If you’re a mother, look away! This list of craft ideas is meant for dads and kids.

Perhaps you want to surprise Mom with a one-of-a-kind handmade gift on Mother’s Day, but you need some ideas to get started. Have no fear. Some of the ideas are easier, some will take more time, but you’re bound to find a project that Mom will love. Whether you’re a painter, a crafter, or none of the above, Mom will certainly love any one of these wonderful DIY gifts.

DIY Crayon Candle

We finally found a great use for the stubs of old crayons. Help your little ones follow these careful instructions to create a colorful candle for Mom. The best part is watching them choose which colors she’ll love most.

To make homemade crayon candles you will need wax, wicks, old crayons, and containers. To color the wax for these candles, my daughter picked out 4 different colors of crayons. The first time we broke the crayon in to 4 pieces and it took forever to melt. It’s best if you can grate or chop the crayons in to the smallest pieces possible.

To melt the wax, I created a double boiler using an empty coffee can and a pot. Fill the pot with about 1-2 inches of water and bring to a slow simmer. Add the wax to the coffee can and allow the wax to melt until clear. I used an old spatula to help stir.

Once the wax is melted, turn the burner down to low. You want to keep the wax warm, but making the layers takes a bit of time. Work one color at a time. Pour hot wax in to the bowl or container with the broken crayon. Use a craft stick to stir and allow the crayon to melt. Because our crayons weren’t in small pieces, they never melted completely. I just stirred the wax around and poured the wax in the jar keeping the chunks of crayon in the bowl. This is also the point where you would add any essential oils if you want to have a scented candle. We used 1 drop of lavender oil per layer.

Place a wick in the jar and then carefully pour the wax in to the jar. I didn’t use anything to secure the wick. I just let the wax hold it in place. You can twist it around a pencil to help keep it straight.

Once you’ve poured a layer, put it in the fridge to set. If you use soy wax, this will take a bit. I found that regular wax sets up faster. When the layer is cool and firm, start again with the next crayon and the next layer. Continue on until you run out of room for layers.

Once the last layer is set, your candle is ready to burn! I hope you and your kids have a fun summer full of creating and making memories!

Mason Jar Picture Frame Vases

Mom is always looking for the best ways to display photos of her kids, and these are colorful options that she’ll love.

Supplies Needed for Mason Jar Picture Vase

For this project you will need the following:

• Clean mason jar
• Pantone’s Radiant Orchid paint by Valspar, or her favorite color
• Paint brush
• Vinyl shape or sticker and picture
• Painter’s tape
• Clear spray paint

Step 1: Place vinyl or painter’s tape over jar and paint.

To create your picture frame window on your jar, place vinyl or painter’s tape on the area that you don’t want painted. I used my Silhouette machine to cut out a decorative square in black vinyl. There were some gaps in my vinyl, so I filled them with painter’s tape. If you don’t own a Silhouette, you could create a square using painter’s tape and decorative edge scissors. Paint the outside of the jar and immediately remove your sticker. You do not want to wait until the paint is dry or else it will be difficult to remove your sticker.

Step 2: Cut a picture to size and attach to jar with painter’s tape.

I tried out a few different pictures before deciding on the one I liked best. I sized my pictures in a Word document and then just printed them off on my laser printer. The painter’s tape allows you to easily change out the picture.

Step 3: “Distress” the lettering on the jar.

This is an optional step. I like the look of the lettering and pictures on mason jars and wanted it to show more clearly. I took a metal file and scraped off the paint where I wanted the lettering to show.

Here you can see what the back of the jar looks like with the paint scraped off of the lettering.

Step 4: Seal the outside of the painted jar with clear spray paint.

The paint will easily scrape off of the jar if it is not sealed. To add durability to the paint, spray it with a clear spray paint.

Step 5: Place paper cup inside jar to hold flowers.

Your picture will be ruined if you fill the inside of the jar with water. Place a paper cup inside the jar, fill the cup with water, and place your flowers in the cup. I used a foam cup and had to cut off the lip of the cup in order for it to fit but it worked great.

Alternatively, you can place an LED candle inside the jar for a different effect! Enjoy!

String Art Thread and Milk Jug Necklace

Every Mom loves getting jewelry for Mother’s Day. Have your tiny craft master tackle string art and jewelry-making using this easy tutorial.

Materials:
– empty milk jug, cleaned and dried
– scissors
– hole puncher
– 2 colors of embroidery thread
– Sharpie marker

Directions:
Step 1:  Cut up your milk jug so that you have a flat surface to draw on.

