Handmade Gifts for Mom -
Easy, Affordable and She'll Love Them

Are you broke and need ideas for handmade gifts for Mom? You've come to the right place because we have a few suggestions for gifts that are easy and really fun to make.

They aren't expensive...in fact, most won't cost you anything but the time it takes to find the bits and pieces you'll need to put them together.

If you don't have exactly the stuff called for, then

think of something you might substiture or
ask a friend, family member or teacher for help

And feel free to use what ever color paints or pencils you have on hand...that's what we did!

Twig Heart - the shape tells Mom you love her !

Collect about 20 skinny branches ... the longest should be at least 12 inches long. The easiest tool to use is a pruner but heavy scissors will do the job if that's all you've got. Don't cut down your Mom's or neighbors favorite shrub!!!! This is supposed to be a handmade gift for Mom, not a headache for Mom. Use your own head and find something appropriate.

Start by drawing a large heart shape on an old newspaper so that you know how long to cut your sticks. When they're cut, lay them out on the pattern to be sure you have enough and they fill out the heart nicely.

Then paint the branches. Use a multitude of colors or pick your Mom's favorite color. Another idea is to pick a shade that would look good when the heart is hanging on a wall in your house.

Starting at the bottom, tie the sticks together. You can use wire, string or a heavy sewing thread. Look carefully...when you have the two bottom sticks together you have to tie your string at the outer ends of that second stick. Then to the outer ends of the third stick and so on.

When your heart is finished, tie string to the top to make a hanger.

Button bracelets make great handmade gifts for Mom

Collect eight or nine buttons...you might use them all or you might need more...it depends on the size of the buttons you find. They can be in all sorts of colors or in a color 'family' that your Mom might like. Grandmas can be a good source and so can neighbors or your best friends mother.

For stringing the buttons the tutorial just says to use a cord. I think she's referring to hemp twine that's cheap and available at craft store's like Michael's. You could probably use embroidery floss or even a stretchy cord. If you use the latter you're going to have to put crazy glue or something similar on the final knot because my experience is that without the glue they eventually slip undone.

Here's the link to show you how to put the bracelet together.

Notice that some buttons have four holes? What you do is cross the cord from one corner hole to the other. Also notice that you can put one button on top of another...just be sure that they both have either two or four holes.

Handmade gifts for Mom that rock !

Wow! Here's a beautiful idea. All you need are a few smooth stones and a fine nib permanent ink Sharpie pen. The Sharpies cost about $2.50 at Michael's crafts store or at one of the big office supply stores. If you can't afford that, perhaps the art teacher at your school has one and will let you create your designs at lunch time or after school with her pen.

You could also use a permanent marker, but the effect will be different because the markers have wider nibs. Groups of three or five stones look nice.

Wow again! More beautiful handmade gifts for Mom using beach stones! These are made from flat stones...but I think you could use whatever smooth stones you can find. Make a whole bunch because they look beautiful arranged in groups of five or seven.

Prismacolor brand colored pencils were used and the stones were photographed under bright lights which is why they look shiny. Prismacolors are soft sort of waxy pencil crayons.

It doesn't matter if you don't have that type of colored pencil...use what you've got. If you, your friend or your school's art teacher has some clear spray paint you could make them shiny...but don't bother buying the spray yourself because it will probably cost $9. If you could get together with two or three friends you could share that cost.

Other handmade gifts for Mom from the kitchen

If you don't want to go the craft route to make something for Mom . . . how about heading to the kitchen and whipping up a batch of cookies or a birthday cake. The recipes are on the back of packet of chocolate chips or on the cake mix box.

Here's two things to remember:

Grease the cookie tray or the cake pan really well.
Buy a container of ready-made frosting when you're buying the cake mix...and oh, yeah...don't forget candles.

Here's some more ideas for handmade gifts for Mom and others that will cost you money.

Links to Gift Ideas for friends and family . . .

Sorry that some of the links are live...I just started building the website and am probably working on the pages as you're reading this.

Homemade Mothers Day Gifts

Best Mother's Day gifts

Gifts for Dads

Gifts for Brothers

Gifts for Sisters

Gifts for Grandmas

Gifts for Grandpas