Mother's Day Gifts from the Heart

Serve Mom breakfast in bed with a tray for her toast. Sand a purchased wooden serving tray and paint it. Include a child's essay about Mom as its centerpiece by first cutting paper into an oval shape, then having the child pen his or her thoughts. Glue it to the tray, frame with pressed flowers (also glued down). When dry, protect the work of art with a piece of glass that has been cut to fit the tray.

Turn children's drawings into decorative plates. Scan the art and print onto water-transfer paper, available at crafts stores. Trim as closely as you can around the printed image, then place the paper in water until the decal slips easily from the backing. Position the decal on the plate and smooth out wrinkles and bubbles. When it's dry, seal the artwork with spray varnish. Mom will cherish them forever. Note: Plates are for decorative use only.

Invite Mom to relax in the luxury of bath salts chosen just for her. Use sticker label paper and spice jars to give a basket of bath notions a personalized touch. With the help of a computer, arrange a block letter (an M or O) on label paper with the name of the salt fragrance underneath in smaller type. Trim the label to the size you want and cut out the block letter. Arrange the bottles in a basket of bath soaps and lotions.

Artist and new mom Whitney Phippen lovingly turns your digital head shots into one-of-a-kind necklaces with old-fashioned appeal.

Custom Silhouette Pendants, from $85, craftsburykids.com

Pair your fingertips with some paint to a make a school of delightful fish on a wide-framed clock.

Instructions
1. Place small amounts of acrylic paint in several colors on a paper plate.
2. To make fish bodies, dip fingers and thumb into paints, blending colors if desired. Press fingers and thumb onto surface of clock frame; continue making fingerprints until the frame is about two-thirds covered. Let the paint dry.
3. Paint details on the fish, such as fins, eyes, and smiles, using desired colors of paint and a small paintbrush. Let dry.

Combine a picture frame and custom music mix into one inexpensive gift. Cut a piece of decorative card stock the width of the jewel case and twice its length; fold in half. On the front, attach a favorite photo layered on one or two paper "mats." Slip the photo card into the jewel case with the fold on the outside, and use the back flap to hold the case open as a frame.

Mother's Day is a time to celebrate the connection between moms, daughters, and sisters. Hence these through-the-generations display. Prop photocopies or computer printouts of photos inside clear jars or canisters, and group into a conversation-starting 3-D collage.

Include this free special occasion fill-in calendar with the card organizer, and Mom will never miss a beat. Just download the printable PDF with the link below.

Give Mom a supply of greeting cards, organized by occasion in an accordion file folder (at office or scrapbooking stores). Pretty up the folder with decorative paper cut to size and attached with spray adhesive. See the next slide for this gift's perfect complement.

7-x-12-Inch Expo Divided Storage Folder, $9, cropperhopper.com

Turn ordinary candles into shining stars with family photos and embellishments. Print photos or digital designs onto tissue paper and cut out the images. Wrap the candles with the tissue paper and keep it in place with straight pins. A heat gun will melt the wax until it saturates and coats the tissue paper. Embed a brad in the candle to secure the flowers.

Sources: Digital elements: Vintage NewsPapier by Rhonda Farrar for Two Peas in a Bucket. Rub-ons: My Mind's Eye. Flowers: Heidi Swapp. Tag: Making Memories. Adhesive: Glue Dots International.

No time to scrapbook? Upload your photos to the Web and get a hardbound photo book in about a week. For an inside look, see the following slide.

$17-$50, storiesbyeveryone.com

The step-by-step process is remarkably simple, and the finished product is professionally printed into a long-lasting keepsake for Mom.

Dress up a pillow with a photo for Mom on her special day.

Tip: If you want to use a premade form for stuffing, be sure to make your pillow a standard size.

Boxes this nice won't be hidden in a closet or desk drawer. Take two coordinating papers and wrap the boxes and lids. Find a favorite photo and put it in a small metal frame from a scrapbooking store. Glue the frame on the side of the box, then give it to Mom on Mother's Day. After the big day, she can use the boxes to store photos or mementos.

Here's another way a child can lend a hand in the kitchen. Use a child's handprint to make a stencil for decorating dish towels.

Instructions
1. Use finger-paint and card stock paper to make the stencil; cut out the shape.
2. Lightly spray the back of the stencil with adhesive, attach the stencil to a towel, and paint in the handprint with a mixture of craft paints and textile medium (this turns ordinary acrylic paint into textile paint that will be permanent on most fabrics).
3. Use fabric markers to add polka dots and the child's name to the towel.

Show the connection between mother and child by crafting an album that reveals a special bond. Before starting an album, decide on a theme and color scheme. The next two slides show examples of two spreads from the inside.

