Five faves: Crafts for Mothers and Daughters

Here is a list of some crafts that we have made in the past or are planning to make for our next mother/daughter tea.  There are so many activities that can be done, I think it is really important though to make sure that the craft has a message that can be recalled long after the tea is over.  If you have any additional ideas, please add it to the comment box.

1

This was one of my favorites from a few years ago.  There are craft kits to make princess style mirrors, but we bought mirrors from the dollar store, decorated the handles and then glued foam tiara cut outs (also from the dollar store) to the top of the mirror, so that when each girl gazed in the mirror, she saw herself with a princess tiara.  This craft was part of our talk about seeing ourselves as princesses of God.  The talk included elements of modesty (a princess always wears special clothing and dresses a certain way) and how the girls should be treated and treasured.  Our mirrors came with small pocket mirrors that I told the girls they could carry with them and take out whenever they wanted to see one of God's great and perfect gifts--themselves.

 

source 

2

This next one was not only fun but taught an important lesson.  We used toilet paper rolls and Popsicle sticks to make knitting looms.  The looms were part of a talk on how the girls were knit together by God.  Not only did the girls enjoy knitting and went on to knit long after the tea was over but they understood how intently God concentrated on each of them to the smallest detail. Knitting is also a useful skill.

  

source

3

This is one of the crafts we are completing this year for our Mother/Daughter tea.  I think the girls will really enjoy picking out the puzzle pieces and designing their frames.  I am going to take a photograph of each mother/daughter pair and send it to the families to put in these frames as a special memento.  I like the phrase "I love you to pieces."  Since we ask the girls and moms to dress in their Sunday best, we won't be painting but, I am going to get some glitter glue and small embellishments to decorate the frames.  The use of puzzle pieces is significant because our lives are puzzles that God has already worked out, we need to seek His Wisdom when deciding which piece should go where. They also symbolize how families fit together to make art even though we are all a little different, we are each a perfect fit for here we have been placed.

source

source  

4

Ribbons, beads, and Catholic symbols are a great start for any craft.  We have made many versions of this bracelet: bracelets with Miraculous medals, necklaces with crucifixes, etc.  This year, we are using pocket tokens that I found in my "mother/daughter" stash from a few years ago that have a heart cut out of them and the words "love is patient" stamped on the top.  We are going to slip it onto some ribbon with an assortment of beads on either side, then attach it to a  keyring to use as a zipper pull for a backpack or jacket.  The possibilities are endless.  I like using the ribbon because it is pretty and comes in so many colors, but also there is no hardware needed or slippery elastic string to tie.  It also requires patience and perseverance to get the beads on the ribbon, a good lesson in virtues.

 

source

5

Lastly, we have a special craft for Mary.  Living like Mary should be the goal of every Catholic woman and girl, what better reminder of her than a miniature garden terrarium.  When we did this, I purchased small Our Lady of Lourdes statues that from Autom.  Each was only about three inches high.  We learned about which flowers have been named to honor Mary and then chose some of the smaller ones to put in our terrariums.  Marigold work well for this because they are a good size and grow easily.  I originally found the instructions for making these on CatholicIcing.com, however Lacy appears to have removed the page with the directions.