Making Mother's Day

Painting three ways - projects from Woman's Day magazine

Add a burst of joy to Mum’s special day with these playful ideas from Emily Somerville-Ryan.

Instructions:

Nothing says ‘I love you’ from your loved ones more than homemade gifts and beautiful blooms. A collection of pretty vases to display the blooms is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. Scour the op-shops and gather together an assortment of glass vases and jars in a variety of interesting shapes and sizes. Pour a decent amount of Resene testpot paint into each glass vessel and rotate it around until the entire interior of the glass is covered in paint. I’ve used (clockwise from top right), Resene Rapture, Resene Seagull, Resene Pattens Blue, Resene Wild Thing, Resene Poet, Resene Cupid and Resene Glorious. Drain all excess paint back into each testpot, taking time to get as much paint out of the vessel as possible. Leave to dry thoroughly for at least 24 hours. Fill each vase with a menagerie of colourful flowers and display on the kitchen table for mum on Mother’s Day morning.

Instructions:

Take two large wooden beads and paint hair, eyes and a mouth on them. I’ve used Resene Rapture and Resene Wild Thing for my hair, Resene Steel Grey for the eyes and Resene Glorious for the mouth. On the second bead, paint two halves in contrasting Resene colours. I’ve used Resene Pattens Blue and Resene Poet for one and Resene Seagull and Resene Cupid for the other. Cut a strip of leather to 20cm, fold in half and knot 2cm from the top. Thread both beads onto the leather and knot at the base. Thread a split ring on to the top loop and tie a small bow underneath the head bead if desired. Wrap and give to mum for Mother’s Day.

Instructions:

Paint some A2 paper with two coats of Resene paint. I have used, Resene Cupid for my striped wrap and Resene Pattens Blue for my Diamond wrap. On the pink wrap, stick wide washi masking tape lengthways along the paper at even intervals and paint with two coats of Resene Rapture. Once dry peel back the masking tape and discard. On the pale blue wrap, with a ruler and pencil draw diamonds, 13cm long and 7cm wide over the entire piece. With a fine paintbrush, carefully paint in every second diamond with Resene Poet. Once dry, rub out any visible pencil marks. Wrap up your Mother’s Day gifts and add a pretty contrasting ribbon.

Words and pictures by Emily Somerville-Ryan. May 2023.

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Projects from Woman's Day magazine
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Woman's Day projects | Weekend Craft projects