Thursday, April 22, 2021

Ten Mother's Day Gifts for Mums who say "Don't get me anything"

Close up of pink rose flower heads with small and large blooms

Mother's Day is just around the corner and many of us want to give a gift of appreciation for everything our Mum does for us
. Birthday, Christmas or Mother's Day my mum always says to me "You don't need to get me anything", but invariably I want to. So what do you get when your mum says "Don't get me anything"?

I know there are many ways to show your mum every day how much you love and appreciate her without buying a gift. A simple thank you goes a long way. That considered, I always love to surprise and spoil my mum so here are some ideas which have always been appreciated. Some of them are free, most can be inexpensive and many are hand crafted, which always adds an extra element of specialness (is that a word?). It also makes many of these gift ideas great for kids to give to mum or grandma!

1. A meaningful photograph

This is one of my mum's most requested gifts - "I'd love some more photos of my girls". Here's one we took when visiting her a couple of years ago, which we framed and gifted to my mum. Now it has pride of place in her home. 

A small blonde girl in a lilac and white patterned dress peeps through a hole in a whitewashed wall and sees the sea and rocks beyond


2. Flowers

I always love to receive flowers and I know many other mums do to. They don't have to be expensive bouquets. Why not pick a posy from your garden if you're lucky enough to have one?


A woman wearing a dark blue top holding a bunch of daisies and other wildflowers in her arms outstretched towards the viewer

3. Craft or Hobby Kit

If your mum likes to make things then a craft kit could be a perfect gift, perhaps one that you could both make together would go down well. If Mum's not crafty, but you are, why not make up the kit and gift the finished article? I love making the cards from Stampin' Up! kits like the Hello Dear Friend kit and its a great activity to do with my daughter.

Four different floral card designs layed out on a white background next to the stamp set from the Hello Dear Friend card kit that they come from. The box containing the kit items is just showing in the corner of the picture


4. Children's or grandchildren's artwork

Similar to the photograph idea above, framing a special piece of artwork that a child or grandchild has made is a lovely and unique gift idea. Why not buy a blank canvas and let the kids get creative with some paint? Or you could use large pictures and drawings as wrapping paper for other gifts.

5. Home baked cookies / cakes

If your mum likes sweet treats like cookies or cakes, why not bake some and package them up in a pretty box? I made this box with some coloured card, patterned paper, rubber stamps and a few embellishments. 

Square giftbox with blue and white swirly pattern and a gift tag saying "Treats made with love", decorated with small punched flowers and gems. The box is sitting next to a small turquoise plate with a chocolate chip cookie on it.


6. Book

A book by her favourite author or a cookbook by her favourite chef is bound to be a welcome addition to her bookshelf or coffee table and is a reminder to Mum that she needs to take some time to relax and unwind. 

7. Chocolates

As with cakes or cookies, chocolates can be made to look extra special by making your own giftbox or decorating the one that they come in. This giftbox uses a Mini Paper Pumpkin box from Stampin' Up! which is all pre-cut and scored and just needs to be folded up and filled with goodies! I simply wrapped around some patterned paper from the True Love Designer Series Paper and added some coloured cardstock, a stamped image and some rhinestones to finish it off. 

Giftbox wrapped in white paper with black spots, decorated with strips of yellow card and more patterned paper with black and white flowers. A handstamped and coloured image of a posy of daisies and roses embellishes the box along with some rhinestones

8. Magazine subscription


A coffee cup sits on top of an open magazine, next to a small pink pot plant in a blue and white pot. The magazine is folded open showing a picture of a light filled room.

Arriving in her letterbox each month a subscription to a favourite magazine is a gift that keeps giving throughout the year. Every time it arrives Mum will be reminded of you!

9. Scarf

Scarves can be great gifts for all seasons. In Winter woolly scarves will keep Mum cosy, in Spring and Autumn lightweight patterned scarves keep the chill off and add a spot of colour to an outfit, and in Summer large scarves can be used as a beach cover up or sarong. Personally I don't think you can have too many of these versatile fashion accessories, and if you're handy with the knitting needles, crochet hook or sewing machine, you can probably make one yourself!

10. Vouchers

Making your own gift vouchers can be a sweet and fun gift for Mum. Kids love to get involved in thinking up gifts and designing the vouchers. How about vouchers for "A night off cooking", "A picnic in the park", "A hug and a kiss from me". They can be for anything you like and can be as individual as your mum is. 


I hope these ideas have given you a starting point and got you thinking about what you could do to show Mum you care this Mother's Day. I bet your Mum would love any one of them, even if she's said "Don't get me anything". If you're a Mum too I hope you have a lovely day and receive something special.