Step 2:  Trace four circles onto your milk jug.  Cut those circles out.  Then, cut out tiny slits around the circle’s edge.

Step 3:  Use your hole punch and punch out two holes in your circles, one across from the other.  You’ll use these holes to tie your disks together.

Step 4:  Take your embroidery thread and wrap it around a disk, sliding the string into the different slits to create whatever design you choose.  (I went with a messy look.)  Make sure to leave a bit of thread hanging out in the beginning, so you can tie off the thread when you’re done with your design. Snip off any excess thread when you’re done. Repeat this with four disks.

Step 5:  Use the holes you punched to tie the disks together with embroidery thread.

Step 6:  Tie a cobra braid (remember those from summer camp lanyard classes?) on each side to create a necklace chain.

Mother’s Day Origami Card

Origami requires patience, and while that’s not a strength for most kids, there are most certainly kids out there who love to fold.

Supplies:

3in x 3in Origami Paper – if you can’t find this size, you can cut down a 6in x 6in piece into fourths

Glue dots

Card stock fold into a card

Ruler

1.  The first thing you will need to do is fold your letters.  I made a few in various colors and prints to play around with.  The letters are pretty easy to fold.  The only tricky part is you’ll be working with a tiny piece of paper.

2.   If some parts of the letter pop up, you can secure them with glue dots.  For example, the point of the “M” kept popping up so I added a glue dot underneath it.

3.  Now you’re going to adhere the letters to the cardstock.  Here are few easy tricks to get the letters centered and aligned. Place a ruler(or straight edge) down where you want the base of your letters to sit.  Start with the middle letter which in this case is the “O”.  Center it on the card.  Now place each “M” beside it so they are evenly spaced.  This is a good technique that can be used when you want to center any word on a card, banner, etc.

Mix and match prints and colors to achieve different looks for you card.

Mother’s Day Suncatcher

It might take a bit more skill (or a bit more help from Dad), but it only makes a great present because it’s made with love for Mom.

DIY Mother’s Day Suncatcher Supplies:

• Steampunk Antique Silver Tree Pendant
• 3 x4mm Crystal Rondelle Bead Strands (various colors)
• 34 Gauge Beading Wire
• 2.5 mm Crimp Beads
• Bead Stringing Wire

Step One. Gather supplies. I chose the three colors of mine and my sisters’ birthstones.

Step Two. Cut an 18″ section of the wire (don’t worry if it’s too short, you can easily add more as you go) and begin wrapping the wire around the branches, stringing beads as you go. The outer sections where you can wrap branch to branch with the bead in the center are the easiest. As you move toward the middle, the space between the branches will lengthen so you’ll have to thread the wire through already strung beads.

Step Three. Continue until all the branches have been covered. Cut an 8″ section of the bead stringing wire, create a loop at the top and secure with crimp bead. Add another crimp bead and three extra crystal beads, thread wire through pennant loop and secure crimp.

Look how pretty it looks in a window with the sun shinning in! Of course, you can customize this gift 100% by only using one color or adding as many as needed. As I mentioned above, it’s small enough that if you don’t live near your mother, you can easily mail this almost-flat gift.

What a lovely surprise this DIY Mother’s Day suncatcher would be in a mailbox!

Hand Painted Mini Cactus

What if Mom loves plants, but has a hard time taking care of them? This faux plant will give her the beauty of a desk plant, without the responsibility to take care of it. Who knew rocks could pose as plants?

Heart Thumbprint Platter

Add a personalized item to Mom’s china cabinet with this platter. You’ll need some red paint, but your thumbprint is the paintbrush for this classy Mother’s Day gift.

SUPPLIES:

• • white serving platter
  • glass paint or multi-surface paint that can be cured in the oven and be dishwasher safe
  • sharpie
  • keep a wet rag or damp paper towels on hand

DIRECTIONS: 
1. Decide how you want to lay out the fingerprints and text.  I divided the plate into sixths, and placed a tiny dot of paint where I wanted each fingerprint to go, so the spacing would be as equal as possible.  Sometimes wiggly fingers don’t cooperate completely, but it will be better than doing the whole thing then realizing it’s off center.

2. Place a small amount of paint on a piece of foil or wax paper, carefully dip your child’s finger in the paint, then make two prints to form a heart shape. If you mess up, all you have to do is use the wet rag or damp paper towels and wipe it of, then once it’s dry, you can start over again.  I definitely utilized that option several times!

