Mothers Day is coming up, and what makes Mom feel more appreciated than a handmade card or trinket expressing love and gratitude? Exactly. Thats why we decided to show you how you can use the Bobs products that are already in your pantry to make a one-of-a-kind masterpiece just for Mom. Grains and beans are so perfect for creating art because each has its own unique shape, size, and texture. Did you know that buckwheat is shaped like a pyramid? Wild rice is great for outlines because its long, dark, and thin. Black-and-white speckled orca beans make great cows in a farm scene. Use red lentils for bright flower petals. Mung beans, green peas, and petite French green lentils create a spectrum of greens great for grasses and flower stems. Lima beans are large enough that you can color on them with permanent markers for extraordinary detail. Really, the possibilities are endless! So, lets get started.
What you need:
- A colorful assortment of dried grains and beans (I stocked up at the Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store bulk section!)
- Parchment paper or newspaper to cover your working area
- Canvas: a piece of cardboard, foam board, canvas, or wood strong enough to hold your masterpiece--I used wood from the woodburning section of a craft store
- Elmers Glue
- Cotton swabs, toothpicks, and tweezers for detail work
- Patiencethis is optional, depending on how detailed you like your art and the age of your kids.
Have your supplies ready?

You or your kids may choose to do a simpler or more complex design. If youre going more complex, sketch out your design on your canvas with a pencil before you begin, as I did above. That way you can be sure you like the layout before committing with glue!
Need some design motivation? A Google search for flowers, hearts, the word Mom, and simple landscapes should help! For me, Ive been really into hand-lettering lately, so I decided to take what Im learning and make it with grains!

If youre aiming for precision with your placement:
- Gluejust one type of grain at a time and let it set before you start your next type of grain.
- Don't try to put glue down for a single type of grain all at once, since it will dry before you can finish placing your grains. Instead, just work on one small section at a time, then add glue with the bottle, a cotton swab, or a toothpick when youre ready to move on to the next section.
- For detail work, I used tweezers to place the wild rice and then a toothpick to push the rice from the tweezers. Worked well for me!
Notes about Elmer's Glue to keep in mind:
- Itis wonderfully forgiving! Because it takes several minutes to dry, you have plenty of time to adjust your grains and beans if you arent loving the way they are placed at first.
- For particularly challenging placements, you can place the grain or bean approximately how you like it, then wait while the glue mostly sets but still has some give--you can then place it exactly how you want, and partially set glue will keep it in place!
- Dont forget that Elmers dries clear! I had a couple of oh my goodness moments when things got a little messy, but once the glue dried the mistakes are literally invisible!
To cover larger areas without a pattern, lay down alayer of glue (the thicker/heavier the grain or bean, the thicker the layer of glue), then sprinkle the grain or bean over the entire area. Let the grain set in the glue a couple of minutes before tipping the canvas to knock excess grain off. Once the excess grain has fallen, you can then adjust any grains that arent placed how youd like them before they dry.
Here's a step-by-step of one design that uses petite French green lentils, red lentils, mung beans, yellow split peas, lima beans, green split peas, and blue cornmeal.

To recreate the Mom with heart design above, yourself:
- Wild rice (lettering)
- Amaranth (lettering outline)
- Adzuki beans (heart outline)
- Red quinoa (heart fill)
- Mung beans (frame)
- Arborio rice (background)
1. Sketch out Mom in pencil in the writing style of your choice. I did a brush lettering style. For the areas only 1 grain of rice wide, I squeezed a small puddle of glue onto my protective parchment paper, and then used a toothpick to put the glue just where I wanted the rice. I used the tweezer/toothpick tactic mentioned above to make sure each grain was just where I wanted it. For the areas that are three grains of rice thick, I used a cotton swab to place the glue, then I placed the rice by hand and could roll it into place if I wasnt happy with its initial placement. Let dry.
2. Carefully outline the letters using the tip of the glue bottle. I did one letter at a time to make sure I wasnt rushing. Then sprinkle amaranth grain on the fresh glue outline. Let set for a couple of minutes. Then tilt the canvas in all directions to remove excess grain. Use a toothpick to push grains into place if they got a little wonky. Let dry.
3. Sketch the heart in pencil. Use the bottle of glue to squeeze along your outline. Place adzuki beans. Let dry.
4. Put glue directly on the canvas in the areas to fill in the heart. Use a cotton swab for best coverage. Sprinkle red quinoa over wet glue and allow to mostly dry. Then tilt to remove excess quinoa and use a toothpick to detail.
5. Outline the canvas with glue and place mung beans as you did the adzuki beans. Repeat for second row of mung beans. Let dry.
6. Fill in all bare spots of the canvas with glue, using a cotton swab for best coverage. Sprinkle arborio rice to cover and proceed as you did in the quinoa step.
Feeling inspired? Show us
your grain and bean art! Share on Instagram and use #bobsredmill.
Happy Mothers Day!