Celebrating Mother's Day with an Easy Peasy Tutorial

Happy Mother's Day! 

I love this tutorial because it's super easy, can be used for any holiday or just "because," it's inexpensive, kids can get into it with minimal mess, and did I mention it is EASY?

Hopefully you have done something special for Mom, since her big day is today ****

Quick aside. Who decided we get ONE day?!? Mommas need a weekend, if not an entire week! But who am I kidding? If mom REALLY got time off no one would know where anything was, kids would not get anywhere they are supposed to be, four square meals of cereal would be served, and I hate to even think about the laundry pile up!****

But if you haven't gotten Mom that special something yet, don't fear. You can have this project whipped out in time for Mother's Day dinner.

First, pick your jar. I used mason jars because we had a few that are chipped. They wouldn't seal right when we can veggies from the garden, so THIS is a great upcycle.

Any old jars will work, so sift through your recycle bin and pick a pretty one. Then, you need paint. Pinterest is FULL of ideas on just how to accomplish this step. Many folks use leftover paint and swirl it around the inside, then let it dry.

We started using this method, but my children did not yet have a respectable amount of silver paint all over their clothing and bodies and grass and deck, so they decided to then paint the OUTSIDE in addition to the inside. I tried to be patient, although I had a completely different look in mind! Regardless, they turned out great. Best of all, the kids made them and had total artistic license:)

You can use any paint, but we used Krylon spray, because we had some leftover in the cellar. Let dry completely. Then comes the fun part - collecting flowers!

Sure, you could buy a pretty bouquet, but it's much more fun to go on a nature walk with the kids. It's amazing what you'll find. We used branches, wild flowers, ferns, greenery, grass and I snapped off a few peonies and lavender from the flower garden. We had a wonderful time on our walk. I love seeing these kids create and walking with them, listening, and watching them get excited!

We cut all of our hodge podge flower assortment to the desired lengths and put a little water in the jar. Last, we raided the ribbon basket (a real mess of random ribbons and fabric clippings) and the rugrats picked out the final element to add to their creations.

My son, who is really much too busy with a balloon to have his picture taken, chose pretty purples and reds and asked me to tie a "froofy bow" (his description). I don't know what "froofy" means, but he seemed happy.

My uber-independent oldest decided that I was not to  help in any capacity, no way, no how, and chose a softball theme with a mismatched heart made of pipe cleaner. I couldn't love it more.

There you have it! Cheap, upcycled, easy peasy, and kiddo-involved. <

Most of all, Blessed be and enjoy your day!