Mother's Day custom and DIY gift ideas

Mother’s day is less than a week away! While I was brainstorming ideas for my own mom, I came up with a few others that might inspire you in your own gift-giving/making.

The Card

I usually just buy a card from the store last-minute, or take the time to make one by hand. This year I wanted to do something a little more personal and include pictures of my mom and I because we haven’t had any printed recently. I heard about a company called Treat Greetings (http://www.treat.com/) and decided to give them a try. They had a huge selection to choose from just for Mother's day. It should arrive here just in time for the occasion too! Here’s what it’s going to look like:

Front and inside of card

I added more pictures and a special note from me, but I’ll keep that a secret so I don’t give everything away! I think it really speaks to what the relationship between my mom and I is like. I can't wait for her to get it! I liked a lot of the other cards Treat had to offer, so I’ll probably be ordering from them again! My favorite part is that it's so customizable and you can change a lot of the greetings to suit your needs. You can also make personalized mugs, stationary, iphone cases, and other gifts. I thought that was pretty neat!


The Gift

Idea 1: Memory box for mom/step-mom/grandma

My original thought was to use an old shoebox, or get one of the brown cardboard ones from a craft store. Instead, as I was shopping the aisles I found this wooden box and thought it would be more appropriate for my mom.

But if you have little ones, the shoebox/ brown box idea is a great way to make a memory box for mom to store all her favorite handmade presents from the little ones! Just gather up some paint, markers, scrapbook paper, pens, stickers, and glue and you’re all set!

In my case, I decided to paint her memory box so that she will always have May flowers and a place to store her favorite cards/gifts from me!

Obviously, I'm not the most experienced painter ever, lol.


Idea 2: “You are my sunshine” painting

This was an idea I found on pinterest a while ago, and originally posted about here. My ex’s daughter and I made it for him, but it would also make a great gift for a mom, step-mom, or a grandma!

All you need is a blank canvas from the craft store, some paint, and a pair of little hands (or more if you’ve got em!). I’d suggest getting a bigger canvas than I did, that way it will have more space for the hand prints. (Don't forget your 40/50% off coupon!) Paint the canvas a base color like I painted mine blue. Allow time for that coat to dry and apply one or two more coats of paint as needed. Once dry, draw a circle near the bottom of the canvas using a plate, bowl, or other round template. Then paint the little one’s hands and press them onto the canvas around the circle. Hold for a second or two, remove, and then apply more paint. After the hands are done, paint in the circle and paint “you are my sunshine” and you’re done! It’s a great craft project that the kids will be proud of and the recipient will love!


Idea 3: Manicure/pedicure at home kit DIY

As I was in the process of thinking up gifts, I decided that the basic “card/chocolate/flowers” gift probably isn’t for all moms. I asked my friends who are young moms what kinds of gifts they would prefer, and a lot of them said they’d like some time off or to have some time to pamper themselves. So dads (and various other family and friends) take note! The splurge option will be to get them a gift certificate for a spa day or for a mani/pedi. Both will give that special lady some time off and some well-deserved pampering!

Or if you’re the crafty DIY friend like I am you could make them an at home mani/pedi kit!

Things to include:

• Emery board or nail file. (If you can find the glass nail files they are the best!)
• Cuticle cream/gel
• Nail polish (If you're not sure what color to get, a nice top coat is always a good alternative)
• Small tube of lotion
• Toe seperators
• Pumice Stone
• Nail care sticks/cuticle pushers
• Nail clippers
• Nail buffer

After you’ve gathered your supplies, put it all in a pretty gift bag (I got mine from the Daiso, the Japanese dollar store) and add a ribbon or a pretty hair clip!

I know, shameless self-promotion! But the flowers that I sell in my Etsy really do make excellent gifts as well! By now you should already know how I feel about it: anything handmade is always awesome!


The Treat

I’ve chosen to fill up mom’s box with chocolate (specifically See’s candies), but you should get that lovely lady in your life whatever kind of sweet (or savory) treat that she likes!

Remember that the reason behind having Mother’s day is to let moms, step-moms, grandmas, great grandmas, etc. know that you appreciate them and that they’re special to you! So whatever you decide to get them this mother’s day, make sure it comes wrapped in love.

Crocheted wedding roses

Today is the day of my cousin's wedding, and that means I can finally show you pictures of what I've been working on!

