Wednesday, May 9, 2012

What are you giving for Mother's Day?

Every year as Mother’s Day rapidly approaches (it’s on the 13th this year), people are too often left scrambling to come up with the “perfect” gift for Mom. Sure, when you’re five years old you can get by with a painted handprint or pasta necklace, but the stakes get a little higher when you’re all grown up. If you follow the advice from television or internet advertisements, the best thing to get Mom is a piece of expensive jewelry, or maybe a Hallmark card to tell her why she is special.

But if you’re like me, you can’t afford the price tag that goes with those gorgeous diamonds. . . And while picking up a Hallmark card at the store may sound like a quick and easy fix, most of the messages in Hallmark cards are too sappy for me to sound genuine. Instead of spending far too much time reading through the seemingly endless array of sappy messages “from the heart”, go back to basics and make something by yours truly to show Mom that she’s special.

 
 Make what, you might ask? The options are practically endless! (For the purposes of this post, the options are in fact finite, but you get what I mean.) If you have enough time to prepare (such as weeks or months, rather than days) I would suggest knitting something for Mom. The library has a wide range of books on knitting, allowing you to create fantastic creatures such as Gothic dolls, monsters, itty-bitty minis, and even a dog!






 Did your mom follow every aspect of the royal wedding? Knit Prince William and Kate for her!










Are dolls and stuffed animals not Mom’s thing? Not to worry, she might like a knitted scarf, or socks:









Buying for a brand new mom? Knit her a baby blanket, sweater, booties, you name it:






If you’re running out of time, or live a distance away from home, your best bet might be in making a card for Mom. The library owns a number of card making books, but here are a few that I liked best:




If folding is your thing, try 460 Iris Folded Cards to Make: The Complete Iris Folding Compendium by Maruscha Gaasenbeek & Tine Beauveser.







If you always loved reading pop-up books with Mom as a kid, why not make her a pop-up card? I recommend Pop-Up Cards and Other Greetings That Slide, Dangle, & Move by Sandi Genovese and Vintage Pop-Up Cards: Making Your Own Timeless Treasures by Taylor Hagerty.








If you want to add a little extra bling, try 50 Nifty Beaded Cards by Chris Rankin. The beads add dimension to the card without hiking up the cost (like some others at the store…)




No matter what you give to Mom (even if you resort to the macaroni necklace), make sure she knows why she is special to you. She won’t care if you spent $100 or $1, after all, she's your mom!

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