30 of Our Best Handmade Mother's Day Gifts

By Alexandra Churchill
Updated May 07, 2020
Credit: James Ransom
Flowers are nice and breakfast in bed is practically a given, but any Mom loves a gift that comes from the heart. We've rounded up our best Mother's Day gift ideas over the years including DIY token jewelry, pampering spa sets, and photo-printed gifts—and each one says "Mom, I love you."
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Credit: Chelsea Cavanaugh

What do you give the woman who gave you everything? Flowers, jewelry, breakfast in bed—all of those things are a given. For Mother's Day this year, present her with a gift that honors her past, celebrates the present, and will carry poignant meaning into her future. And in order to offer a gift so personalized to Mom, it's best made with your own two hands.

Celebrated on the second Sunday in May, Mother's Day is a time for us to show love and gratitude to our moms. Whether you're detailing a masterpiece weeks out or looking to change plans last minute, we have handmade gift ideas for Moms of every personality and interest. Is she a gardener? Gift her with a bouquet of farmers' market blooms wrapped in patterned paper (using our printable clip-art). Is she crafty and creative? Gift her with an decoupaged phone case or a fabric flower pin sewn in her favorite hue. Is she a style maven? Gift her with a baked-clay necklace fresh out of the oven. Is she the sentimental type? She'll adore a set of chair pillows printed with the faces of her family members. Is she a self-defined trendsetter? She'll jump to the occasion to wear a pair of hoop earrings by her favorite artisan (that artisan being you).

All of these ideas will offer more than fleeting happiness—instead, it will give her a tangible sign of your bond. Just like pasta necklaces and grade-school drawings, these are the handmade tokens that she will display with pride.

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Clay Necklaces

Credit: Chelsea Cavanaugh
Get the Clay Necklaces How-To

Believe us when we say, making these crescent-and-tube pendants is easier than baking cookies. Once you've picked out clay colors, beads, and cording, pick up a craft knife, a glass or two to help you trace the half-moon shape, and a small metal rod to wrap clay around to make tube beads.

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Heart-Embroidered Photograph

Credit: Johnny Fogg
Get the Heart-Embroidered Photograph How-To

Her favorite memory of you two together is captured in a single snapshot. Add a few stitches in red embroidery thread using our easy-to-follow template, and she'll treasure the heartfelt sentiment.

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Painted Ceramics

Credit: Addie Juell
Get the Painted Ceramics How-To

In her flower delivery, the only thing more important than the blooms themselves is the vessel they're displayed in. Take plain, inexpensive pottery and make it look absolutely artisanal with a little ceramic paint and a few quick-and-easy brushstrokes.

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Personalized Pink Leather Valet Tray

Credit: Anusha Rajeswaran
Get the Personalized Pink Leather Valet Tray How-To

Give mom the gift of organization with this adorable and useful pink leather valet tray, to place beside her bed or on her desk. You can even personalize it with a monogram or sweet message for the woman who raised you.

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Fabric Floral Pins

Credit: James Ransom
Get the Fabric Floral Pins How-To

A fresh bouquet from the florist is nice, but these fabric flowers are even nicer—and they will never, ever wilt. Make ones based on your mother's favorite flower or craft a bunch for her to mix and match as she likes for pins, brooches, hair accessories, and keychains.

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Green Tea and Rose Sugar Scrub

Credit: Anusha Rajeswaran
Get the Green Tea and Rose Sugar Scrub How-To

Give Mom the gift of a home spa day. This soothing homemade exfoliant calls for a few natural ingredients—sugar, coconut oil, green tea, and dried rose petals—all of which pack a powerful punch.

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Midnight Lavender Rose Chamomile Bath Salts

Credit: Jena Carlin and James Rude
Get the Midnight Lavender Rose Chamomile Bath Salts How-To

An ordinary soak in the tub becomes a real retreat with this set of bath salts combing four natural ingredients: black sea salt, rose buds, lavender, and chamomile.

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Pressed-Flower Bar Soap

Credit: Anusha Rajeswaran
Get the Pressed-Flower Bar Soap How-To

She loves a bouquet, but how about a new take on it? Pick her favorite flower—we like smaller varieties like roses, lavender buds, and bluebonnets—and use our easy melt-and-pour technique for lovely soaps.

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Recipe-Printed Heirloom Tea Towels

Get the Recipe-Printed Heirloom Tea Towels How-To

Whether it's Grandma's lasagna or Mom's famous chocolate chip cookies, every family has a recipe that's been passed down from generation to generation. Our friends over at Spoonflower show how handwritten recipe card can be printed onto tea towels, turning them into treasured family heirlooms.

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Teacup Lights

Get the Teacup Lights How-To

Here's a new way for her to enjoy "tea time." Antique teacups—in their pretty, feminine prints and color palettes—were upcycled into beautiful candles.

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Decoupaged Flower Vases

Credit: Poppytalk

Looking for a beautiful new vessel in which to display your a Mother's Day bouquet? For this handmade vase, by our friends from Poppytalk, all you need is some inspiration and a few empty bottles, glasses, or jars.

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Hoop Earrings

Credit: Raymond Hom
Get the Hoop Earrings How-To

For a minimalist style maven, try fashioning a pair of earrings. To make a few surprisingly inexpensive pairs, all it takes is high-quality yet inexpensive gold wire, a couple of tools, and a few minutes of your time.

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Sleep Mask

Credit: Bryan Gardner
Get the Sleep Mask How-To

As any mom will tell you, beauty rest isn't always easy to come by. But a silky-soft eye mask in a colorful print will help her catch some zz's (or at least, look stylish).

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Marbleized Glassware

Choose from a palette of your Mom's favorite colors, and make a matching set or a stand-alone statement piece for her kitchen. She'll display this custom-made collection with pride (and not just when guests come over).

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Embroidered iPhone Case

Credit: Burcu Avsar
Get the Embroidered iPhone Case How-To

You always keep Mom on speed dial for her sage advice, her laundry tips, and roast chicken recipe. So why not give her phone some added hand-stitched flair? The perforated phone case here lends itself well to different kinds of designs: Try backstitching or cross-stitching.

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Needle-Felted Heart Mug Cozy

Credit: Kara Whitten
Get the Needle-Felted Heart Mug Cozy How-To

If your mom is a tea afficionado, here's a thoughtful gift to keep her mug warm and her hands protected. Craft a felted, soft-to-the-touch cup cozy with a heart, her name, or a simple "Love You."

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Silhouette Portrait

Credit: Anusha Rajeswaran
Get the Framed Silhouette Art How-To

For any mother, her children are her heart and soul. So why not leave a reminder somewhere she will see it every day? This personalized pinboard can display a few sweet mementos of her daughters including black and white photos, a pink ribbon, and a child's portrait in silhouette.

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Framed Family Tree

On Mother's Day, celebrate Mom, her mom, and all of the moms that came before her. A framed family tree in full illustration has a sophisticated charm and a pleasing symmetry that's perfect for display on her living room wall.

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By Alexandra Churchill