My cousin Shelly commissioned me to make her bouquet, corsages for the bridesmaids, and boutonnieres for the groom and his groomsmen. Her colors were green and brown, so as we were in the process of planning this all out, I dug out all the greens, browns, and off-whites that I had and let her choose from them. Convenient enough for me, these four colors ended up working out and I didn't have to go to the store for more yarn! (Believe me, I have enough already.)

The Bouquet:

The basic construction of this was made by hot gluing three dollar store plastic bouquet stems together (each with 6 stems) and one long stem in the center for a total of 19 roses.

It might not be easy to tell, but I knotted yarn around each stem and then twisted it so it had a spiral effect. The stems didn't match up perfectly which I think gives it a sort of organic feel.

The Corsages:

They have one large rose and two small roses. (I moved them around a bit for the picture so they all didn't end up looking like Mickey Mouse made from roses, lol.) My cousin got the girls' wrist measurements and I made custom elastic bracelets for them to pin the corsages to. This way they'll have something they can use after the wedding instead of a flower bracelet they'll probably never wear again.

It was such a hassle looking for crochet corsage patterns online that I ended up making my own which I will share once I have it edited properly.  Maybe it will help someone else who finds themselves in my shoes :)

Here is what it looks like on:



You might be able to see better in that picture that the bottom row of the bouquet has small colored roses and large off-white roses. I had to do that to make them all fit, and it ended up being a cool look.

The Boutonnieres:

Made from three small roses and they also have pin backs.

That's a hard word to spell! And I just now found out I've been spelling it wrong. Oops.

Another oops happened just before sending these off to her. I thought to myself that if there were four bridesmaids that maybe there were four groomsmen, which would mean that the groom would need one too. The oops was that I had only made four because that's what I thought I needed, and I'm so glad that I checked with Shelly after having that thought because I did in fact need to make five. But that was no problem. I got them all finished up, made some tags and shipped them off!

Yep, handwritten tags! Made with love!


To anyone who is interested in using my example to make their own wedding roses (or have someone do it for you/make it for someone else), here are all the details you need to know (and you can always ask if you need to know more!):

Yarns used:

• Red Heart Super Saver Solids in Cafe = brown
• Red Heart Soft in an off-white/cream. (Not sure of exact color) = shiny off-white
• Red Heart Soft in what I think is either Leaf or Grass Green = green
• Lion Brand Vanna's choice in off-white = the sand-colored one
• Caron Simply Soft in a sage or dark green (used on stem coverings)

Hook used:

• US size G

Patterns used:

• Lion Brand crocheted rosettes/flowers (free pattern) I ch 17 for the small roses and 27 for the large ones
• I also used this pattern from PlanetJune for the Calyx (the green part under the rose in the bouquet)

This project was challenging but so SO worth it! I can't wait to see pictures from the ceremony and after :)

Congrats Shelly and your lucky hubby! I wish you all the happiness from this day and forever on!  ♥

P.S. If for some reason you'd like to commission me to make some wedding roses, you can click on the little envelope-looking icon over there ---> below my picture to contact/e-mail me. BUT unless I love you, there is NO WAY you are getting these for free! lol. So expect a fair, handmade price. 

Some Green Knitting

I made this set for my lucky cousin. I don't know why I spoil her so much ;) Currently I'm in the midst of crocheting a TON of roses for her wedding. ♥

Hoo! Hoo!

Scarf: Two camo yarns (Yarn Bee Bamboospun and Yarn Bee Boucle Traditions) held together and knitted with a p1k1 stitch (moss or seed stitch... I've heard it both ways). It is beyond soft and really fun to wear. I'm not a fan of camo, but this makes it look good!

Hat: I used the Ullu the owl pattern on Ravelry and Caron simply soft solids in dark sage.

Then finally I made something for myself!

On our roadtrip across the U.S. we went to the Grand Canyon... in winter... I was very cold. Glad I had my favorite new hat to keep me warm! The cowl scarf is several years old and still my favorite. I used Angel Hair from JoAnne Fabrics and just knit it until it was almost gone and whipstitched the ends together.

Hat: I kind of based it off of a Twilight hat pattern, but not wanting to have any Twilight fangirls gushing over my hat, I changed it up a bit. (Plus the tiny stripes weren't my style.) If I wasn't wearing it so tight over my ears it would be slouchy, just like I like.

I've gotten so much better at knitting in the round, and also for this project I learned how to make "jogless stripes" and it turned out great!

Here is a (VERY bad, mirror) pic of the back of the hat

Wow! That's a lot of green.