5 DIY gifts for a special Mother’s Day

If you haven’t started thinking about the perfect Mother’s Day gift, now is the time to brainstorm before Mother’s Day gets here.

Get the kids involved and create handmade, fashionable bracelets that mom can show off.

The good news is that showing your appreciation doesn’t have to cost much, in fact, if you already have the supplies at home and the creativity to whip up something memorable, this year’s Mother’s Day gift won’t cost you anything at all.

Here are a few ideas you can browse through - you never know, you might just find a gift idea as unique and special as your mom is.

1. Hand painted wooden bracelets

This activity is so easy and fun that even the little ones can get involved.

To get you started, you’ll need plain, wooden bracelets in different sizes, craft paint and some masking tape.

The idea is to create fashionable bracelets that mom can show off, and you’ll need to shape the bracelet so that it complements mom’s personality.

With the masking tape in hand, tape up sections of the bracelet to create a design outline which you’ll later paint over. To give you some ideas, you can section off the bracelet into halves, quarters, zig zags, diagonal and vertical stripes, and diamonds.

Indulge mom’s gardening hobby by giving her an attractive pot plant covered in fabric.

Once that’s done, paint over the exposed wood segments. You can stick to one colour or use different colours to make the bracelet pop. Let the paint dry, then remove the tape to reveal your masterpiece.

2.  Metallic jewellery bowl

A ring or jewellery dish is perfect for moms who need a place to keep their trinkets when they take them off at night.

When you give mom the finished product, she can place it on her nightstand so she doesn’t have to worry about finding a safe place to keep her earrings, necklace or bracelet.

Your imagination can take you anywhere with this project, but first you’ll need some supplies.

Get some metallic leaf either in gold, rose gold or silver, a ceramic plate or bowl, an adhesive pen and brush.

Using the adhesive pen, draw some designs on your plate. You could settle on polka dots, hearts, stars, your mother’s initials or a geometric pattern of your choice.

From there, firmly press a sheet of metal leaf over the adhesive design. Use the brush to sweep away any excess metal leaf to unveil your beautiful designs.

The beautiful thing about a homemade body scrub is that there are a number of ‘flavours’ to choose from.

Give this to mom as your token of appreciation.

3. Printed plant pots

Indulge mom’s gardening hobby by gifting her an attractive plant pot. Beautifully decorated pots tend to put a dent in one’s budget. A homespun pot, covered in pretty fabric, however, could cost substantially less.

To put this project together, you’ll need a pot plant or an alternate container like a yoghurt cup, butter dish or a tin, some lovely looking fabric, modge podge and a brush.

Keeping in mind that you need to fold the fabric at the top and bottom of the pot, cut enough material to cover the plant container once. Brush a generous amount of modge podge onto the bare container before gluing the fabric onto the pot. Once that’s done, apply another coat of glue on the fabric. This will help to seal the fabric in place.

As soon as the fabric dries, you’ll be able to present your mom with this heartfelt gift.

4. Delectable body scrub

If you can appreciate how long and hard mother’s work, then you’ll understand their need to unwind and reinvigorate their bodies.

If you already have the supplies at home and the creativity to whip up something memorable, this year’s Mother’s Day gift won’t cost you anything at all.

Help them rejuvenate, with a sweet smelling homemade body scrub that they can enjoy in the bath.

The beautiful thing about a homemade body scrub is that there are a number of ‘flavours’ to choose from. This gives you the opportunity to customise it to suit your mother’s personal preferences.

Mix half a cup of brown sugar with half a cup of olive oil or coconut oil, and then add your choice of essential oils like vanilla extract, orange or lavender oil to give it that irresistible aroma.

This gift will leave her skin feeling smooth and silky.

5. Faux gold covered bookends

If your mom’s a reader, she probably needs some glamourous bookends to add to her bookcase.

Put a bit of sparkle back into reading, with faux gold gilded bookends. To make these, you’ll need two fist sized rocks that are able to stand on their own, some felt pads and gold spray paint.

Once you have everything in place, you’ll be finished in no time. This project is as simple as spray painting your rocks, letting them dry, then attaching the felt pads onto the bottom of each rock so that they do not scratch mom’s bookshelf.

If you feel like something’s missing, mist the top of the rocks in a second colour like pink, blue, mint green, white or another metal.