Mother's Day: Arts / Crafts Ideas

Handprint Dough 

2 c. flour, 1 c. salt, 1 c. water, food coloring

Mix food coloring in with the water before you add the water to the flour and salt. Mix it and knead it
into a soft dough. Roll it out onto a floured surface. Have the kids press their hand down into the dough.
Be sure to press firmly enough that the imprints are clear and deep, but not so deep that they go clear down
to the table or surface. Then, take a toothpick and write their name and the year wherever you can find the space. I cut a big circle around the handprint and then poked two holes at the top of the circle tie a pretty ribbon at the top of the plaque. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 or 3 hours, watching closely so that it doesn't burn. 


Ribbon Bookmark

Cut a heart from red felt for each bookmark.  Decorate the heart with nontoxic fabric
paint and glitter and glue it to one end of a 12" strip of striped wide grosgrain ribbon.


Hugs

Trace children's hands onto construction paper (color of their choice). 
Cut out hand tracings.  Let children tape a piece of yarn to cutouts (one end of yarn on each hand). 
Then let the children glue on one of the following poems:

I'm more than just a cuddle, I'm more than an embrace. I come in cozy sizes, And greet you face to face. I always leave you smiling. I'm full of love inside. I'm always waiting for you , My arms are open wide. Give or take, I'm still the same. I hold you warm and snug. Share me with the ones you love. I am a great big HUG!

Here's a happy hug a bunch Wrap it around and feel the crunch May smiles and Kisses come your way With Lots of Love on Mother's Day!

I Love You This Much
(Variation to above activity)

Trace child's hands and attach with a long piece of yarn (measure child's arms). 
Put into an envelope with a note that says, "MOM, (or Grandma, etc.) I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH!"


Stamped Stationary

Cut white writing paper in half.  Using different rubber stamps, let the children decorate the
paper for stationary.  Matching envelopes may also be made by stamping on white envelopes.


Plaster of Paris Hand Molds

Supplies Needed: 
embroidery hoops (large enough for hand to fit inside of) 
plumbers putty 
dry tempera (to tint plaster, if desired) 
plaster of paris 
rolling pin (you can use small playdoh ones) 
container and spoon to mix plaster (disposable is best) 

This is cool because the handprint ends up coming "out" of the plaster!  Take a good amount of the
plumbers putty, about 3/4 inch thick and enough to be bigger than the embroidery hoop. Use rolling pin
to smooth out. Place embroidery hoop (just the outside expandable part) on putty and push down slightly. Place child's hand on putty and YOU push hand down into the putty evenly to make indentation. Mix plaster
of paris, tinting very lightly with dry tempera if desired, until consistency of yogurt. Pour into embroidery hoop until even with top. Shake gently to remove bubbles.  Let plaster set. When set, remove embroidery hoop
and peel off putty. Allow at least several days to finish drying. Putty can be reused many times if not allowed
to dry out. Embroidery hoops can also be reused, but eventually "stretch" and cause cracks in plaster and need to be replaced. Small cracks can be patched by rubbing  plaster on crack with finger. Start early as this is time consuming! Plumber's putty is not cheap.** 


Flower / Hand / Heart Project

Mount a sheet of white paper on a larger sheet of construction paper. Paint a child's palm a color and his fingers a different color. Press on the paper. When the handprint is dry, glue stems and leaf cutouts below the  flower. Place a heart shaped cut-out to the center of the handprint. Add one of the following poems. 

Flower Magnets

Cut flower shapes from fun foam and glue at the top of a clothespin. Cut stem, leaves
from fun foam and glue beneath the flower. Put a small piece magnetic tape on back.

Silhouettes

The children can give themselves to their parents by making silhouette patterns on newsprint. 
Use a filmstrip projector to cast each child's shadow on paper attached to the wall.  Another child can
draw the outline of the shadow.  Have the children cut out and decorate the silhouettes.  The large
"cards" can then be rolled up and tied with a ribbon and bow for attractive delievery.

Heavenly Hands

Help your child paint her hand yellow and place it upright and slightly diagonally on white paper. 
Let the handprint dry. Help your child paint her other hand pink or blue and place it thumb down
(fingers closed) across the palm of the yellow handprint. Your child can then draw an angel face or
together you can attach a photo of your child. Your child can even draw a halo on the paper as well. 
Your child can then add glue wherever she would like glitter ... sprinkle with glitter. 

Wheelbarrow Planters 

Fill a laundry detergent scoop with soil and marigold seeds. Hot glue milk cap lids to
the sides for wheels and decorate the handle with a pretty bow. You may need to request
donations of laundry detergent scoops at beginning of the year and send home reminders.

