To mom wih love

To make
1. Trace the heart template (seam allowance has been included). Cut out four heart shapes from red felt. Cut the ribbon in half, fold each piece to form a loop and attach each with a few hand stitches on the wrong side of two heart pieces.

2. With right sides together, hand-stitch each pair of heart pieces together, leaving an opening for turning. Turn both through to the right side. Pour a couple of drops of essential oil onto the polyester filling and insert through the openings. Divide the dried lavender heads between the sachets and then hand-stitch both to close.

3. Stitch a flower to each heart.

Lemon and rosemary vinegar

You will need

To make
1. Peel the lemon with a sharp knife, taking off as little pith as possible.

2. Heat vinegar in a saucepan until boiling. Put ingredients into jar or other suitable container.

3. Pour the vinegar into the jar and seal. Leave for two weeks to allow the flavours to infuse.

4. Strain and pour into sterilised jar and add a sprig of rosemary, a little lemon peel and a few seeds to make the bottle attractive. Store in a cool, dark place. Flavoured vinegar can be added to salad dressings, sauces and marinades.

Mom's the sweetest

You will need

To make
1. Fill the jar to the brim with red sweets – old--fashioned boiled sweets are a good choice.

2. Handwrite a letter to your mother on white paper or type it on the computer and print it out. Space the lines and words evenly and neatly apart – you could do it so that it makes a circular shape on the page.

3. Cut out the circle of type and fold the paper over the lid of the jar. Secure with the elastic band and tie the red ribbon around it to finish it off.

Tea-light holders

You will need

To make
1. Pour a litre of cold tap water into a bowl and gradually whisk in wallpaper paste granules to dissolve them. Continue until the mixture is transparent and has a gel-like consistency.

2. Sieve sand to remove coarse pieces, then add enough to the paste to make it dough-like.

3. Line the tray with wax paper. Shape the mixture into small balls with your hands, put them on the tray and flatten slightly.

4. With a sharp knife, cut an indent into each ball, big enough for a tea light. Place a tea light in each hole – the top of the tealight should line up with the top of the holder.

5. Place the tray with the holders in the sun to dry. Remove the tea lights from the holes after about an hour when the sides have hardened enough to hold their shape. Leave until the tops are completely hardened, then turn over to dry and harden the undersides of the holders.

Tip: To prevent the candle holders breaking before they have hardened, use an egg lifter to move them.

Chocolate-nut torte

You will need:

To make
1. Grease and line a 22cm round cake tin.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa and spices, and add the fruit and nuts.

3. Heat butter, sugar and honey in a small pan, and stir until sugar dissolves. When the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add to fruit. Mix quickly until combined. Press mixture evenly into the prepared tin and flatten.

4. Bake at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the tin. Remove from tin and dust with icing sugar. Wrap whole or cut into wedges. It will keep for a month if sealed in an airtight container.

Bucket of gifts

You will need

To make
1. Remove the stems from the blooms and glue them to the side of the bucket with silicone.

2. Put pegs on newspaper and paint them very lightly – the brush should be semidry. Leave to dry. Write special messages on the pegs with felt-tipped pens in matching colours. Leave to dry and stack the pegs inside the bucket.

3. Make linen water by adding a few drops of aromatic essential oil to a small quantity of mineral water. Decant into one glass bottle and fill the other with luxury hand cream. Make labels either by hand or on a computer, and glue to the bottles. Keep the labels simple yet striking.

4. Print or write the words 'Happy Mother's Day' on a card, cut out and clip to the bucket with a peg.