Homemade Mother's Day Cards

Craft Project: Scrubbie Flower Card

An easy card to make your mom for Mother's Day. This is an inexpensive craft to make if you don't have a lot of money to spend on a card. The pot scrubbers only cost $1.00 for 4 in a pack. Maybe the kids could make one for Grandma, too. Just change the poem to grandma instead of mom. Also if there's more than one child you could change all the "I" in the poem to "we."

Approximate Time: 10 minutes

Supplies:

• colored construction paper or cardstock
• pot scrubber
• brad or fastener
• computer
• computer paper
• Elmer's glue
• scissors (regular and decorative)

Instructions:

First type up the little poem on your computer and print it out. I found this one online. It says:

MOM

To make your mother's day fantastic

I made you this flower of plastic.

I give it to you with this special wish.

May it help you scrub each pot and dish.

I want to thank you for all you do.

Happy Mother's Day, I LOVE YOU!

(remove brad and enjoy your kitchen scrubber)

Fold the piece of cardstock in half. This will be your card. Cut out the poem with decorative scissors and glue it on the front of the card. Cut out the stem and leaves for the "flower" on a green piece of paper and glue these onto your card. Push the brad through the middle of the pot scrubber and attach it to the card.

All you have to do is finish the inside of the card with a nice message and give it to mom for Mother's Day.

By luv2craft from Normalville, PA

Craft Project: Mother's Day Dress Card

These darling dresses make a beautiful unexpected card for your special mother. Easy to make and very delicate. Your mom will be very surprised you made it.

Approximate Time: 10 in 30 minutes

Supplies:

• pattern
• printer
• colored card stock
• tissue paper
• double sided tape
• ribbon
• embellishments

Instructions:

1. Take your pattern and cut out dress pattern. These can be made any size you wish.

2. Next, take some tissue paper and measure the dress from the center where the waistline would be and double that. Use about a 6 inch long piece.

3. Begin to fold the tissue paper into accordion folds until you have reached the end.

4. Open up the dress and lay it out so the front and back are showing. Fit the middle of the folded tissue paper to the center of the dress (waist line).

5. Using double sided tape, tape down half of the tissue paper you folded and spread it out so the folds are equal. Make sure your tape fits around the center and there is some left over on the back of the dress.

6. Now bring over the top piece and secure with the double sided tape you used earlier.


This should look like a layered dress. Now, you can decide if you want to trim off the dress's second layer and add another layer to make it taper or if you just want to keep it two layers.

7. Take a piece of ribbon and cut it a little bigger than your waistline and put it over the top of the tissue paper at the waistline and attach it on the back where you left extra tape.

8. You can embellish the dress any way you like. I made mine formal so I attached small colored pearls and jewels to make it look like buttons on the dress.
9. Write on the inside of the card and personalize it. Your mom will love her handmade card. (If you plan to make an envelope for the dress make sure the opening is wide enough to accommodate the skirt of the dress.)

By Gem from VA

Craft Project: Mother's Day Card - Remembering Mother

We lost our mother and father three years ago and I still miss spending Mother's Day with her or at least sending a card on the few times we weren't able to be together. So this year I decided to send my sister and brother a Remembering Mother Mother's Day card. It is my version of a "pop out".

Approximate Time:

Supplies:

• 1 sheet of heavy textured paper
• 2 sheets cardstock in coordinating colors
• double sided tape
• good holding, one sided, 1 inch tape
• decorative edge scissors
• 2 metal clasps
• 1 yard total of 2 pieces of coordinating 1/8 inch ribbon
• scissors
• 4 to 6 pictures

Instructions:

The size of your card is up to you, if you want to make an envelope or not may be the deciding factor for you. I make some of my own from wallpaper so I don't worry about the size of my cards. This one is around 7x9 inches. I also make homemade paper and like to use it for my cards and book covers, this is what I used on this project.

1. Tear three sides of your front and back cover from your textured paper. They don't have to be perfectly the same size just close. Measure inside your cover to find how big you can make your pages, they should be 1 inch smaller both in width and height than your covers. Cut two this measurement and two 1 inch narrower, but the same height. The two outside pages will be part of the spine of the book and the two narrower ones will be your pop out.

2. Now you are going to build hinges from your one sided tape. Lay out your smaller pieces just a hair apart so the hinges can work; cut a piece of tape 1/4 inch longer than the page height and tape them together, this will be the two center pages. Repeat this process for the two wider pages with one on each side of the unit you just made; remember to leave a hairs width for the hinge to work. Turn this 4 piece unit over and repeat the taping.

   Decorate each page of the pop out card with photos.

3. With the two center pages popped out slip this unit between the two covers with the straight edge lined up with the edges of the pages. With a sharp point such as an X-acto knife make a small slit cross wise of the cover 1 inch up from the bottom 1/4 inch in from the edge and 1 inch down from the top 1/4 inch in from the edge.

4. Insert your metal clasps from the front and flatten them out. Fold your pages so the center pages are tucked inside to make sure they fit inside the cover.

