Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 9
Mother's Day gifts to make with a 3D printer
Your mom does not need another candle from a shop: pour her one shaped like the thing she loves, or put the grandkids in a photo that glows on her windowsill.
Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 9
Your mom does not need another candle from a shop: pour her one shaped like the thing she loves, or put the grandkids in a photo that glows on her windowsill.
Make it yourself
Each idea opens the tool that makes it, with a ready design to start from where there is one.
For the mom with the cat calendar. A rigid two-part mold, poured in an evening.
Open the Rigid box mold tool Ready-made: Chonky cat candle moldFor her windowsill: the photo appears when the light comes through it.
Open the Photo lithophane toolFor the mantelpiece: the photo wraps round the candle and glows when it is lit.
Open the Photo candle toolFor the herbs she grows anyway. Concrete wants a day in the mold, so start this one early.
Open the Silicone mold maker tool Ready-made: Ripple concrete planter moldFor her keys, printed in black, white and red with one nozzle.
Open the I love you keychain tool Ready-made: I love Mom keychainFor the soap dish she keeps for guests: a raised sprig on every bar.
Open the Tray mold tool Ready-made: Botanical soap bar tray moldFor her rings and earrings, cast in Jesmonite or concrete.
Open the Tray mold tool Ready-made: Ring holder dish moldFor a mom with a sense of humour: one photo of her becomes a 3D head that holds a plant.
Open the Head generator tool17 designs · print times from 32 min
An "I heart MOM" keychain in black, white and red. A Mother's Day gift you print in an evening.
Candle wax
An absolute unit: a round, content cat candle with its tail wrapped round its paws, from a rigid two-part print.
Concrete
A ring-stack planter, 85 mm tall with five soft ripples, to cast in concrete. A silicone mold kit from printed parts.
Candle wax
An 82 mm lotus flower candle, four rings of petals round a closed bud, as a silicone mold from a printed shell.
Soap
Four oval soap bars with a raised botanical sprig on top, poured into a printed tray.
Concrete
A round ring dish with a ring cone in the middle, cast in one piece in Jesmonite or concrete. From a silicone mold you make yourself.
Candle wax
A puffy heart candle, 80 mm wide: plump and rounded front and back, standing on a flat cut through its point. A rigid two-part print.
Concrete
A hexagon planter, 90 mm across the flats, to cast in concrete with even 8 mm walls. A silicone mold kit from printed parts.
Concrete
A 120 mm succulent bowl to cast in concrete, with a rounded rim and a drainage hole. A silicone mold kit from printed parts.
Concrete
A 100 mm scalloped trinket dish to cast in concrete or Jesmonite, as a silicone mold from printed parts.
Soap
Three lavender sprigs over LAVENDER, in a ring: a deep 56 mm stamp for lavender soap and bath bars.
Clay
A two-piece plaster mold for slip casting a 115 mm bud vase: round bulb, long neck, rolled lip.
Concrete
Four mini concrete succulent pots, oval, round, hexagon and square, each with a drainage hole, cast straight in one printed tray.
Resin
A heart ring dish for resin, Jesmonite or concrete. Two per pour, from a silicone tray you make yourself.
Candle wax
Four scented wax sachets with a raised frame and a hanging hole, from one printed tray.
Plaster
Six leaf-shaped aroma stones in plaster, from one printed tray. Drip oil on, let it scent the room.
Candle wax
Nine daisy wax melts with a domed centre and a groove down every petal.
Timing
Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 9, 2027. Start by Thursday, April 29 and every step below fits, with a spare evening for a second pour.
Short on time? These are printed and done the same day: The grandkids in a lithophane, An "I love Mom" keychain, Her own face as a planter.
From under an hour for a cookie cutter to overnight for a palm-sized mold.
Only if the design is a silicone mold kit. Pour it once and let it cure: 4 to 24 hours.
Wax cools right through in 4 to 6 hours. Plaster opens in 30 to 60 minutes and dries in a day or two. Concrete wants at least 24 hours in the mold.
Paint, seal, scent or pack it, and keep one spare evening for a second pour.
Questions
In the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Brazil, Mother's Day 2027 is on Sunday, May 9. The UK (Mothering Sunday): Sunday, March 7. Spain and Portugal: Sunday, May 2. Mexico: Monday, May 10. France: Sunday, May 30. Argentina: Sunday, October 17.
Start with something you print and give as it is: an "I love Mom" keychain, a photo lithophane or a name sign. The next step up is a candle from a rigid box mold: clamp the two halves, pour, and let it cool for 4 to 6 hours.
Yes, if you have a 3D model of it: scan the object with a free phone app, or find a model on Printables or Thingiverse. Drop it into the free silicone mold maker, pour the silicone once, and cast as many candles as you like.
Print the mold parts, pour the silicone and let it cure (4 to 24 hours), then cast the concrete and leave it at least 24 hours before you demold. Give it a few more days before it holds soil and water, so start two weeks ahead.
Upload the photo to the free photo candle tool. It wraps the picture round a candle as a relief that glows when the candle is lit, then hands the master to the rigid box mold so you can print the mold and pour it.