3.  Use the Sharpie to write the names, date, and any other text you would like.

4.  Follow the curing directions on the paint you used. I used Martha Stewart Glass Paint (Habanero, which I love–it’s a great red!) and I could either oven bake or let it sit for 21 days. I’m super impatient, so I always choose the oven method!

If you can’t find Martha Stewart glass paint, you can use a multi-surface craft paint that can be cured in the oven to be dishwasher safe. With a multi-surface paint, you HAVE to cure it in the oven, not the 21-day option, if you want it to be safe in the dishwasher.

If you’re worried about it being 100% food safe, then I would either put your fingerprints around the edges instead of the middle, or laying something underneath the food you’re serving.

Ombre Tassel Necklace

Give Mom something to show off with this funky yet beautiful tassel necklace. Let Mom steal the spotlight with this fabulous piece.

For this project, you’ll need the following:
• embroidery thread
• seed beads
• accent beads
• 8mm jump rings
• nylon beading string

1. First, pick out five shades of embroidery thread with which to make your tassels. You’ll need exactly one hank of embroidery thread per tassel.

2. Start with a piece of cardboard cut to the desired length of your finished tassels (mine were about two and a half inches). Wrap the embroidery thread around the cardboard about 50 times, depending on how thick you want your tassel to be.

3. Cut a 6″ piece of embroidery thread and slip it through the top loops of the wrapped thread. Tie it tightly several times. Then, slide the wrapped thread off the cardboard and slide it onto a pencil.

4. Use the remaining piece of thread (should be about 12″) to tie around the tassel just below the pencil. This will create the ‘head’ of the tassel. Wrap the ends of the tied thread around the tassel five or six times and then use a needle to tuck the ends back behind the wrapped thread.

5. Using scissors, cut the loops at the end of the tassel and trim the ends so they’re even. Finally, attach a jump ring to string that ties the top of the tassel.

6. Once all your tassels are made, string your nylon thread with seed beads until you’ve reached the length you desire. Then, add one crystal accent bead and about 40 seed beads.

7. Next, string the first tassel onto the necklace, sliding it over the seed beads. Add 10 jump rings, one tassel, 10 jump rings, one tassel, etc. until all the tassels have been added. Then, add the second crystal accent bead and finish the necklace with the remaining seed beads.

8. For the finishing touch, use a needle to comb through the threads of the tassel to separate the strands for a nice, full look.

Painted Rock Garden Markers

For the moms with the green thumb.. Bust out your paints and put your own spin on these garden markers. Mom will love the color it brings to her plants.

Yarn-Wrapped Ombre Monogrammed Letter

Here’s a handmade piece that Mom will be excited to display. Pick yarn in her favorite color and wrap it around a store-bought letter. It could be the first letter of her name or her kids’ names, you be the judge.

Polaroid Magnets

Round up your mom’s favorite pictures. It requires a bit more work than your average DIY project, but the end result will be one you’re proud to display on your refrigerator.

Dashes and Dots DIY Floral Mug

Present your mother with the perfect coffee cup.This is proof that you don’t need to be an amazing artist to make something beautiful. You can decorate this mug with nothing but dashes and dots and the end result will look like a professional did it.

Dark Chocolate Mother’s Day Bouquet

Nothing beats candy for Mother’s Day. Part craft, part candy assembly, this one is sure to please the sweet-tooth mom.

Easy Silhouette Art

There might be a lot of steps to pull off this craft but the good news is that they aren’t hard. It’s simple, but beautiful, and Mom will be thrilled to hang up a silhouette of her child.

First, I took two profile pictures of the girls and tried to make them as contrasty as possible. Using a window as the background helps.

Then, I printed the pictures off in black and white.

I found some aqua card stock that we had on hand and taped the picture to the paper.

Using a cutting mat and an exacto knife, just simply cut around the profile.  I made the eyelashes a little more pronounced, but other than that, just cut exactly around the picture.

Find a fun background and adhere the picture. I actually just used tape for now…it was hard to get them perfectly centered, so the tape helped me move it around until it was just right.  After trying out a few different patterned scrapbook papers, I actually landed on an old map as my favorite.

This would also make a wonderful Mother’s or Father’s day gift!!

Vintage Button Bookmarks

If you know you have some vintage buttons lying around, you’re only a couple steps away from having a pretty gift for Mother’s Day.

Clay Hand Jewelry Holder

Here’s a homemade gift that will have Mom in the palm of your hand, almost literally. Give Mom the perfect addition to her nightstand — something to hold her odds and ends that will always remind her of you.