The Mama Mother, and Batik-Style Watercolor Card for Kids

Today is my last day of paying homage to the amazing moms of all kinds who have shaped my "mama schema" (read the post to understand what in the world that means :) and sharing simple handmade cards to deliver to these women who have been so influential in my life. Check out the final card tutorial at the bottom of the post: a batik-style watercolor card. 

The Mama Mother

The mama, the one who gave birth to me, raised me, and otherwise nurtured me in my childhood and allowed me to live to adulthood, even after I cut up the dresses she sewed for me AND her wedding pictures. 

If that isn't love, I don't know what is. 

My mother is amazing. She claims she wasn't a perfect mother, but we (all 8 of us kids) are grateful that she was just perfect enough for us and our imperfections, and now she can be the perfect grandmother.

See, Debra -- my camera-face is genetic!

I credit my love of creating and learning to my mother. She claims I was always creative, but as a child -- and now as an adult -- few things thrill me more than showing a creation to my mother and having her gush excitement and praise my work. My mother isn't the gushy type, but she has always encouraged me in whatever endeavors I have taken up, whether it was basketball or rocket science or poetry.

My mother loves learning, and always has. She was a teacher and a librarian, and she was always reading and sharing what she'd read -- a new novel, a new fact, a new joke from Reader's Digest. She would often wake me up to come see the meteor shower or watch a space shuttle launch, or enlist me in testing the experiment she'd read about how to keep flies out of the house or make a fun gadget from household items.

In addition to my amazing mother, I have an amazing mother-in-law. She was one of my biggest believers when I was a teenager, and I learn from her example every day. She is a wonderful example of how to be Christlike and still have a wicked sense of humor. ;)

Most women say that they wouldn't be as happy as I am living within blocks of both my mother and my mother-in-law, but I thank my lucky stars every day for the support and examples of my two moms. 

Happy Mother's Day to each of you -- be sure to give a mama a hug and tell her that she's important to you :) and then go make her a card...

Batik-Style Watercolor Card for Kids

All you need is white paper/cardstock, a white crayon, and watercolors.

Use the white crayon to draw a design or write on the cardstock.

And then set your child loose with the watercolors. Well, not completely loose. I gave mine strict instructions that he was NOT to use the black or brown. :)

Once the entire page is watercolored, let it dry and then cut it in half (hamburger style) and fold it to make a card.

Since the watercolors (and my child's preference toward the water part of the equation) made the paper curl, I folded another card and stuck it inside using double-stick tape to stabilize and straighten the curved corners.

I love this art style! We use it to help my children write thank-you notes, and even my 10-year-old niece likes it, and keeps asking me what the trick is :)

A very happy Mother's Day to you and yours -- you have a week, so make sure that you take advantage of this (over-commercialized) holiday to give the mothers in your life a little extra love!

-Lorene