Mother's Day gifts in the making...

I've been whipping up some little gifts for a couple of special women in my life: my Mom and my sister. For my Mom, I did a trial run on a handprint "flower" pillow cover. I sewed a nice, heavyweight canvas cover and then had the children make handprint "flowers" and unopened "buds" using their thumbprints. Later, I added in the green stems and leaves. Then I just slipped it over an 11x14 pillow form I bought at Joann's. I used Tulip Soft fabric paint (matte), if anyone is wondering.

Getting Roo's handprint was a piece of cake, but Rascal's was a little tricky. He's still in that baby stage where he balls up his fingers against his fist when you try to open his hand. So, with non-pliable fingers, I had to make the best of it and get his handprint any way I could. But, I think it makes it look almost cuter that way, because it's another reminder of how much he's still my baby boy.

This one below (and please excuse the horrible picture--I ran out of time and daylight to photograph the pillow on the couch), I'm going to keep for myself since yellow and green are more "me." For my Mom, I'm going to use two different colors for the flowers (one color for Roo's hand and one color for Rascal's) and a lighter canvas for the actual cover fabric.



For my sister, I made a sign for her garden. She is a skilled horticulturist and grows an amazing garden every year. I sanded and painted a plain piece of wood from Michael's. I chose a cheerful, buttery yellow. Then I used my rubber alphabet stamps and soft green paint for the quote (I've always liked this quote--I even used it in Roo's baby book on the page showcasing her growth from 1 month to 1 year of age). While stamping the words on there, I realized how much I hate my old-fashioned rubber stamps. They're the kind that are backed on wood, not the newer, clear version. It's nearly impossible to line up the individual letters when you are blindly stamping them on there. Ugh! Nothing says "homemade" like some seriously crooked letters, right? :) Oh well. All that's left to do is pick up a wooden stake at the home store and paint it too. Then I'll have my husband screw the plaque onto the stake and spray a water-resistant varnish over the whole thing so it can withstand the elements.


I think it turned out well. I'm most proud of the fact that I did the whole sign while Roo cooked in her play kitchen, just 3 feet away from me. I was tasting "food," spelling and plotting letter placement, painting tiny alphabet stamps, and responding 22 times to the question, "Are you finished yet, Mommy?" Sure, the play room/craft room was in absolute shambles by the time I was finished (letting her bring real flour from my kitchen, to use in her play kitchen, was a mistake of gargantuan proportions), but I'm thrilled that I was able to work on a craft while my girl worked beside me. I can't wait until she's old enough to do her "thing" while I do mine. Together, the two of us: creating and dabbling and just "being."

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