Happy Mother’s Day

We’ve had an excellent Mother’s Day here at the Busy Crafting Household.  My husband, who normally works weekends, was even able to take a half day off to spend with us.  We had a wonderful lunch buffet (my favorite) at Punderson Manor House and we also hiked on one of the trails that wraps around the house.  The girls were so excited that there were crackers in the shape of butterflies and we all ate so much yummy food.  The best surprise was when we were leaving and saw a horse drawn carriage out front.  We were so excited to get a ride in the carriage!

The girls crossing a bridge in the woods

The carriage ride

The girls loved petting the horses 🙂

Mother’s Day Spoon Flower Craft

Beth at the library asked me to come up with a fun Mother’s Day craft for our library magazine this month, and this was the first idea that came to mind.  I did this craft many years ago when I used to do storytime at a Borders bookstore.  It was a huge hit and I thought it would be fun to do for Mother’s day this year.  I’ve never done it at the library as we usually have much larger crowds of kids and also because the nail polish gets really stinky!  But in smaller groups or working one on one with a kid makes this a really fun craft!

I’m not sure exactly where I originally found this craft, but I’m pretty sure it was from one of the many fabulous craft books by Kathy Ross.  She has some really great ideas for making awesome crafts from items you can usually find around the house.  If you haven’t checked out any of her craft books yet, I highly recommend tracking them down at your favorite library.

Materials you will need for each flower:
3 plastic spoons (clear or colored)
nail polish
pipe cleaner
tape
green paper/felt/or florists tape
ribbon
Easter basket grass
small, empty margarine tub or small Styrofoam bowl

Directions:
1.  Paint your spoons with nail polish.  I prefer using clear spoons and just painting the inside of the spoons (the bowl part) then the color shows through to the outside and looks nice and smooth.  Also you can do fun effects by layering colors.  Of course you can also simply purchase colored spoons and leave them the color they come in or add details with the polish.  Let dry completely.

Fi does a nice job putting a smooth layer of nail polish on her spoon

Lexi works hard on her spoon too, while I panic about her flinging nail polish everywhere!

2.  Fold your pipe cleaner in half and arrange the spoons together around the pipe cleaner so that they form a bud with the spoon end, then tape the handles together.  The pipe cleaner should stick out by an inch or so from the top of the “spoon bud”

3.  We used green construction paper to make our stem, but you could also use felt or florists tape.  Cut your paper/felt into a long thin strip, about an inch wide by 11 inches long.  Secure one end of the strip to the top of the spoon stem with tape and wrap the paper around the spoon.

4.  Cut two leaves from paper/felt fold them in half vertically and then wrap them length wise around a pencil to give them a nice curve.  Attach them to the base of your stem with tape.

5.  You can be finished at this point and have a pretty flower or you can put your flower in a pot.  Tape or glue your flower to the center of the bowl and put the Easter grass around it in the bowl.

6.  Cut a square of tissue paper that’s just large enough to wrap around the small bowl.  Secure the tissue paper to the bowl by placing a small piece of looped tape to the bottom of the bowl before wrapping the tissue paper around it.  Tie a pretty bow around the bowl and tissue paper for a finishing touch.

7.  Give your beautiful flower to a special mom in your life! 🙂