Happy Mother's Day from Baby - A Bouquet of Flowers

I will always remember how special my very first Mother's Day was. A dear friend gave me a beautiful vase full of paper flowers, made from my baby's hand print. It was so thoughtful and sweet, and touched me deeply. The best part was, these flowers last forever! This Mother's Day is very special for my sister-in-law, and I wanted to make her a bouquet of these keepsake flowers for her first Mother's Day.

These are simple to make, and the perfect Mother's Day gift for any mother or grandmother.

You will need:
template of baby's hand (trace hand on cardstock)
construction paper
tape
green pipe cleaners
vase
I made my template by tracing the baby's hand onto cardstock paper (I recycled the back of a greeting card) and cut it out. It doesn't have to be perfect. Those babies' hands can wiggle a lot! It helps to have another adult hold the baby's hand still while you trace. You really only need one hand, not both.
I stacked about 3 squares of construction paper to help things go faster, and traced the template on the top piece.
You can made as many flowers, or as few, as you would like. I decided to make 12.
I also decided to stay with baby/spring type colors - yellow, pink and blue. But again, use any colors you would like! Construction paper really is the best medium for making these flowers. Thicker paper does not bend or curl as well.
Use a pencil to curl each finger outward.
They won't all stay curled down, and that is okay.
Roll the hand at the bottom to form the flower, and secure with a small piece of tape.
Slide a pipe cleaner through the flower, starting at the top. Even if your opening on the bottom of the flower is tiny, the pipe cleaner should go through just fine.
Curl the top of the pipe cleaner a couple of turns to make the flower's center. Pull the pipe cleaner down a little more, until the flower center is inside the flower.
Doesn't that look cool? Now repeat these steps until you have made your desired amount of flowers.
Place your flowers in a vase. They should stand up just fine but feel free to tie a ribbon around the stems to keep them together and upright.
Now these are the most special flowers you can give a Mother.
I loved it when someone made these for me with my baby's hand print. I know my sister-in-law will also love receiving these for her first Mother's Day. Make the day special for a Mom you know, or even an grandmother, by using all her children or grandchildren hand prints. The different sizes would be beautiful.

Happy Mother's Day!