A gift idea for Mother's Day

Nearly everyone likes to receive gifts from others. But making a gift and giving it to someone is nicer yet. Here's how to make a paperweight gift. Making anything by hand takes time and planning. You must assemble the materials that are needed before making the paperweight.

Start with a trip to a stream bed, beach, or a road covered with stones. Find smooth stones of different shapes. Gather several flat stones, disc- or round-shaped stones and, last, several egg-shaped ones.

Take the stones home and ask your mother or father where you can give the stones a good scrubbing. Use warm soapy water. Dry each one. Be sure to clean up the mess caused by cleaning the stones.

Find a flat surface out of everyone's way, such as a board or the basement floor, where the work can be left overnight.

Design a body resembling a person. Use two flat stones for feet, a disc- or round-shaped one for the body, and an egg-shaped one for the head. Assemble the stones in that order. Test for balance by standing the body stone on top of the foot stones.

Now a lot of patience is required. You might need help from an older person. Glue the stones together with generous amounts of epoxy glue. This type of glue is strong, so if it gets under the "feet" stones, it will glue the paperweight to the board. Be sure the glue is only between the stones. Allow the, paperweight to dry overnight.

Next, gather some darning yarn or thread to make hair. Get some all-purpose glue, such as Elmer's, a paintbrush, and a few paints.

Decide on the type of face and hair you will give the paperweight person. Perhaps you would like to make an Indian boy or girl. Use the glue to attach yarn or thread for hair. Paint a face on the head.

The paperweight is now finished. But if you want to add more details, there is no limit to the possibilities.

Scraps of cloth found around the house can be used to decorate the paperweight, as long as your mother or father says you can use them. A few small buttons can be glued on to the body. Lace glued around the neck can make it a woman paperweight. Or you can make one to look like a clown, fisherman, cat, or dog.

This paperweight should be three to four inches in height. This is a good size to set on a desk. You will get better at making these paperweights after you put a few together.