Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gifts for the DIY-Inclined

Okay, so it is Thursday and you have a mere 3 days to figure out what to get Mom for Mother's Day. Well, I am here to make your life a little easier with a few inexpensive, handmade gift ideas that will make her grateful she raised such a thoughtful kid!

1. Twine Wreath

A twine wreath is an easy project that just requires a bit of elbow grease! All you will need for this project is a Styrofoam wreath, a spool of twine (or yarn), a few fake flowers, and a little patience. Start by tying the twine to the wreath and then tightly wrap the twine around the wreath until you have covered all of the Styrofoam. I usually keep wrapping it until I am happy with the look/coverage and then tie off the end. Next, bust out the glue gun and slap on a few flowers! VOILA! Done! You can get fancy with it and add ribbon or make your own felt flowers instead using the store-bought flowers. For a whopping $10-$15 bucks, your mom will have a handmade wreath to hang on her front door all season.

2. Pet Silhouette Art Print

If your mom is like mine, she probably loves her pet more than she loves her children (most likely because her dog doesn't sass her). So why not make her a custom piece of art in the shape of her favorite furry friend?

All you need to start is a profile photo of her pet, which is very simple if she has a pet capable of standing still for more than a second (i.e. good luck... this may take a while). Once you have the photo, you can make the silhouette the old fashioned way by printing the photo (use the computer to re-size), cutting around the outline, tracing the outline onto a piece of paper, cutting THAT out, and gluing it onto a piece of contrasting paper. But if you are tech-y and not to be trusted with scissors (ahem... me.), you can do the entire thing in Photoshop. I have posted a step-by-step Photoshop tutorial on my blog! The best part? This costs less than $1.50 to print on cardstock at your local office supply store so the only dough you'll have to spend is on the frame!

3. Tabletop Succulent Garden

Here is a great project for the green thumbs out there: a tabletop succulent garden. Pick out a few of your favorite succulents at your local hardware store or nursery for about $1-2 a piece (and perhaps a larger one in the $5 range for a centerpiece). In a fairly shallow pot/planter, place some soil (I used palm & cactus soil) at the bottom as a base. Then arrange your succulents in an aesthetic way, leaving a little room for them to grow. Fill in between them with soil and add a layer of small gravel to the top. In 5 minutes you will have the perfect handmade alternative to sending flowers. Plus, they last much longer and they require very minimal care (even I can keep them alive and that's saying a lot!).

So there you go: three inexpensive, handmade gift ideas for Mom. In fact, they are so easy that you might as well kick your feet up and enjoy another episode of 30 Rock before you get to work! :)