Stained Glass Candle / Vase

Cut tissue paper into small pieces. Mix water and glue to thin it, and then paint the jar with the
mixture and place the tissue paper on. Then, after that has dried, paint over the tissue paper
with the same mix. Put a tea light inside and you have a beautiful candle.
These can be customized to any season or event, depending on the colors of tissue paper you use.

Variation: Use a Nestea or glass juice bottle and instead of a candle holder, you have a pretty vase for mom!

Hand In Hand 

Child draws around Mom's hand. Then places his/her own hand in outline of Mom's hand and
child and Mom together trace child's  hand.  This idea can be used to make a refrigerator drawing,
a framed keepsake, a placemat, etc. Another idea is to make mom's handprint with red or yellow
finger paint. After it dries, overlap child's handprint using blue or green finger paint.

Projects For Tea Cups:

Fill with potpourri or dried flowers.  Make a candle by adding wax and a wick.  You could
also use the cups as candle holders by filling them with water and adding a floating candle,
or by filling them with colored sand, pebbles, or bath salts, and then inserting a votive candle.

Projects For Coffee Mugs:

Glue mug to saucer and have children decorate, if appropriate (adding art with permanent markers or
paints, decorating the saucer with fingerprint art, or gluing on shells, dried or silk flowers, etc.).  Mug can
be used to hold pencils, scissors, wooden spoons, etc., as long as the base is heavy enough to avoid tipping. 

A pretty decorated mug and saucer would also make a nice desktop vase for fresh or dried flowers.
If you know how to make the roses from Hershey Kisses wrapped in red cellophane,
you could place a piece of styrofoam in the bottom of each mug to hold a small bouquet of
chocolate roses in place.  You could also make a bouquet of diecut flowers, with a
photo of a child's face in the center of one of the flowers.

If the mugs are plain/solid colored, the kids could decorate them in many
different ways:  paint, markers, glued on string/yarn, tissue paper glued
on to look like stained glass, decoupaged magazine pictures, etc.

Tea Pot

Are you planning on having the children trace, color, and cut out a teapot
for their mom's to paste the following poem on? Use the following poem:

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.

Wrapped Around My Finger

Materials Needed:

Good watercolor paper
acrylic paint
foam brush
fame, glass and mats
gold metallic marker pen
black calligraphy pen

Directions:
Using foam brush, paint child's hand with paint and press onto center of paper.
(Wear smocks, this paint does NOT wash out :))  Let dry. With gold marker, draw a fancy bow
around one finger. In the upper right corner, write in fancy writing, "Mom, I have you wrapped around my
finger". After dry, insert in frame with mat.  This makes a beautiful lasting gift for Moms or Dads.

Special Bouquet

Help children make flowers out of tissue paper and attach to pipe cleaners. 
Tie a few together with ribbon or yarn.

Mother's Day Corsages

Cut four equal size circles from two flattened coffee filters.  Pinch each circle in the center; then dip the
edges into diluted food coloring.  Allow the flowers to dry; then add a stem to each one by twisting a five
inch long piece of pipe cleaner around the pinched center.  Add leaves to each flower stem by poking the
free end of the pipe cleaner through scraps of green crepe paper streamers.  Then twist all four flower stems together and poke them through the center of a four inch doily.  Add a ribbon bow to complete the corsage.

Lollipop Corsages

Cut a simple flower shape from colorful craft foam.  Hot glue a flat round lollipop
to the center of the flower.  Then hot glue a pin back to the back of the flower. 
Tie a length of skinny ribbon into a pretty bow around the lollipop stem.

Portrait of Mommy

Let your little artists paint a portrait of their Mommy at the art easel!

Coupon Keeper

Materials Needed:
two index cards
Hole Punch
Yarn
Crayons/Markers

Directions:
To make a coupon keeper, stack two index cards.
Punch Holes through both cards on the ends and one long side.
Tie a long piece of yarn to one of the top corners.Lace the yarn through all the holes and tie off.
Decorate both sides of the coupon holder with crayons or markers.

Mothers Day Aprons

Materials Needed:
Aprons
Acrylic Paint

Directions:
Have the Children put their hands in the paint and make a handprint on the aprons
UPSIDE down. Then write "Best Mom" on top and "Hands down" on the bottom.

Flower Magnets

Materials Needed:
clothespin
magnetic tape
fun foam
scissors

Directions:
Directions: Cut flower shapes from the fun foam and glue at the top of the clothespin.
Cut stem, leaves from fun foam and glue beneath the flower. Put the magnetic tape on bottom.

Best Cook Hands Down

Materials Needed:
white aprons
fabric paint
fabric crayons
paper
recipe cards

Directions:
Have the children draw a picture of their mom cooking. Draw on paper with fabric crayons
that can be used for iron ons. Or, useregular crayon, and take to a place like Kinko's to have them
turn it into a transfer. Iron on center front of apron. Next, put fabricpain on child's hands and put one
handprint on each side of the picture, with fingers pointing down. Write over picture, "Best Cook, Hands Down" Or something similar. Write some kid's favorite recipes on the cards. Or, if doing
with a daycare group, get several, staple and make a small cookbook for each mom.

