30 of the Best Upcycled Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy

Mother’s Day is a tough time for me as I lost my mother when I was young, so I would normally not feel like I had the authority to write about Mother’s Day or Mother’s Day Gifts at all.

But now I am a Mother myself and although the day is still tinged with a lot of sadness for me it is slowly taking on a new meaning.

I know when my boys are old enough to think about getting me gifts for Mother’s Day, I would really like them to make those gifts thoughtful and sentimental rather than expensive or predictable.

So this Upcycle My Stuff guide to our take on The Best Upcycled Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy is all about trying to help you find a heartfelt and personal gift for you to give to your Mother this year.

If you’ve followed the blog at all you’ll have noticed we are fans of Etsy and particularly the small upcycled businesses that sell on Etsy. It’s a great platform for seeking out those small heart-centred businesses doing something that really chimes with your values.

Many of you will want to make a Mother’s Day Gift this year, and of course, we are all for that as well. A great place to start would be our post 10 DIY Personalised Gifts You Can Make Yourself.

However, we know life gets busy, and that with the best of intentions, it can be hard to make every gift you give.

So if you need a bit of help this Mother’s Day we hope you will find this guide useful and that you can achieve two things with your purchase: 1) Making your mother feel loved and cherished; and 2) helping a small upcycling business grow and flourish with your purchase.

What’s in the Guide

• Jewellery
• Home Decor
• Bags
• Experiences
• Tokens of Love

Most of the items in this guide are one of a kind upcycled pieces. This means that if you click through to the listing to purchase you may find it has already sold.

If this is the case I would encourage you to click through from the listing to the seller’s store page where you will likely find many similar items.

It’s also worth favouriting the sellers that catch your eye so you can come back to them in future to see what their latest offerings are.

Upcycled Jewellery Gifts For Mother’s Day

Every Mother is a woman and women love receiving jewellery as gifts. But you don’t have to buy a mass-produced necklace that says “Mom” to convey how grateful you are for all she’s done for you.

Take this opportunity to find a special and unique piece that reflects her personality and all the little quirks about her that make her your Mother and no one else’s (….well except your siblings of course!).

Hammered in Yarkshire have been featured on our gift guides before. They make unique upcycled jewellery.

IPLI Handmade offer a range of gifts in their Etsy Shop but their range of upcycled newspaper earrings are what really caught our eye. Would your Mother appreciate them?

These super creative upcycled earrings are courtesy of Coffee Pod Creations. Their Etsy shop is full of upcycled coffee pod jewellery from necklaces to brooches, dangly earrings like these, and stud earrings. Is your Mother a coffee lover?

Laura Zabo is another jewellery maker we’ve featured before. Apart from the novelty of using upcycled inner tubes to make her jewellery, her pieces are also just ultra creative and statement-making. Does your Mother like to get noticed?

Funky Types is a super original Etsy Shop selling jewellery made from repurposed antique typewriter keys and organ stops.

They have much simpler pieces with single keys if your Mother is a bit more understated – but what a unique find this necklace is for the right sewing mad mama!

Here is a slightly more understated pick with some classic style for a vintage loving Mother. This is a broken china necklace from Rocky Stiers Jewelery. Broken China Jewellery is always beautiful but something about this floral red and white piece seems to whisper ‘I love you Mum’.

Is your Mother a little rough around the edges? She might appreciate this upcycled broken ceramic necklace by Rachel Restores Retro. For the Mother who would take a bullet for you…and also give you a bear hug like no one else.

Show her how woven in to your heart she is with one of these sweet upcycled textile brooches by Louise Dawson Design. Speaking personally, my heart would melt if one of my boys gave me one of these.

What stories did your Mother read you as a child? If it was Peter Rabbit then these sweet upcycled Robin brooches made from illustrations from the story could be the personal and nostalgic gift you’ve been looking for.

The Library Jewellery Box also have similar items with upcycled images from Matilda and Winnie the Pooh as well as other images from Beatrix Potter’s stories.

There is a cute saying: “Mothers are like Buttons – they hold everything together.” These upcycled vintage button bracelets from Cinnamon and Silver are the perfect way to express this to your Mother.

This is a really sentimental gift idea to make her well up and bubble over. You can have Marang Studios upcycle a piece of meaningful clothing into a bracelet she can wear with her wherever she goes.

From a piece of your baby clothing to your Dads flannel shirt or another item of clothing that holds a special memory for you both. She will 100% know you took the time to think about her and get her something special.

Home Decor Mother’s Day Gifts

Even if you live far away, you can make her feel cuddled with these oh so cute mantle ornaments made of reclaimed wood by Wooden Works of Heart.

You should of course be getting your Mother some flowers on Mother’s Day…but this year make them some wildflowers you picked yourself and give her something like these darling upcycled lightbulb hanging flower display vases to put them in. These ones are from Uniques Co.

No one is saying you can’t buy your Mom another bottle of Gin for Mother’s Day this year…but if you think she’s been indulging a bit too often of late, what about giving her an upcycled Boozy Light instead of the real thing? She won’t notice until you left that she didn’t actually get a drink!

