Mother’s Day is a solid week and half away and I bet most of you still haven’t thought about what you’re gonna get your mama. Although, some of us — those without jobs or cars — can’t afford beautiful jewelry or fancy vacation getaways, it really is the thought that counts. And simple things matter.
So here are three DIY projects you can do for under $20 that are simple and super cute:
Flower vase: Flowers are your typical Mother’s Day gift but something really thoughtful and creative you can give your mom as a bonus is a flower vase that you made yourself (you know, to put your flowers in). There are two you can make that are simple and easy: a mason jar vase and a lace vase.
For the mason jar vase you’ll need: A mason jar, spray paint (preferably in your mom’s favorite color, not yours) and sticky letters. All of these items can be found at a Michael’s near you or your local craft store.
1. You take your mason jar and spray paint it without the lid. I recommend putting some sort of newspaper or an old t-shirt that you don’t care about under the mason jar so that you don’t get the paint everywhere. You don’t have to spray paint inside and out, but I recommend you do for a bolder color.
2. Take your stickable letters and spell out whatever message you want. You can spell out mom, her name or a word that means a lot to the both of you, “I love you.” If the letters are having trouble sticking to the mason jar, you can use glue or a spray adhesive to keep the letters in place.
And that’s it! Simple as that.
For the lace vase, you’ll need: a tall clear vase, white spray paint, mod podge,a sponge brush and sheets or pieces of lace.
1. Take your vase and spray paint it white. I recommend again to put newspaper or an old t-shirt underneath so that
you don’t leave paint on anything and I again recommend painting both the inside and out. You can opt to buy a vase already painted white but that might be a little more on the expensive side and harder to find.
2. Cut your lace into pieces 2 to 3 inches wide.
3. Spread the mod podge on the vase using a sponge brush and just covering the space for the lace. Then place the pieces of lace over the mod podge. Continue this process all the way down to the bottom of the vase. I recommend starting with the top because if the lace pieces are uneven at the bottom, then it’s much less noticeable.
4. Cover the whole vase in mod podge using your sponge brush in order to keep your lace in place.
And there you go! You’re finished.
Colorful tile coasters: If your mom is a social butterfly and loves to have people over, then this is the perfect gift. The
se are little decorative coasters that keep your furniture from getting damaged but also make your home look cute as heck.
You’ll need: four wooden or ceramic tiles, four pieces of scrapbook paper cut to the tile size (you can also use newspaper clippings, comic strips or magazine ads, depending on your mom’s style), four pieces of felt cut to the tile size, mod podge, ribbon and a sponge brush. You can make more than four, but not less.
1. Take a tile and paint it with mod podge using your sponge brush.
2. Place the cut out pieces of scrapbook paper on the tile. Make sure that they line up with the edges of the tiles perfectly.
3. Once it dries, cover the whole thing in mod podge again using your sponge brush. This will secure your piece of scrapbook paper, 
making sure it stays in place.
4. After the top coat of mod podge finishes drying, turn the tile upside down and spread some mod podge on the bottom. Then take your felt and place it securely. Make sure, again, that it is lined up to the edges of the tile so it glues neatly with no rough edges.
5. Now that everything is dry, stack them up and tie them up with a little bow in your choice of ribbon.
And poof. You’re done.
Now you and your mom can enjoy Mother’s Day and the woman who brought you into this world will have a permanent reminder of how much you love her every day of the year. 🙂