5. The page that holds the message is two layers; the back sheet is 1/2 inch narrower and shorter than the top. Use decorative scissors to trim the edges. Either print your message or print it out on a computer and attach it.

6. If you want it to stand up as mine shows make a 1/2 inch slit 2 inches apart on the bottom so you can slip it on the page top edges when the card is popped out.

   Otherwise you could attach to the front cover.

7. You are ready to add the pictures and decorate as you wish. I tied my poem page unit to the front cover page with the ribbon then will put a notation in the accompanying letter telling them how to stand it on top.

Enjoy your mother while you have her and ask her every question you can think of. Write down the answers for later reference, every day I wish I could ask my mother something.

By Ann from Loup City, NE

Children's Photo Card for Mom's Day

This one is fun for kids and adults alike. Get out your camera and take some candid shots of your kids goofing off. I have one where four of my grandsons got into a mud fight in the back yard. They were just covered in mud from the heads to the feet. It was running off them in rivers. This is the photo I am going to help them make into a card for their mom's this Mother's day. Go to your local Walgreens and have a copy made of the picture.

Materials

• one picture of each child that you are making a card of
• 1 piece of construction paper or card stock (geavy papers can be bought at Michaels or Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking aisle)
• markers
• glitter
• stickers

Directions:

1. Fold the paper in half like you would for a card. Cut a hole in the front. It does not have to be square get creative. I plan on making ours with a puddle shape for the opening. Just make it so that when you are done with the hole, your picture can be completely seen.
2. Now let the kids decorate them with flowers and hearts or anything their little hearts desire. The inside can be lettered with "World's Greatest Mom", "I Love You", or be a little sneaky and use a poem off the internet.

Remember to have the kids sign it.

Hope this gives you a great idea for your mom.

Craft Project: Mother's Day Teapot Card

This card and tea bag will bring a smile to any mother's face.

Approximate Time: Less than 30 minutes

Supplies:

• construction paper
• craft foam
• pen
• scissors
• craft glue
• tea bag

Instructions:

Draw a simple teapot on construction paper and cut out. Cut out flower designs from craft foam. Glue these to the front of a folded piece of construction paper. Write the following saying on the front of the card, or use your computer to type and print it out:

"Here's a gift for Mother's Day, I'll try my best in every way. But when you get upset with me, relax and have a cup of tea."

Write a personal message inside the card and tape a tea bag inside.

By Rachel's Mom from Wilkesboro, NC

Wall Card for Mother's Day

Calling all kids, this one is for you. A card that Mom can hang as a picture.

Approximate Time:

Supplies:

• 2 sheets of cardstock
• 3 cupcake liners or small containers
• 3 buttons
• 1/2 yard of ribbon
• scissors
• marking pen
• 1/2 yard of 1/2 inch lace
• tacky glue
• floss
• scraps of green cardstock for stems
• pictures of kids for centers of flowers
• painters tape

Instructions:

1. I used handmade paper for the backing and torn the edges for interest. Cut your top paper two inches narrower and 2 1/2 inches shorter than your backing paper. I suggest 6 x 9 inches for the top paper and 8 x 11 1/2 inches for the back.
2. Glue the two together.
3. Using the pattern provided or draw your own, cut out the stems and leaves.

4. Print out your pictures. If you need more than three you will need to make your card larger or your pictures smaller than two inches, which is what mine are.
5. To make your photo fit the bottom of your cupcake liner, simply cut one of the bottoms out and use it for a pattern. Cut your photo slightly smaller than this pattern.
6. Once you have all of your pieces, assemble your picture and begin to glue them in place, starting with off centering your front piece of paper toward the top so it leaves room to write at the bottom.
7. To make the flower pot, gather a short piece of lace and glue it in place at the top with a button.

8. If you want your lace to stand up put glue around the sides of the container and use the painter's tape to hold the lace up until the glue dries while you work on the buttons.

9. Sew the buttons on over your ribbon for strength if you plan on hanging your card.

10. Write Mother, Mom or whatever you choose at the bottom and you are done.

By Ann from Loup City, NE

Make Mother's Day Cards On A Dime and In No Time!

Kids of all ages love making Mother's Day cards. Even if you're working with a large group of kids, this activity costs next to nothing and is lots of fun.

Step 1: Gather all the address labels you've received in fund-appeal mailings from nonprofits.

Step 2: Make stickers by cutting the labels so the graphics are separated from the text.

Step 3: Gather all the greeting cards you've received in fund-appeal mailings from nonprofits.

Step 4: Hand out the stickers, greeting cards and envelopes (along with pencils, pens and markers) to kids and let them make Mother's Day cards.

Participating kids' enthusiasm for making their cards just right will wow you. Mothers' delight at receiving the cards will surely be equally awesome.

Want to see a visual demonstration of this tip? Check out the photos of La Roca kids making Mother's Day cards:

• http://picasaweb.google.com/dariadster/LaRocaKidsMakeMotherSDayCardsApril2008

Source: Actually, I just made the activity up, because often I need a craft activity for a large number of kids and because I was looking for something to do with all the address labels and greeting cards that nonprofits keep sending me.

By Daria from San Diego, CA