Crafty Dad

Help Your Child Make Something Special for Mother's Day

By Debbie Swanson

Nothing says "Happy Mother's Day" better than a gift lovingly glued, painted or drawn by two little hands. Here are six simple, handmade gift ideas for Mom. The kids will enjoy working on their top secret Mother's Day project with you, and Mom will have a gift to cherish for years to come.

A preserved collection of children's drawings is a wonderful gift that both children and adults will enjoy over the years.

Set aside a handful of your child's drawings, or enlist their efforts to create some new ones over a few days' time. Try to keep them similarly sized and no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches for ease of assembly. Be sure your child decorates one page to be the cover of Mom's book, boasting the name of the young artist and the year.

To preserve the pages, purchase a roll of clear contact paper and sandwich each picture between two sheets, or take the pictures to a print shop to be laminated. Punch holes along one side, then tie the pages together with ribbon.

Using paper coffee filters and food coloring, your child can start Mom's day with a lasting bouquet.

To make the flowers, lay white, basket-style coffee filters flat on thick newspaper. Let your child have fun squeezing food coloring from the dropper to cover the entire filter, covering all the white areas. Dry each filter completely.

Once dry, pinch up about an inch of the center and secure with a bread twist-tie. Turn it over and crumple up the sides to form a "flower." Optionally, your child can glue a small pompom or wad of colored paper to the center. Wrap one end of a green pipe cleaner over the twist-tie, letting the other end hang down as a stem.

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