Book of Kisses

Materials Needed
paper
scissors
stapler
markers or crayons
lipstick

Directions
The children can make a "Book Of Kisses" to give to their mothers on Mother's Day. Make booklets
by cutting paper into 4 inch squares and stapling ten sheets together in one booklet for each child.
Write "Book of Kisses" on the top page and invite the children to decorate the page that is the cover of
the booklet. In small groups, color the children's lips with lipstick and have them kiss each page of the book. Send it home with a note explaining that the mothers can redeem each page for a real kiss.

Garden Stepping Stones

Materials Needed:
Bag of cement (buy at hardware or home store, about $3.00 for a big bag - get the kind that says premixed - just add water. Nothing fancy, just the end line stuff) small, durable momentos to place in cement (we used rubber frogs and bugs on one, a pacifier and a rattle in one, and hot wheels cars in one) round 9" disposable cake pans (check to make sure children's feet fit in these, if not, use a larger size)

Directions:
This project is easier than it sounds :) Do it outside, because it gets messy! Mix cement with water
according to directions on bag. Pour in tins. Let it sit until it is firm enough to hold a print. Place child's
foot in center of tin and smoosh :) Try to not go all the way to the bottom! Place small knick knacks
around foot print like a toy, etc as listed above. Cement is hard to write in, but we were able to do initials
and the date. Let set. Cover with water to cure according to package directions. Let these set for a few
days before removing from the tins. These can be buried in the garden as stepping stones, left out on
the deck, or anywhere outside. Once hard, they are quite durable!

Necklace for Mommy

Let your children make a necklace for their mommies by stringing uncooked macaroni onto a pc.
of yarn or string.  The children can use markers to decorate the noodles or you can dip the necklace
in water tinted with food coloring.  Add wagon wheel pasta or other shapes for extra fun.

Mommy Puppet

Let the children cut out pics of Mommies from old magazines.  Assist them in pasting them onto
craft sticks or drinking straws to make puppets. Tell a story about your Mother and let your children
move the puppets to act it out.  Then let the children tell a story about their Mothers using their puppets.

Caterpillar Recipe Holder

Begin by using craft glue to attach small pom poms in a row on one side of a spring type clothespin. 
Attach two small wiggly eyes to the pom pom on the end.  Attach a piece of magnetic tape to the back
of the clothespin so that the caterpillar recipe holder can be displayed on the refrigerator.  You might want
to let your child dictate a recipe for you to print on a 3" x 5" index card to put into the card holder.

Dixie Cup Flower

Have kids cut a Dixie cup from top to bottom in as many petals as they like
 (try to limit to about 5 or 6) glue white side down onto construction paper, add a brown
 stem and green leaves... write why each one thinks their mom is the best.. if want scent spray with perfume.

Mother's Day Foam Pin

For infants I take a piece of pink or blue (which ever sex the child is) fun foam.  I put white paint on the
 childs hand and press it to the foam.  When dry I carefully cut out the handprint.  I glue four small white buttons in a square pattern with a pink or blue button to match the foam color on top of the four buttons
. I glue a small white bow on top of the colored button.  I hot glue a pin on the back for a cute Mother's Day pin!

Trainload of Surprises for Mom

Make a train  booklet for each child.  Each train page consists of 1 rectangle cut  from light colored paper,
 and two small black circles for train  wheels.  We have each child make 4 train pages, approx. 5" x 6".
 Staple the pages together.  Make a label for each child that says "A  Trainload of Surprises for Mom".
 Have each child put the label on  the cover of the booklet.  Have children write, or dictate, 1 nice  thing
they will do for their mom on each page.  For example, they may  write "I will help mom do the dishes",
or  "I will pick up my toys".   On the back of the book, write "I Love You, Mommy" and the child's  name. 
You can adapt the number of pages in the book, or the size of  the book. 

Mother Face Puppet

Give the children paper plates, markers, and such collage items as felt, buttons, yarn, bits of ribbon
 and fabric, and glue.  Help them get started making their puppets by asking them what their mother
 looks like.  When the puppets are dry, make handles by taping tongue depressors securely to the back
 of the plates.  Encourage teh children to introduce their Mother Puppets to one another at circle time.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CRAFT IDEAS CHILDREN
 CAN MAKE AS GIFTS FOR MOTHERS DAY!

CLICK HERE FOR HOMEMADE MOTHER'S DAY CARD IDEAS!

  This website is non-profit &  for educational reference only! 
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.  
They are shared from friends and fellow group members.  
Some ideas found have been compiled from groups through the yrs.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!
 

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