Increasingly, 3-D technology is a part of our everyday lives. If your family has ever watched a 3-D movie, you’ve seen objects seemingly float off the screen, and 3-D printers are now making body parts and car parts.

Enjoy creative time together wishing mom, grandmother, a special aunt or friend a happy Mother’s Day on May 14, with this playful 3-D greeting. Adding the third dimension of depth to a usually “flat” craft project is a no-tech entrance for kids into the 3-D world using the simplest of household basics: corrugated cardboard from an empty box, scissors, paint and markers. The unique greeting uses a clever construction technique where the kids assemble two identical interlocking pieces they’ve designed themselves to give the creation another exciting dimension.

Get started by making a 3-D flower bloom or shrub in three easy steps. Use the same steps to make other objects, if you prefer.

1. On a piece of cardboard from a box approximately 7 inches by 10 inches, sketch a simple flower bloom, shrub or cactus shape growing out of a clay pot. (For extra fun in making the shrub/cactus design, have your child wear a mitten and place her hand on the cardboard. Trace around the mitten to create the shrub/cactus shape.)

2. Cut out the drawing. (An adult may have to help with this step.)

3. Trace the original cutout shape onto another piece of cardboard and cut out the second shape. Color with markers or paint both sides of each cutout, making them look as similar as possible.

4. Mark the center point on the surface of each cutout. On one piece, cut a 1/8-inch slit (or as wide as the thickness of the cardboard) starting at the top of the object and going down to that mark. On the other, cut a slit from the bottom of the flowerpot going up. Slide one piece onto the other.

5. Write a “Happy Mother’s Day” message directly on the 3-D greeting, such as “My love for you grows and grows.” Place on a “breakfast in bed” tray or at the table on her day. If your child is making and sending one in the mail to another family member or friend, add a little note telling the recipient to slide one piece into the other for the 3-D greeting.

***

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2017 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Syndicate