Mother's Day Gift Ideas

There's no Mother's Day gift more classic than a fragrant candle. Pick a scent and color that fits your mother's personality and pair it with our DIY candleholders. To make, spray a light mist of water into a glass holder. Spray a light layer of metallic gold paint on the inside of the holder, painting over the water beads (it will leave the glass slightly translucent); let dry. Add a layer of gold glitter spray to finish.

New is nice, but vintage tells a story. Transform a flea market printer's tray into Mom's new favorite jewelry case. Give the tray a fresh coat of paint and line the back of the compartments with pretty patterned scrapbook paper. Screw brass hooks into the top of each compartment to hang the jewelry. This project sits upright by itself, but avoid wobbliness by adding a hanging ribbon.

Editor's Tip: If you need to make some compartments longer for necklaces, take out a few slats with a hammer.

A card on Mother's Day lasts the morning while a framed card on Mother's Day lasts for years. Gather a few letterpress cards that Mom would love (think favorite poems, colors, or funny sayings), and frame in white-edged floating frames.

Dress up simple, plain-Jane notebooks with easy embellishments to make a colorful and creative Mother's Day gift. Turn to patterned washi tape or stickers to add strips of color; scrapbooking embellishments amp up the fun factor even more.

If your mom loves a good table display, this industrial-looking (yet simple!) DIY is just the ticket. Gather old or new springs in different diameters and attach to a table-width board using construction adhesive. Tuck in a few tapered candles and vases to complete the creative conversation starter.

Mom will adore a new and sophisticated way to store her favorite treats. Clean out glass jars (such as a pasta jar) and drill a hole in the middle of the lid. Screw a cabinet knob through the hole. Spray-paint the lid and knob a regal gold to finish. Fill with Mom's favorite candies for a sweet Mother's Day gift.

This Mother's Day, give Mom the note-taking gift of her dreams: a DIY dry-erase board. Buy an inexpensive framed bulletin board that includes a ledge for dry-erase markers. Have a crafts store cut a piece of glass to fit the opening. Paint the back side of the glass a color to match Mom's home (we picked peppery green, which works well in a white kitchen). Add a few dry-erase markers and this month just got more organized!

Any hostess will love getting handmade stamped cheese markers. To make this adorable Mother's Day gift, place vintage silver-plated forks between two felt pieces and flatten in a vise. Place the front side up on a metal block and use metal stamps and a hammer to mark the name of the cheese. Cut off a few inches at the top of the handle, then make a curly loop by wrapping the handle in felt and curling it backward using pliers.

Celebrate the sweetness both Mom and spring have to offer with flowers that will keep her smiling long after Mother's Day. Wrap store-bought seed packets for your mom's favorite blooms in easy-stitch burlap bags, and seal the bags with a plant marker. If you want to spice up the bag, pin a vintage picture of the flower on top for an added touch.

Family is what is most important on special days like Mother's Day. Give your mom this gift to remind her how much you care. To make, buy several wooden spoons -- one for each letter. Paint the ends of each spoon; let dry. Using a letter stencil, lightly blot white paint to make one letter on each spoon; let dry. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the opening of a picture frame (make sure the frame can fit all spoons with a 1/2-inch border on all sides). Wrap white canvas around the front of the cardboard; hot-glue to secure. Insert in frame; hot-glue spoons to the canvas.

Mom will love receiving these shopping totes, and kids will love helping put together this fun Mother's Day gift. Use red brads, photo corners, and kid-picked stamped pages to pull these totes together. Greeting cards, photos, and postcards would also make pretty decorations.

Mmm, chocolate. If your mom has a sweet tooth, these homemade truffles will do the trick this Mother's Day! Plastic boxes, candy cups, and festive fabric are all you need to package the luscious chocolate truffles after making.

Get out that chef's hat! Help mom keep her cookbook open to the right page with this adorable slotted spoon bookmark. Use our pattern to make the sweet Mother's Day gift. We recommend laminating it to protect it from any food splatters.

Get the kids involved with this cute Mother's Day gift -- a simple jar with notes telling her all the reasons she's loved. Have kids write their thoughts, or have them tell you their ideas and you write them down. Roll up the strips of paper and put them in a jar. Tie a bow around the jar for added flair.

Mom will love this spring-theme representation of the people she loves most in this easy-to-make family tree project. Design the layout on a separate sheet of paper, assigning different paper colors to different generations. Punch out two butterflies per family member with a crafts punch, and write their name on the top cutout. Keeping the center body on the top cutout flat, fold the wings up; this will give the butterflies a fluttery look. Glue the bodies of each pair of cutouts together using crafts glue or rubber cement. Place butterflies on a matte board and mark positions lightly with a pencil; glue in place on board. Frame the finished butterfly family tree.

Add cool color to milky white vases for a sweet, decorative Mother's Day gift. To get the watercolor look, mix glass paint with a few drops of paint thinner, and paint freehand designs on your vase with an acrylic brush.

Editor's Tip: If you can't find white vases, you can make your own by pouring white paint into clear vases -- just make sure they won't be filled with water later! Instead, use them to display bouquets of faux flowers for an equally pretty look.

Liven up an ordinary pot with customized glass planter fillers. Fill a white ceramic pot with the glass pebbles, adding sticker letters to spell "Mother" to six of the pebbles. Arrange the letter pebbles at the front of the flower pot, then insert a few faux hydrangea stems to finish.

Create a unique piece of artwork for Mom with a frame, foam-core board, tissue paper, and cutout letters from scrap paper or recycled magazines. Decoupage pieces of tissue paper around the foam-core board as a border, then glue your letters directly onto the foam-core board. When dry, frame the inspirational artwork.

Mom won't lose her place in her favorite book with this easy-to-make bookmark. Head to a hardware or home improvement store, and get a sample paint chip in Mom's favorite color. Add a design to the paint chip with a fine-point permanent marker and a crafts-store stencil to give the placeholder a pretty look.

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 any wrinkles or bubbles. When dry, seal the artwork with spray varnish. Mom will cherish them forever.

Editor's Tip: Plates should be for decorative use only.

Purchase a plain pillow and embellish it with funky felt flowers to make a fun, decorative addition to the decor for Mother's Day. Cut simple flower shapes from felt in various colors (choose Mom's favorites or colors that match existing decor), then layer them, and sew the centers together to make each flower. Once you have about a dozen flowers, stitch them to the pillow, and add dimension by bunching the felt tightly together.

Editor's Tip: Thick, stiff felt works best if you want flowers that won't wilt, but any type of fabric that doesn't fray, such as fleece, will work.

Give Mom a supply of greeting cards organized by occasion in an accordion file folder (available at office or scrapbooking stores). Dress up the folder with decorative paper cut to size and attached with spray adhesive.

Turn ordinary candles into shining stars with family photos and embellishments. Print photos or digital designs onto tissue paper; cut out. Wrap the candles with the tissue paper, securing with straight pins. A heat gun will melt the wax until it saturates and coats the tissue paper. Secure flowers to the candle using a brad.

Customize a small wooden box to hold Mom's special treasures. Purchase a small wooden box, and paint the outside a bright color; let dry. Add embellishments or painted motifs to the top of the box, and carefully paint a sweet message inside. Fill the box with small sweets or some of Mom's favorite things.