Project: Birthday Present

My moms birthday was just a week before she came to take care of me following my surgery. I wanted to give her something fun for her birthday. I put a lot of thought into the things she liked to try and come up with a good idea. I finally recalled that she really likes things with Polka-dots and she also loves the color red. I searched online for something cute that was red and had polka-dots...a mixing bowl, place mats, ect. I couldn't find anything that seemed like a good fit so I asked a friend for ideas of where I could look. She mentioned that there was a pottery place in town that you can pick out a pottery item, paint it and have them fire it. Just a few days before my surgery I went to the shop, picked a plate that she could display, and painted it.


It seems like since I have been out of school, I don't have as many opportunities to do "projects" and to use creativity. It was so self satisfying to make her a cute little gift that was meant just for her. It's like what we use to do in elementary school and we were always so proud to bring home our creation to our parents. It was almost like I found the kid in me or something, not to mention it was a great stress reducer before the big surgery. It took me a few hours to paint it, but it gave me time to take my mind off of all the worries and stress that seemed to be consuming me the weeks before my operation (you should have seen my face...I had broken out like I was a 12 year old going through puberty all over again)! When I got home, I also made her some red polka dot marble magnets and put them in a cute little tin. To top it off, I wrapped the whole gift in some fun black and white polka dot wrapping paper with a pretty little ribbon.




She arrived late Saturday evening and I had made sure Dave had brought the present up to the hospital so I could give it to her as soon as she came to visit. I just wanted to share my little craft project, in hopes to maybe encourage and inspire others to go back to the ways of our childhood when we created gifts rather than just bought them. Money simply can't buy the self satisfaction of creating something personal for someone.