Are you looking for a simple, budget friendly Mother’s Day idea for kids? Look no further than this adorable mason jar vase:
Easy Mothers Day idea for kids:
So cute, right?! We made these in my classroom for my students’ moms- I really hope the moms liked them as much as I did 🙂 Here’s how I made them:
Start with a plain (cleaned) jar:
Painting your mason jar vase:
Take some paint – I used interior satin wall paint – but you can use any kind! I love to buy mis-tinted paints at the hardware store. Pour some into the jar. Then, simply swirl it around so the entire inside is coated. The kids loved doing this!
Pour out the excess paint. Let this dry overnight.
Here’s the colors the kids had to choose from:
The next day, I had them choose one of the other colors that they didn’t choose to coat their jar with, and I painted their hands with that paint. They loooove this…it’s so funny and tickly 🙂 Then, I had them very carefully place their hand on the glass.
Important tip: hold onto their wrist the entire time! Even as you’re walking to the sink…I made these with Kindergarten and first grade boys…and we managed not to get paint anywhere but the jars! SUCCESS!
Finishing up your Mothers Day craft:
Once their handprint dried, it was time to decorate! I let the boys pick a color ribbon they thought their mom would like (I had 5 choices for them), and then we strung a tag onto the ribbon that said “Happy Mothers Day”. Last, we added a fake gerber daisy (my favorite picks for affordable artificial flowers are at the end of this post!), and we ended up with these adorable vases:
Even though we made these for mother’s day…you can make them for anything! Birthdays…Christmas…or just for fun! The ball jars were free, the paint and ribbons were on hand, and I had bought those flowers at a thrift store for a few bucks a few years ago. So, a basically free project 🙂
NOTE: These vases will not be water safe! This project is for artificial flowers only.
Here’s some of my picks for some good artificial flowers to use for this project – click to purchase (they’re all really inexpensive!):
If you like this Mothers Day idea for kids, please share with others and save for later by pinning it here:
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Oh my goodness, these are so cute! what a great idea!
These are so cute! I have a handprint tutorial on my site this week too!
What a great and cute idea!
What a great idea! I bet the moms will love it.
Oh these are so sweet. My son doesn't fight me when we do art like that but he get so into it that he wants to smack his hand print on everything and all over the artwork 🙂
These are so cute and great idea to hold the wrists until it's time to wash up, lol. Probably saved you a lot of cleanup.
Great idea! Wish I would have found this earlier in the week as i was into paiting jars, but when I painted inside, it wasn't as easy as it looked. This is a great idea and I am a Freecycle fan as well…can't beat that! nivce job and stinkin' cute!
Stacey of Embracing Change
What an awesome creative idea!
I have been a mom for a hundred years and have gotten all kinds of crafts…and I can honestly say..This one is awesome!
I wish I had seen this sooner, what a cute idea!
So cute…great idea!
Nancy
These are so cute and something a mother will treasure forever.
Ok, second time trying to leave a comment.
I love these! I'm a sucker for personalized things. Specially something kid related since they grow so fast. 🙂 Great job!
What a precious idea! I would have loved to get this from my son!
Diane
I love how the paint is both on the inside and the outside giving the jar dimension! These are great!
This is such a lovely idea! The kids did really well (and you holding their little painty hands!)
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/
Nifty idea. I can see lots of ways to adapt this idea. I love the colors you chose. Thanks for sharing.
This is one ridiculously cute idea! I wish I would have seen this sooner and I would have made on for my son to give to his grandma. Oh well, now I'm ready for next year!!
So sweet…the PERFECT Mother's Day gift!
Lovely gift idea!
Cute idea! I even like them all in a row without the hand prints!
Wish I saw sooner!
Would love for you to link up at Calling All Crafters!
http://allthingsfee.blogspot.com/2011/05/calling-all-crafters-6th-edition.html
This is amazingly cute and sweet! It has gone in my favorites for a Grammy present sometimes. My little girls will get a kick out of this! I saw you at Polly Want a Crafter, and I'm following you everywhere I can: Google, Twitter, and FB. Have a good day!
http://www.meldreamsoften.com
Really cute vases! I did 6 different vase looks for Mothers Day and yours is a great one!
The hand prints are cute! Great touch on the mason jars 🙂
I LOVE these jars! LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Great idea! I would love for you to link up to my Ten Buck Tuesday party! It lasts all week!
These are adorable!! Great idea! I bet the moms loved em!!
Awe, how adorable! I love these! 🙂 I'd love if you'd link up to Sew Woodsy!
