Handmade with Love: DIY Mother’s Day Cards That Honor More Than Just Moms

Mother’s Day cards are a great reason to break out the crafting goodies – who deserves a pretty, handmade card more than your mom? How about a grandmother? A mother-in-law? This year, I decided to go one step further…

I come from a big family. My Nana had seven kids. SEVEN. In the C-Section-Is-Rare-We-Just-Get-It-Done days. OUCH. One of those seven ended up a boy. One ended up my mom. You can see where this is going.

(Let’s backtrack a minute. SEVEN. SEEEEVVVVVEEENNN. Holy Partridge Family, Batman!!!)

I had AUNTS.

This post is about my “other moms”. My aunts helped raise not just me, but my brother and several of my cousins as well while our moms worked hard to provide for us. Growing up in a small town with a loving family, I was blessed to spend my non-Mom hours with other loved ones who cared for me and helped me grow.

So I decided to make Mother’s Day cards to honor my “mothers” who are but aren’t. My aunts were a vital part of my growing years, and I feel I learned so much more for having more than one “mother” figure.

The running joke is my Aunt Karin, being first born, is the “princess”. It’s a moniker she embraces and wears well. 😉 She’s polished and classy, but she’s not afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty! Aunt Karin taught me all I needed about beauty, grace, and what a “princess” should truly be, in heart and spirit. She’s someone I can look up to for all of the above. 😉

Crown is Life’s a Party and font is Plantin Schoolbook cut from Cricut and added embellishments.

Next comes my Aunt Mimi – I almost have no words. Mimi was a prominent figure in my upbringing, and taught me much regarding hard work and the benefits reaped from such. I know no man who can do what my Mimi can not – she personifies hard work, strength, and family. I hope my own children learn her lessons as I have – they can only be the better for it.

Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney Classic. I loved it dearly growing up, and it practically features my own family!! (watch near the end, when the fairies put a sleeping spell on everyone – my Uncle Cragg (back then at least) was the spitting image of a black-bearded guard falling under the spell!) At any rate, my Aunt Mimi epitomizes Merriweather’s steadfast and stalwart nature. 🙂

Disney Happily Ever After (Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella cuts)

My Aunt Denise is the chef de cuisine in the house – my grandparents owned a restaurant (or two) in their day, and the culinary bug seems to have stuck! You haven’t LIVED until you’ve had her walnut roll….Aunt “Neeci” is an inspiration in the kitchen, so I thought she would be a perfect candidate to receive Fauna on a card – who can forget the unbaked cake scene?? 🙂

Disney Happily Ever After (Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella cuts)

My mom was born after my uncle, and she wasn’t alone – she was a twin. My Aunt Renee was my godmother and a definite figure in my life. Unfortunately, my aunt succumbed to cancer at the tender age of 36. I was 13. Now that I am 32, that is all the more horrifying and tragic.

The last of my maternal aunts is Nan – the baby of the family. Baby or not, Nan is a take charge lady, and she frequently helps ~~tell everyone what to do~~ organize family get-togethers and functions. Nan has a large house in the city, so she’s usually hosting them anyway! She’s generous and smart, and she will do anything she can to help when someone needs it. I figured she was a perfect candidate for the third fairy, Flora – the thoughtful, kind, yet bossy one. 🙂

Disney Happily Ever After with stamped sentiment and embellishments.

I’m also lucky to have an honorary aunt and another aunt by marriage. My Aunt Monica shackled herself to the lone man in our clan, and we are the luckier for it! She’s spunky and fun, and always knows how to have a good time. She’s also a total sweetheart, with a bit of a sweet tooth – so I chose this cute candy bar for her card.

🙂

The stamp is from Meljen’s Designs, and I colored it with my Copics. The flowers and sentiment were cut on Cricut with Flower Shoppe and Songbird.

MJ is my honorary aunt – she’s been around for as long as I can remember! She’s sweet and funny, but she’s also got a sassy side to her that’s loads of fun. 🙂 When we were kids, MJ started in making sock monkey dolls for everyone in the family. They would be representative of each person – my brother was little, and his was a cowboy monkey. Aunt Karin’s had a Chanel label sewn in its sweater and giant pearl clip on earrings. They were so funny, and got more and more elaborate each year. So when I saw this stamp, I HAD to use it for her card. 🙂

Meljen’s Designs is responsible for this cute stamp as well!

So there you have it – the many “faces” of the many women who helped me become the woman I am today. 🙂 Happy Mothers Day to all the “moms” out there, no matter who they are mothering. 🙂