I always try and have my kids do something special for their grandmas for Mother’s Day, a project they can help with and that is meaningful. I am a HUGE fan of foam craft projects, especially for little ones, so last year my kids and I made these “flowers of love”. Of course, grandma loved it…a flower she could keep year round, filled with loving words and a photo of her “babies”. In fact, it is still on display in her den at home.
What you’ll need…
Several different colored sheets of foam (you’ll definitely want green for the stem & leaves)
Puffy paint or a thin Sharpie (something that will write on the foam…regular markers will only run)
Hot glue gun
Glue
Pencil
Favorite photo of your kiddos (you could also use one of them with grandma, or whoever the recipient of the flower is going to be).
Scissors
Little hands for tracing
Paint stirrer (you can get these for free at any paint store or Home Depot or Lowes)
Choose a color of foam(2 sheets) for the center of your flower, cut a BIG circle out of each sheet- I actually traced a bowl, so my circles would match up.
Take one of those circles and cut a small circle in the middle, this is going to “frame” your photo- again I used a smaller bowl or a glass to trace, so my circle would look better.
Using the hot glue gun…glue your photo to the back circle, place the “frame” circle on top. Glue the circles together with your photo in the middle (you should be able to see the photo through the small circle you cut out).
Have your child/children pick out colors of foam for their hands- there will be 8 “petals” (hands) total.
Help your child trace his/her hand on each piece of foam.
Cut out each little hand.
Talk with your kids about the recipient of your flower- my kids and I looked at photo albums too! It really helped them remember things they had done with grandma. Have each child come up with reasons why they love that person (one reason for each hand).
Write the reasons on the hands, one for each.
Have your child/children glue each “petal” to the center of the flower. Be sure they don’t cover up the photo!
Use the green foam to create a stem and leaves for your flower. Glue them on.
On the stem, write “We love (fill in name) because…”
You can write other things on the leaves, such as “Mother’s Day 2011”, “By: (fill in your child/children’s names), etc.
To make the flower stand up straight….use the hot glue gun and glue the paint stirrer to the back. Now your child, can hold the flower by the stem and present it to the recipient and it will stand up like a real flower!