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Thursday, April 8, 2021

Art with Heart Team April Creative Showcase - Mother's Day

 


Greeting card for mum next to a matching giftbox. The card is yellow base with a monochrome floral patterned paper, white textured card square and two circles of cardstock in Bumblebee yellow and black and white polka dots. Finishing decorations are a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies, a bow of yellow gingham ribbon and some small rhinsteone jewels. The giftbox is next to the card and uses black and white spotted paper wrapped around the box with a strip of yellow and floral paper and finished with a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies and some rhinestones. Both are next to a jewelled box.



Hello there!
Welcome to the April Creative Showcase where we are all getting ready for Mother's Day. I've designed a card and matching gift box inspired by a classic mother's day gift of a bunch of flowers and some chocolates. 

Greeting card for mum standing next to a matching giftbox. The card is yellow base with a monochrome floral patterned paper, white textured card square and two circles of cardstock in Bumblebee yellow and black and white polka dots. Finishing decorations are a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies, a bow of yellow gingham ribbon and some small rhinsteone jewels. The giftbox is next to the card and uses black and white spotted paper wrapped around the box with a strip of yellow and floral paper and finished with a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies and some rhinestones.

Don't tell anyone but I have a sneaking suspicion that I have actually designed this card and packaging for myself!  Not only do I love yellow roses (and so does my mum) but I also find myself returning to this kind of colour scheme again and again. I love using bright yellows along with monochrome blacks, whites and greys.

A close up of detail of a card for mum showing two punched circles in yellow card and black and white spotted card against a background of black and white floral paper. A small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies is layered in front of the card circles. The yellow circle says Mum. In front of this image are three squares showing the colourscheme used for the project of Bumblebee yellow, Daffodil Delight yellow and Old Olive green


Today I've used the gorgeous True Love Designer Series papers as my starting point for the card, showcasing two sides of one of the designs with detailed black and white flowers on one side and polka dots on the other. My card base is Bumblebee cardstock to which I adhered a background sheet of the True Love Designer Series Paper.

An image of the six double sided designs from the Stampin' Up! True Love Designer Series paper pack, which is a range of black and white florals and patterns.


These papers are ideal for colouring using your favourite pens or pencils, but I decided to keep it plain and instead use just a few splashes of colour from the other details on my card. I have used the pretty rose and daisy bouquet image from the Kangaroo and Company stamp set and cut this out using the coordinating dies. I then coloured this in using Stampin' Blends in Daffodil Delight and Old Olive. 

A close up of detail of a card for mum showing two punched circles in yellow card and black and white spotted card against a background of black and white floral paper. A small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies is layered in front of the card circles.


I punched circles from the True Love paper and some Bumblebee cardstock and then "watermark stamped" in Bumblebee some more flowers and a greeting for Mum. I cut a square of white card and embossed it using the Meadow Moments embossing folder to add a little extra texture to the design. Then, using Dimensionals to layer the elements, I adhered these overlapping them onto the cardfront. 

Greeting card for mum with a yellow cardbase and a monochrome floral patterned paper, white textured card square and two circles of cardstock in Bumblebee yellow and black and white polka dots. Finishing decorations are a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies, a bow of yellow gingham ribbon and some small rhinsteone jewels. In the background is a matching giftbox.


The card is finished with a bow of gingham ribbon and a few rhinestones for some extra sparkle. Inside is a sweet sentiment from the Many Mates stampset.

The inside page of a card for Mum which is white card against a yellow background handstamped and coloured images of roses and daisies in top right hand corner and bottom left hand corner and a sentiment which says Today is all about you!


The card turned out so pretty I decided I needed some gift packaging to match, so I decorated one of the Mini Paper Pumpkin boxes using the same papers and stamps. The paper is simply cut to 14cm wide and then wrapped around the box, sealing with Stampin' Seal+. The Bumblebee strip and DSP strip were glued on and cut to size and then another bouquets cut and coloured to match the card. A couple more rhinestones complete the look. 

The paper pumpkin boxes are the perfect size to fill with a few treats, perhaps mum's favourite chocolates? Or why not use the wrapping technique to decorate a shop bought box of chocolates to match your greeting card?

A wrapped giftbox using black and white polka dot paper with a strip of Bumblebee yellow cardstock attached, then balck and white florals on top of that. Finishing decorations are a small handstamped and coloured bunch of roses and daisies and some small rhinsteone jewels.

For more amazing Mothers' Day inspiration please visit our host Rachel's blog post to see the other creations by the team.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Shop with me in Australia

You can buy Stampin' Up! products, including everything used in this project, in my online shop. Click here toshop now.

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