Here are two Mother's Day crafts that will give mom flowers all summer long. In one of the crafts, she can gently sprinkle the seeds from her seed shaker throughout her garden.

In the other craft the seeds will already be planted in a flower pot that comes with a pretty garden stake to remind her of what she is growing. I chose marigolds for this project but you can select any other flower seeds. It's fun to visit a garden shop to check out all the flower seeds that are available.

CRAFT 1: SEED SHAKER

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Clean glass jar with a metal lid
  • Wood scrap
  • 8 or 10 inch nail
  • Hammer
  • Newspapers
  • Paint or permanent marker pens in a variety of colours
  • Paint brush (if using paint to decorate)
  • Flower seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Place the jar lid on the wood scrap. Use the hammer and nail to pound holes into the lid. This may require the supervision of an adult. See photo 1.
  2. Cover the work area with newspaper.
  3. Decorate the jar with the paints or the permanent markers.
  4. When the paint is dry, fill the jar with seeds and screw on the lid. See photo 2.

A quick way to decorate the jar is to use stickers. It's not as personal as a hand drawing but it will still look pretty.

CRAFT 2:  PLANTED FLOWER POT WITH MARIGOLD GARDEN STAKE

YOU WILL NEED:

  • Craft stick
  • Green paint
  • Craft foam in green and orange
  • Scissors
  • Black permanent marker pen
  • Glue Gun
  • Plastic or clay plant pot
  • Soil
  • Marigold seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Fill the plant pot with soil and sprinkle on the marigold seeds. Cover the seeds with more soil. Sprinkle lightly with water and place in a sunny location. Keep lightly watered. See photo 3.
  2. Paint the craft stick green.
  3. Cut out orange petals in a variety of sizes for the marigolds from the craft foam.
  4. Glue them on the craft stick in layers.
  5. Cut out and glue on two green leaves. See photo 4.
  6. Write the word "marigold" with the black permanent marker and poke it into the soil. See photo 5 for completed craft.

Now Mom can enjoy her Mother's Day flowers all summer long.

[Photographs by Linda Dunbar. Reproduction prohibited]