This guest post was written by Iris for My Baby Clothes Boutique.

I have to admit, I am one of those sentimental moms who saves every little item that her child makes for her or used as a baby. It is so hard for me to throw away things that I might want to look back on when my son or daughter grows up. For example, I don’t want to get rid of some of my son’s baby toys, like the first plush football I used to teach him to catch when he was an infant and couldn’t even roll over. What if he becomes a pro football player and I want to pull out that first football he played with? Or what about the first drawing he scribbled for me as a toddler–what if he becomes a famous painter and I want to look at his first art piece? And I can’t get rid of his first pair of swimming goggles; some say he could be the next Michael Phelps! I can go on and on, but as the years go by and we collect more things, sometimes I have to just part with certain items that we don’t have room to store (like drawers full of my son’s craft projects from preschool). Artwork takes over our refrigerator and shelves fill up with projects that eventually fall apart. Thankfully my husband is very tidy and he is very good at helping me decide which items we should keep and which items I unfortunately have to part with.

Well, Mother’s Day is right around the corner and my husband always has a difficult time deciding what kind of gift to give me. He always gives me a gift card from my favorite store (yes, I absolutely love gift cards. I know some people don’t think gift cards are personal enough, but for a stay-at-home mom like me who is very budget-oriented, I am absolutely thrilled when I receive a gift card knowing that I don’t have to feel guilty spending the gift card on myself!). But since he also knows how sentimental I am, he also adds a homemade project to go alongside the gift card that always makes me so proud. This part of the gift is the part that is difficult for him. Because he knows I keep all of our children’s special projects, he doesn’t want to add another item to throw in the “craft drawer”. So last year, he finally came up with a gift that was made by our 4-year-old son, but also looked modern enough to match the style of our home and would stay on the shelf for display – forever! Yes, he was not going to make me throw this one away!

It was a simple glass flower vase, decorated with beautiful painted flower petals all around the vase. The best part is the fact that each of these beautiful flower petals were made by our son’s precious fingerprints. Our one-year-old unfortunately could not participate since she was not good enough to listen to Daddy’s instructions, although I know there is one little fingerprint on the vase that belongs to her. All it took was one glass vase and different colored enamel paints to create this project, and of course, very special fingers. You can use all kinds of glass to create a gift like this. When my son’s preschool teacher came over for a play date and she saw the vase, it gave her an idea for the school art festival they were participating in. They used wine glasses instead of a vase and it made such a beautiful display for the art festival. You can use jars, bottles, the possibilities are endless, but one thing I know for sure, this is a gift that would make any mother proud and would gladly be displayed on a shelf for a lifetime.

Many people who visit our house see my special vase and think that the artwork on the vase is professionally painted, and they are surprised to find out that it was my 4-year-old son who created it. See, I told you that my son could be a famous painter!

Iris is a very crafty mom who likes to work on a budget. Her ideas are shared through her blog as well as with My Baby Clothes Boutique. Dress your babies in the best baby clothes, cutest tutus and most adorable baby headbands this summer!