Sunday Snapshot -- Happy Mother's Day!

................from my brother's puppy, Storm!!  

Last Minute Mother's Day Gifts Round Up

In case you missed some of our FUN Mother's Day gift idea posts, here's a quick round up!



From Left to Right:
1. Super-Fun Tea Tags
2. Lavender Scented Bath Salts
3. Chocolate Nut Bark



From Left to Right:
1. Hand-Painted Pendants
2. Ceramic Trivets
3. Flower Printed Wrapping Paper



From Left to Right:
1. Reusable To Do List
2. Laminate Bookmarks
3. Recipe Journal

Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Personalized Pendants

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and we have been crafting up a storm in our household! Emily made a whole tray of these personalized initial pendants for her grandmothers and several friends, and I made a bunch too. They are lots of fun to make!

First smooth out some oven bake clay to about 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of waxed paper. One package of clay can make a LOT of necklaces!






Next, we used alphabet stamps for the letters! If you don't already have these, they are worth investing in as we have gotten so much mileage from them for various craft projects and for handwriting practice. We use Melissa and Doug's set, found here. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Alphabet Stamp Set

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- To Do List

These To Do Lists are such a useful gift for Mom -- plus they are reusable! The girls had so much fun making these, and you only need a few materials to make one of your own.

I took an ordinary sheet of construction paper, folded it in half, and drew a 1 inch margin around the border. Then I let the girls decorate them with some markers!! 

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- 2 Ideas for Laminate Samples

Here's another fun post for our series of Inexpensive Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make (using items found at the hardware store)!!

Mark doesn't know it yet, but I'm secretly plotting to have our kitchen countertops re-done. I picked up some samples, and a few price quotes the last time I was at the hardware store. These pretty bookmarks were made from leftover laminate samples, which makes them very sturdy. Added bonus -- they were so easy to make!

If you don't have laminate samples at home, they are available for free at any hardware store. I used old kitchen scissors to trim the sides of the sample, and I was surprised how easy it was to cut through the laminate!

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Recipe Journal

While Clara was napping, Emily and I made this very special recipe journal for Grandma. Emily thought this would be a particularly useful gift, and I had to agree! Added bonus -- We recycled some beautiful paper that was FREE!!

Not many people seem to know about this, but if you're looking for some gorgeous good-quality paper a great source is your local paint store. I went to our local Sherwin-Williams and asked if they had any wallpaper sample books that were discontinued. Many times they are more than happy to pass them along to someone who could use them instead of having them sent to a landfill. I got three HUGE books!!

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Ceramic Trivets

Another post in our fun series of Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- if you haven't already done so, send your husband over here, and maybe he'll take a hint. (wink, wink!) Most of these projects will feature very inexpensive items you can find at any hardware store, so manly men don't need to make another trip to the craft store.

The girls made these beautiful hand painted ceramic trivets this afternoon, and I thought they would make wonderful Mother's Day gifts! They were super-inexpensive, easy, and FUN to make!!

We used imprinted ceramic tiles from the hardware store ($2.64 each), and I let the girls have a go at painting them with acrylic paint. They had so much fun!!

Mother's Day Gifts Kids Can Make -- Hand Painted Pendants

I thought it would be fun to do a little series on frugal Mother's Day gifts kids can make, so all you Dads out there... pay attention! (hint, hint)

We enjoyed some warm sunshine this afternoon along with some messy art to make these BEAUTIFUL hand-painted pendants!

You can find large washers like these at any hardware store, and they are super-inexpensive (about $0.20 each)! The girls painted theirs using make-up sponges and acrylic paint. Allow to dry, and then coat them with some clear nail polish.
Attach some matching satin ribbon, and you have a very unique gift for Mother's Day! The paint on Clara's was still a little wet when she flipped it over to paint the other side. I LOVE how it turned out!! It looks almost like flames!

Added Bonus -- Getting to see these adorable barefoot toes while she was busy crafting in her monkey pajamas!

Have fun!!