May is an emotional month for many women. Mother’s Day is an emotionally complex holiday. We all love celebrating our mothers, but as a woman it can be a hard day. It is a hard for women who are struggling with infertility. It is a hard for women who have placed a child for adoption. It is hard for someone who has recently lost their mother. It is one of those days that brings out the full range of emotions. I have found that the best way to celebrate Mother’s Day is to celebrate all the women in my life who have helped shape me and who help shape my children. In honor of all of these women here are crafts that celebrate all Mothers.
One of my favorite crafts involves mailing a hug. Trace or make imprints of your little ones hands. Cut out a length of beautiful ribbon to match the length of their arms, attach the hands and you have created a hug that can be sent anywhere. And used over and over again. We created hugs for my mother a few years ago and she said that on bad days sometimes she would go get the hugs, wrap them around her shoulders and wear them around the house until she just felt better. Distance is hard in families but having a hug at the ready is always a comfort.
I think all women love a beautiful piece of jewelry. One of my favorites I have seen lately is fingerprint necklaces. There are lots of different ways to create these including sending a copy of a fingerprint off to be created into a charm, but the joy of this necklace is that it can easily be made at home as well. Simply mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup salt and cold water until the dough is the consistency of play dough. Imprint, cut into your desired shape (don’t forget a hole to thread the chain through) and bake at 250 degrees for two hours. Once the imprint has cooled you can paint it any color you want or leave it white. It is such a personalized item and holds a lot of emotional impact. One of my girlfriends never had kids of her own and on mother’s day her family sent her a necklace with the names of all her nieces and nephews for her to wear and remember how much she is loved and how great her impact is in their lives.
I love to cross stitch and one of the projects I have been working on for my boys is a “I am loved by many” design for them to hang in their rooms. I am hoping to include the names of all the important people in their lives as part of the border. In our family this includes birth parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, therapists, teachers, and more. I imagine it will be an ever evolving craft that will grow and develop throughout their childhood.
Be kind to yourself as you celebrate Mother’s Day this year. Realize the nurturing power of women and the impact we have not only on the lives of our own children, but on all we come into contact with and take some time to celebrate all those women in your life who have helped you become you.
For adoption gift ideas, visit AdoptionGifts.com.