So how quirky is your Mom? Would she appreciate some upcycled gold-painted hands as a shelf?

These would work great by the door as a key holder and a talking point – especially if she does a lot of entertaining.

She’ll love the bragging rights that her children bought it for her as well. These are from Thrifty’s Retro. Their Etsy Shop page is worth a browse too for other truly one of a kind pieces.

If the seaside holds childhood memories for you and your Mother, she might appreciate this mirror from The Driftwood Gallery made of upcycled fishing nets inspired by the shape of Lulworth Cove in Dorset. You can even have it personalised with a message on the back.

Feeling guilty for how often your Mother had to remind you to brush your teeth as a child? Get her this abstract piece of wall art made from upcycled rejected toothbrush handles from A Quarter Past Eight. One of a kind art and a subtle apology at the same time!

Are you ready to get really sentimental? You can have a cushion, a quilt or even a piece of wall art made out of your old baby clothes to gift to your Mother (you just need to sneak them out of her attic when she’s not around first!). This cushion is an example from Blue Sky Bubble Atelier.

Upcycled Bags as Mother’s Day Gifts

If you follow our upcycling inspiration posts you may have seen us link to the Sum of their Stories blog several times. Did you know they also have an Etsy Shop?

We found this lovely upcycled vintage print tote bag that would make a lovely Mother’s Day Gift for the right lady.

Is your Mother a Yoga-fanatic? If that sounds like your Mum have a look at this upcycled denim Yoga Mat Bag by Love Denim by Sarah. It even has a handy pocket for her mobile phone!

Not sure if you got the memo, but the belt bag (you may be more familiar with referring to this as a bum bag!) is back in fashion. If your Mother never got the memo that they went out of fashion, then now is your chance to admit she was right – everything comes back around again!

This uber-fashionable belt bag is from Bookmark Arty Partisan and is made from upcycled tractor and bike inner tubing and eco fur.

If your Mother leans towards a more classic style she might appreciate one of Olley & Farmer Store’s upcycled handbags made from reclaimed Harris Tweed and Waxed Cotton Jackets. No two are alike, so you can tell her you bought something one of a kind because she is one of a kind.

This upcycled clutch bag is funky and modern while also being timelessly sophisticated. Let your Mother know she’s still ‘got it’ – by which of course we mean, style, grace and poise – with an ethically made and up to date clutch she can dress up or down. This bag is from The Slow Lanes and they have another one of a kind upcycled clutches in similar shapes as well.

Upcycling Experience Gifts on Etsy

Experience-based gifts are great ideas, especially for eco-conscious Mamas. If you’ve already taken her out to afternoon tea multiple times it might be time to gift her the experience of learning something new – like learning how to update old furniture, learning to sew, or making mosaic art from broken ceramics.

Clearly experience gifts like workshops are very localised but did you know many small businesses running workshops like these sell gift vouchers directly on Etsy? So you can buy an experience like this even if you don’t live in the same town as your Mother.

The Revamp Boutique 6 in London run furniture painting workshops (as do many of the members of our Business Directory) and you can buy a gift certificate for one of their workshops straight from Etsy. (2021 Update: you’ll need to check with these workshop providers but some may be running their workshops online).

Muck N Brass also run furniture upcycling workshops in London, theirs includes refreshments and an end table supplied for upcycling in a quirky and funky setting.

You can book your Mother a place through Muck N Brass’s Etsy shop. P.S. – if you’ve never heard of Muck N Brass you need to click through to their shop and have a look at what they are selling under the strap line of ‘luxecycling’….or just look in the dictionary under kitsch-fabulous and you’ll likely find them there too!

Fancy Tat Crafts run a Glass Bottle Cutting for Beginners Workshop where your Mother could learn to cut wine, beer and other types of glass bottles to make vases, candle holders and even lights.

Dansereau Co runs doll sewing workshops. The physical workshops (when they are running) are in Montreal, Canada, but don’t worry if you aren’t local. They also sell PDF patterns, kits and printed patterns that would make great gifts if you think your Mother is ready to embark on a new hobby of making dolls for all her grandchildren!

Mother’s Day Gifts – Tokens of Love

Not all gifts need to be big gestures – sometimes a simple token of love means the most.

A simple thank you might be all she really wants to hear. This upcycled gift card/artwork by Boo Lou Lewe is a very budget friendly way to say Thank You in style.

This upcycled key ring made from an antique piano key is a lovely little token of love gift for a Mother who taught you to play the piano or even just filled your house with music as a child. This key ring and other similar items are from Wantable Design’s Etsy Shop.

These sweet upcycled mosaic hearts are actually fridge magnets. A cute everyday reminder of how much you love your Mum! Check out Artipoque’s Etsy shop for more mosaic gift ideas too.

We hope you’ve found some inspiration in our take on the Best Upcycled Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy and that you and your Mother have a lovely time this Mother’s Day. You are both luckier than you know to have each other!

Check out even more Etsy Mother’s Day Gift Ideas in this Editor’s Pick Guide from the folk at Etsy.

If you liked our Guide to the Best Upcycled Mother’s Day Gifts on Etsy, Pin it for later!

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