instructions, to melt plastic and harden clay.
Papier-Mâché Vases
These papier-mâché vases are ideal for gifting mom some of her favorite candy or a beautiful bouquet.
To make: Blow up one large and one medium-size balloon. Papier mâché each with white craft paper, leaving bottom quarter to third uncovered and edges rough. Let dry. Pop balloons, and remove. Set a vase inside each, and fill with water and flowers.
Pom-pom Bouquet
Kids can make Mom an evergreen yarn bouquet to symbolize their everlasting love.
To make: Start by placing a green pipe cleaner parallel with the tines of a fork so that it extends 3 inches above the tines. Wrap yarn perpendicularly around all the tines, including the pipe cleaner, to cover the tines completely. Next, fold the 3-inch section of pipe cleaner down over the yarn, and slide everything off the fork. Twist the two ends of pipe cleaner together at the base of the yarn to secure the center of the pom-pom; continue wrapping the pipe cleaner ends together to form a stem. Carefully cut the yarn loops and trim any scraggly ends. Repeat as desired to make more flowers. Wrap stems together with a length of ribbon.
Mossy Nest Wreath
Mom will love adorning the front door with this special DIY wreath that’s crafted from mini tart tins, moss, and faux quail eggs. Assign a teen or adult to man the hot glue gun, while little hands can place the decorations.
To make: Wrap a wire wreath form in ribbon and loop an additional piece around the top for hanging. Attach tart tins, moss, and faux eggs with hot-glue.
Painted Mason Jar Lantern
Give the gift of light and love with this simply decorated glass jar.
To make: Paint stripes on the inside of a mason or other glass jar with acrylic paint. Once dry, place a battery-operated tea light in the jar. Screw on lid and embellish with a piece of colorful twine or ribbon.
RELATED: Clever Ways to Use Mason Jars in Your Backyard
Fabric Tulips
This bouquet, made from fabric scraps, is a gift mom can enjoy year after year.
Rope Mirror
We love the way Mom looks and she will too when she catches a glance of herself in this stylish rope mirror. This is a great project for a crafty and detail-oriented teen, or for an adult and child to tackle together.
To make: Cover frame of a mirror with 1/2- to 3/4-inch manila rope, braiding one section for a decorative effect and adhering rope with hot-glue. Add a decorative band to center of top and sides with thin sisal rope.
Photo Coasters
Mom will enjoy her morning cup of tea even more when she looks down and sees her child’s smiling face. Start by printing a photo (either in black & white or color) on card stock paper that is 1/4-inch smaller than a glazed white tile. Brush the back of the photo with glossy Mod Podge and place on the tile, making sure it’s centered. Brush the top of the photo with Mod Podge to seal. Allow to dry completely.
Pillow Sham
Even kids learning to sew can help with this one. Attach a handkerchief to one side of a solid-colored pillowcase using embroidery thread and a whipstitch.
Lavender Pouches
Cut a 2-by-4-inch rectangle from a handkerchief or piece of fabric. Fold in half crosswise with the pattern facing inward. Stitch two sides closed; turn pouch right-side out. Fill with dried lavender. Hand-stitch opening closed.
Coin Purse
Lay a handkerchief flat with one pointed end at the top. Fold the bottom point up so that it rests in the center of the fabric. Pull the left and right points toward the center, overlapping them slightly. Tack down sides that overlap the bottom triangle using fusible webbing. Sew on a small snap to hold the top flap closed. Add a decorative button on top, if desired.
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