15 Mother's Day Crafts and Decorations

Mothers are loved all year round, but Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity to tell her just how much she is loved and appreciated. We only have one mother and she is often our role model in life: They usher us into the world, take care of us from the time that we are mere babies, teach us, protect us, and give us both tough and unconditional love throughout our lifetimes. We love our mothers because they do so much and ask for so little in return.

Historically, Mother's Day was established in America in 1914, intended to be a day to honor mothers. How do we show our appreciation? It could be any number of ways: Breakfast in bed, a family brunch, a uniquely chosen gift, flowers, and chocolate are all ideas that you've probably checked off from the list several times over. If you'd like to make this Mother's Day extra special, consider a handmade gift or a party with decorations galore: bouquets, balloons, and banners that spell out her name in big, bright lettering. Turn back the clock to your early school days when you crafted a card for your mom out of colorful construction paper, made that charming picture collage of your special moments with Mom, or presented her with a special molding of your little hand that she still has to this day. These mementos can double as table decorations.

To spark that creativity yet again, here are some decorative ideas to make this upcoming Mother's Day oh so memorable.

Start with a table befitting Mother's Day brunch. These lanterns appear festive and ethereal by day and, if you place low-wattage lightbulbs inside, softly radiant by night. Use double-sided tape to apply tissue-paper disks to each lantern. Guests will be impressed, as they may look intricate, but it takes only half an hour to make one.

Shop Now: Hygloss Tissue-Paper Circles, 5", in Pastel and Primary, $7 for 480; hyglossproducts.com; Pearl RiverWire-Frame Spherical Paper Lanterns, starting from $3.25 each; pearlriver.com.

For breakfast in bed, serve your meal on this decorative tray. Collect photos of flowers from magazines or print out our clip-art. Paint découpage finish onto back of a printout, paste onto the tray, and give the whole tray a coat for durability. Arrange it with her favorite morning treat, a cup of tea, and a card that says "I love you," and she'll treasure her accessory for years to come.

Shop Now: West Elm White Lacquered Serving Tray with Handles, $52, westelm.com; Mod Podge Gloss, $4, michaels.com.

Moms love receiving flowers just as much as we love giving them, but almost as important as the flowers themselves is the manner in which they are arranged. Up the ante with this eye-catching flower vase lid. The lid makes arranging flowers simple and easy (just drop the individual stems into the drilled holes) and offers great support for blooms that tend to droop after a few days.

Alternatively, these colorful bouquets are fun to make, beautiful to look at, and will have everyone thinking your Mother's Day flowers were freshly picked from the garden. Brighten a small bundle of blossoms with a dainty doily wrapper that instantly adds some flair to Mom's bouquet.

Shop Now: Martha Stewart Mint & Blush Paper Doilies, $2.39 for 30, michaels.com.

Brush off the stamping skills that you learned in school: A customized tablecloth of hydrangea blossoms and butterflies will look beautiful rolled out onto the surface and make cleanup easy. Mom (otherwise known as the guest of honor) will appreciate the time and attention you took to welcome her to your home by handwriting her names inside an adorned circle composed of hydrangeas and butterflies. Select a color of stamp ink that will complement your dinnerware.

Shop Now: Paper Grape Prints Hydrangea Rubber Stamp, $17, etsy.com.

Invite Mom to take time for herself, recharge, and renew with these zen-like candles. A day at the spa is a treat, but this set is perfect for her bathroom, bedroom, or meditation space.

Flowers are always a sure bet and a guaranteed favorite when it comes to gift ideas for mom, but these blooms are extra special because they last longer than just a few days and come from not only the heart but from the hands, too. These faux blossoms can be used to adorn a wrapped or handmade gift, sewn together to make a beautiful bouquet, or arranged in a pretty basket and set out to be admired.

Dahlia-like bursts of color hang from the ceiling, adding charm your Mother's Day brunch or celebration. These tissue paper pom-poms can be made in the size and color of your choice.

Mom will always cherish the books she read to you in childhood. To make the enchanting garland, string miniature books, secured by tiny clothespins, onto fishing line and yarn. Add a scattering of paper stars (made from colored paper and old book pages, using star punch), folded ribbon, and silk flower petals.

Shop Now: Marshalltown Braided Mason's Line, in Pink, $11.32 per roll, homedepot.com; Afloral Mini Silk Ranunculus Bush in Pink Cerise, $10 each, afloral.com; Fiskars X-Large Star Lever Punch, $18, michaels.com.

At last, for Mom's show-stopping dessert, add these flying banners. The ribbons, shown here, feel papery but are made of cotton, which holds its shape well and can be written on. You can also use paper strips or other fabric ribbon.

Shop Now: Party City Bamboo Skewers, $1.49 for 100, partycity.com; Cream City Ribbon Paper Cotton Ribbon, in Azalea, Bubblegum, and Cream, $6 per roll, creamcityribbon.com.

Adding style and polish to a bunch of mismatched vases can be as simple as, well, adding polish. Nail lacquer, which floats on water, is an ingenious medium for marbleizing ceramics. And the design possibilities are endless: We chose pastels, but you literally have hundreds of options at your fingertips.

Shop Now: West Elm Pure White Ceramic Vases, from $39 each, westelm.com; Essie Nail Polish, in Turquoise & Caicos, and Sand Tropez, $9 each, essie.com; Sinful Color Nail Polish, in Yolo Yellow, $2, walmart.com.

For an unexpected alternative to flowers, try this balloon bouquet. Use our template to print letters on card stock, cut them out, and then punch a hole at the top of each. String the letters onto three helium-filled balloons using baker's twine. Finally, fasten the balloons to Mom's chair or bed, spacing them out a bit. The cheerful display will have her floating on air.

Shop Now: Party City Helium-Quality Balloons, $4 for 15, partycity.com; The Twisted Twine Baker's Twine, in Brown/White, $2 for 25 yd., etsy.com.

Is Mom an art lover? She'll appreciate the beauty of this oeuvre d'art: The effect of this project is a lifelike floral display that upgrades and uplifts any room in which it's displayed. To create it, you will need to carve slits into the canvas, inserting silk flower stems and greenery, and securing them from behind. The finished look is nothing less than magnificent.

The table takes on the look of a secret garden when adorned with hydrangea napkin rings. If you're planning a Mother's Day brunch or dinner, create them by threading individual blooms onto thin-cut gold wire and stringing the completed rings around napkins. To make sure that the blooms keep their pretty perkiness, prepare them a few hours before your family gathering.

Shop Now: Fire Mountain Gems 24-Gauge Gold Wire, $8.60, firemountaingems.com.

Use coordinating colors of seam binding to make colorful skirts for a pair of stacked cake stands, and then continue the theme with a free-flowing chandelier.

Shop Now: Wrights Single-Fold Bias Tape, 1/2", in Bright Pink, Marigold, and Pink, $2, joann.com.