Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and what better gift is there than one you hand crafted yourself? For sons, daughters, offspring, children, step-children, or chosen-children on a tight budget or anyone who simply wants to create something personal, take a look at three of the easiest, personalized crafts you can make for your beloved mother. 

“There are so many fancy and sophisticated things that we can buy and gift for Mother’s Day. One might even equate that the more expensive the gift, the more it shows our love for our moms,” says Panther Lake Community Church’s youth leader, Ehler Win. 

“However, for students who are on a tight budget, handmade gifts are just as valuable, if not more than the expensive store-bought gifts,” continued Win. “Handmade gifts allow us to spend time and creativity crafting the gift. It is authentic and holds sentimental value so that both the maker and receiver of the gift know that it is custom made just for their loved ones.” 

Bracelets

Bracelets are one of the easiest jewelry items to make, so it’ll make for the perfect thoughtful easy gift. Making matching bracelets for you and your mom is even better. 

For a beaded bracelet, all you will need are some beads and stretchy string you can buy at a craft store. If you’d like, you can also buy some charms to add on.

When buying the beads, you can simply buy a kit or a pack of beads, or you can hand choose some higher quality sets of beads to mix and match which will be more expensive, but will look better. Be sure to think about what your mom likes – her favorite colors, metals, shapes, animals, etc. Choose beads based on that and what you think will fit her best. 

For the string, a clear stretchy cord is best, which when you tug it, it bounces back like a rubber band. The cord should be pretty lightweight and not thick: if it’s too thick, it’ll be hard to tie and the knot can slip out easily. 

Think about your mom’s wrist size, and try to make the bracelet around that size or slightly smaller, but not too small so the bracelet won’t dig into her wrist. The most convenient way to put the beads onto the string without accidentally dropping the beads is to tape one end of the string to a table, and bead it from there. Once it’s done, tie both ends together and knot it three times. Be sure to do a tug test to make sure the knot is secure and you’re done!

Paper Crafts

Paper crafts are the perfect opportunity to test your creativity. Paper has the potential to be crafted into so many different things like origami, collages, cards, flowers, and more. 

Here’s an idea for you: a paper flower bouquet. They last a whole lot longer than a real bouquet of flowers. If you’re not familiar with origami, fear not, it’s quite simple to make as you follow along to video tutorials. 

According to Britannica, origami is the “art of folding objects out of paper to create both two-dimensional and three-dimensional subjects.” Origami is a Japanese word that translates to “to fold paper.” Although the art of folding paper did not inherently originate from Japan, it is generally known to be a Japanese craft. In the style of origami, there is no cutting of the paper, only folding. 

To make a lovely miniature origami bouquet, all you will need is mini and regular size origami paper you can buy at almost any craft store or craft section at a store, but it helps to check online or give the store a call beforehand to ensure they have it available. You can use any square shaped paper, but decorative origami paper is best for a more beautiful outcome.

Although origami doesn’t require any other materials, the following link to the tulip video will show you how to make a paper stem. If you don’t want a paper stem, you can use green pipe cleaners. If you want to make an origami vase for your flowers, use the smaller paper for the flowers and larger paper for the vase. 

There are many variations of origami flowers, but some of the easiest ones to make include:

The rose –

The cherry blossom –

The buttonhole flower –

And the tulip –

If you’re up for a more challenging option for paper flowers, you can follow along to World Of Art And Craft’s video which will require glue and scissors for cutting the paper:

You can choose to make one variation of flower, or you can do multiple. About three flowers will be enough to fill your origami vase:

Once you’re finished, puncture a small hole in the bottoms of the flowers for your paper or pipe cleaner stem and you’re finished!

Painting a Portrait

One thing parents will forever and always enjoy is a good drawing from their kid. This time, let’s take your artistic skills up a notch. We’re not talking pen and paper, we’re talking paint and canvas. Painting a portrait of your mom is a lot more thoughtful compared to a regular drawing. 

For this, the materials you will need are paints, a canvas, and paint brushes. For beginner painters, a set of acrylic paints is the cheapest and easiest to use. You can find all these materials at a craft store or the craft section of a store. 

If you think you’re not an artist, you’re wrong. Everyone can create art and there are no rules to it. Rather, there are guidelines and advice you can apply. For this portrait, you can choose any style you’d like, for example, cartoon, realistic, semi realistic, etc. A reference picture of your mom will come in handy. 

Start with an initial pencil sketch, and once you’re satisfied with how it looks, go in with paint. Try to fill the canvas up with the portrait of your mom, and don’t leave much negative space. Negative space is empty, unfilled parts of your painting. 

A solid background in her favorite color makes a nice touch. Make sure you sign it with your date and signature in the bottom right corner or on the back of the canvas so your mom remembers when you made this beautiful gift for her. 

“It makes me so happy to see my friends and loved ones make things themselves because I know they loved the process and they let me love the outcome,” says senior high school student, Emily C. 

Not only are handmade gifts perfect for Mother’s Day, they’re great for almost every occasion. They bring a more personal and heartfelt feeling into the gift, and they’re sure to be appreciated by the recipient.