Sources: Patterned paper: Sharon Ann Collection by Deka Views. Letter stickers: Frances Meyer ("traces") and Mrs. Grossman's ("of you"). Computer font: Falling Leaves by Twopeasinabucket.com. Buttons: Making Memories. Fibers: Rubba Dub Dub. Mesh: Magic Scraps. Album: Kolo.

Search through photographs of the two of you. Scan them into a photo editing program, crop, and resize. These images were printed on vellum, then the edges were torn. Mat each photo on blue torn-edge card stock. Different size tags and shapes are used to label the photos.

Keep a journal page clean and simple. Print the journaling on white card stock and mat it with blue floral and solid paper. Add a few buttons in coordinating shades of color and a few small photos to tie the design theme together.

Choose braids in spring-fresh colors to transform a pitcher into a pretty vase. Fill it with Mom's favorite flowers.

Instructions
1. Wash and dry a small purchased glass pitcher, removing stopper if necessary.
2. Beginning just below the spout, paint thick white crafts glue on the center portion of the pitcher. Wrap variegated braided cord around the pitcher over the glue. (Buy a yard of cord for this step.)
3. Trim the excess cord. Apply more glue to the ends if needed. Let the glue dry.
4. Using an 18-inch-long piece, tie 1-1/2-inch-wide variegated sheer ribbon around the handle. To cut notches into the ribbon ends, fold each of the ends in half lengthwise; cut diagonally.

Turn a child's artwork into special stationery. Scan a piece of artwork, scale it to fit, and print on card stock that is trimmed and folded. Use the art to decorate return labels, too. Mom will love the personal message on special stationery made just for her.

Give an everlasting bouquet by crafting paper flowers -- a perfect gift for Mom. The stems are wooden dowels painted green. Glue a mini clothespin on the back of the dowels to hold photos in place. Construct the flowers with a variety of colored paper and crepe paper shaped by a flower craft punch. The flowers' centers are page pebbles (scrapbooking accents). After gluing the pebbles to the flowers and the flowers to the stems, add family photographs to finish a timeless gift.

Floral motifs cut from decorative papers beautify this set of pencils and holder -- a perfect gift for Mom to take to the office or crafting station.

Who would have guessed these decorative birdhouses started out in the kitchen drawer?

Surround any pillar candle with zigzags of wire, then adorn with colorful buttons that match Mom's favorite room.

Giving Mom a story of her life is sure to light up her Mother's Day. This album serves as a biographical account of her life -- plus, it will look great as a coffee table book when finished. The next two slides show the inside of this mother's story.

Sources: Patterned papers: Sharon Ann Collection. Stickers: Sonnets by Sharon Soneff for Creative Imaginations. Metal letter stamps: Pittsburgh Steel Stamping. Computer font: Angelina downloaded off
the Internet. Ribbon: Close to My Heart. Charms: Making Memories. Poetry Dog Tags: Chronicle Books. Album: Kolo.

User letter stickers in various styles to create the table of contents for the album. Create a layered look by placing a large piece of floral paper on top of a coordinating background. Add a piece of white vellum with light cursive writing, then place pieces of colored vellum for the titles and embellishments.

Mat a photo on large floral and plaid papers that have been stitched together. For the left-hand page, type journaling on vellum, then mat with plaid paper. Place sticker letters vertically on the vellum to create the title. A foldout tag booklet allows for more photos. Decorate the cover of the booklet with two layers of coordinating vellum. A blue ribbon wrapped around the booklet keeps it closed.

Mom won't mind pulling weeds when she has colorful, painted garden gloves to wear.

Instructions
1. Use opaque marking pens in various colors to write gardening words -- such as Dig, Plant, Weed, Feed, Water, Grow, and Harvest -- randomly across the front of a solid-color pair of purchased vinyl or rubberized gardening gloves.
2. Use small brushes and acrylic paint in assorted colors to add garden motifs -- such as flowers, butterflies, and ladybugs -- to the gloves. If you like, paint the tips of the gloves in a contrasting color. Let dry, then outline your motifs with a black marking pen.

Enhance a Mother's Day gift from the kitchen with a pretty paper tag.

Small containers used as candleholders make striking mantel arrangements or centerpieces when grouped together. Group these pretty container candles together on a dinner table just for Mom on Mother's Day.

Choose a pretty pair of satin cords to wrap a terra-cotta flowerpot with color. Display it on a Mother's Day breakfast table to surprise her.

Instructions
1. Using a paintbrush, coat a 4-inch terra-cotta flowerpot with thick white crafts glue. Wrap the rim of the pot with 1/4-inch-wide light green satin cord. (Buy 3 yards for this purpose.)
2. Use about 6 yards of rose-color satin cord to wrap the bottom of the pot, starting just below the green. Tuck the end of a 2-inch rose-colored tassel under the first couple of wraps. Apply more glue to the ends if needed to secure. Let the glue dry.