What was your 'favourite' Mother's Day gift?

[Disclaimer] I have a new writing gig, blogging for Poster Candy, where I get to chat about all my ideas to do with photography. Ah, you didn't know I was a photographer did you? Well, I'm not really, but I enjoy it immensely and I have lots of fun projects coming up. 

This post is about making a gift for Grandma (or yourself) that you actually like... Normally the articles will be on the PosterCandy website and not here at Relentless, but they are currently experiencing technical difficulties with their blog, something they assure me, that has absolutely nothing to do with my (lack) of technical prowess...

In Year Two I remember coming home from school with an old jam jar, filled to the brim with coloured sugar, a circle of fabric tied to the lid with a piece of string.

‘Happy Mother’s Day,’ I told my Mum proudly as I held my creation in front of me.

Her raised eyebrows perhaps should have indicated to me her confusion over exactly what she was meant to do with a jar of sugar, coloured with toxic and probably now illegal food colours. But as a six year old, I thought my gift was awesome. To her credit, my mother kept that jar of sugar on her shelf for many more years than was probably necessary.

To avoid the same raised eyebrows this Mother’s Day, why not use your kids’ creative urges and harness them for good instead of evil. 

There isn’t a Grandma on earth who wouldn’t appreciate a beautiful hand-drawn picture from their loving grandchildren, but by compiling their work into a single piece of art, she will have a beautiful reminder that lasts long after the grandkids have grown up.

The Great Wall of Art: At our house, individual pieces of artwork are regularly changed but if space is an issue, a whole year’s worth of artwork can be compiled into a single Poster

You can also make a new PosterCandy every year, as the kids get older and their talents improve.

The finished product: Happy Mother's Day Grandma

Hints and Tips when Photographing Kids Artwork

When photographing your children’s artwork and crafts make sure you have plenty of natural light and a neutral background. Pictures can be blu-tacked onto a wall for clear, shadow-free photography. Paper-maché and clay creations should be photographed in front of a plain background.

If your children tend to leave a lot of white on their pictures, then consider photographing each piece of art on a brightly coloured background, so the finished product is not devoid of colour.

If you want to make your Mother’s Day Wall of Art even more special,  include pictures of the children or their initials (these wooden letters are available at craft stores for a few dollars). Ask one of the kids to write ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ and the date on a chalkboard, or in brightly coloured letters and incorporate it into the Poster.

For some mess-free craft, let the kids decorate their initials with cheap gemstone stickers from the $2 shop

If your little artist is very prolific, start photographing their work now. By keeping an electronic record of their art, you can see as their skills develop over time, and even better, you can ‘recycle’ it later with a clear conscience. 

Save all the images in a single folder on the computer, and it will take less than ten minutes to build your Mum or Grandma a beautiful gift for Mother’s Day they will be proud to hang on the wall.

The Small Print:

The poster pictured above is 40x50cm and costs $39,  but there are seven different sizes available with prices starting at $15. All prints are in the iconic square shape, and have been designed specifically to work with your Instagram or Facebook account. Or, if you're a technophobe like me, you can use normal digital images from your computer.

The best bit, I think, is that the finished posters have all been designed to fit in frames from Ikea, so the entire thing ends up being cheap and easy to make.