Hi – visiting from tatertots & jello linky. These are adorable! I think I might try this with my 4-yr-old to make Christmas gifts! thanks for the idea 🙂
Okay, you're like, the best teacher ever!! I'd love to receive something like this from one of my girls. 🙂 Love the colors!
Thanks for joining my Weekend Bloggy Reading party. 🙂 Hope you'll stop by Serenity Now again soon! 🙂
Love this, we made vases out of mason jars for Mother's Day too 🙂
what area's free-cycle do you use? i've tried looking into it before but only found ones close to philly. I'd love a link hehe 🙂
Turned out great!! Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday 🙂
What kind of paint did you use on the inside and outside?
What a GREAT idea! Thank you for sharing on Tatertots and Jello!
http://www.project-purple.blogspot.com
I love this idea! I might just copy it with my 4th graders next year. 🙂 We made pockets full of posies this year and they turned out really cute. I'll try to link up to the Tuesday party this week with that idea. Thanks for sharing!
That is sooooo sweet!!!!
I would love to have you share this at my For the Kids link party! Come join the fun!
http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/05/for-kids-friday-9.html
Christina – the jars are totally adorable – I am just loving the handprints – too cute! Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase Party – I greatly appreciate it. I have featured this. Hope you are having a great week ~ Stephanie Lynn
http://www.bystephanielynn.com
[…] Kids Craft: Mother’s Day Mason Jar Vase » Christinas Adventures […]
LOVE this idea!! Question: Do you use regular tempra paint?? Did you spray anything on them to seal the paint?
What kind of paint did you use?
These are precious, and I’d love to make a few from my kids for their nana for Mother’s Day! But can you recommend a waterproof paint to use on the inside? I’d love to use these with fresh flowers. Thanks!
I wondered how to make these water-proof also. I’m thinking modge-podge (sp?) or a clear acrylic spray or brush on. I’m going to experiment before I have my pre-schoolers do this for mother’s day gifts, but if all else fails they can be pencil cups…
Let me know how it goes! Thanks, Shelley.
Great Idea Christina! I nanny for a family with a set of twin girls soon to be 4 and this would be a fun gift idea for Mother’s Day? We do arts and crafts every day. I see a few others have inquired about what type of paint you used and how to seal to make it waterproof. Do you have any suggestions?
Look forward to your reply.
What type of paint did you use for inside the jar? Did you use acrylic for the handprint or tempera?
I would like to know this too! Did you paint the outside or just handprint?
I used paint on the inside of the jar, and then for the handprint. Please read through the tutorial for more thorough instructions & tips! 🙂
Do you know what type of Mason jars these are (or where you got them)? My son’s name is Mason and I like how Mason is so big in cursive. Was going to have him make some for his grandmas. Thanks!
Amy, the Mason jars are canning jars – you can check your local ‘freebie give-away’ places (craigslist etc) or thrift stores for them; also many grocery and some hardware stores have them.
Love love love these! My kids and I will be making these for the Grandmothers on Mother’s Day! Thanks for the great idea!
Wow…this is adorable! I love this idea. I would love it if you shared this at my linky party this week: http://www.artistic31mama.com/2012/05/fabulous-fridays-linky-party-10.html I am going to pin this one. 🙂
What kind of paint did you use on the inside?
Love your Mother’s Day craft project with the handprint and painted jars! Would you like to enter our Mother’s Day Contest?
Hi there! I stumbled upon your site while browsing the web for Mother’s Day craft ideas. I loved this project and have included it in my 25 Kid Friendly Mother’s Day Crafts post. I’ve pinned this to my pinterest boards and am a follower. I would love for you to stop by and check out your post… Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with the world. Happy Mother’s Day! http://www.artistic31mama.com/2013/05/25-kid-friendly-mothers-day-crafts.html
What kind of paint did u use for the handprints on the outside of the jar. So that it did not wear off???
These are so adorable:)
This is a wonderful idea and I love Mason Jars, I have pinned to share and would love to have you stop by and share with my readers on #OMHGWW this week for an upcoming Mothers Day Feature.
Have a great week!
Karren
I thought this would be good for large utensils. Would the paint scratch off on the inside? I’m thinking of Mother’s Day.
It might scratch off with utensils being scraped on the sides – sorry :/ You could always try to paint the outside instead!
I’m thinking an enamel paint would stand up better. That’s what I use when painting wine glasses.
Love the mason jar hand print vases. What kind of paint do you use for the outside handprint?
What kind of paint was used for the handprint? I want to do this with my 1 year old . It doesn’t say in the instructions and I tried to see if others asked but they weren’t answered in the comments.
Hi Lariesa – if you read the post, I wrote that I used interior satin wall paint 🙂