Great Gift Ideas To Suit Anyone's Mom

Expert Offers Terrific Suggestions For Different Types Of Moms -- And Budgets

(CBS)  Mother's Day is fast-approaching, and if you haven't figured out what to give your mom yet, The Early Show has some great, imaginative ideas for you.

Lifestyle expert and event-planner Karen Bussen, author of the "Simple Stunning" series of books, visited us on Saturday with creative suggestions for different kinds of moms -- and budgets.

The items are a mix of homemade, high-tech and artistic gifts.

GREEN MOM

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY: Solio Solar chargers to recharge all of your gadgets without electricity. There are two models: Solio Classic (award-winning), $99.95, and Solio H-1000, $79.95. Put it in a cute shopping tote, so Mom can stay away from plastic bags. Make a little basket with organic products such as Origins Organics ($15-$43); Origins is an eco-friendly company. But you can also make your own Homemade Aromatherapy Bath Scrub.

CULINARY MOM

EASY KITCHEN HERB GARDEN: This simple project helps Mom make dinner more delicious all summer long! Buy her favorite cooking herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, and basil, for example, all together in the same pot) and plant them in one beautiful pot with a pair of scissors and labels.

COOKING SOFTWARE: Voted the No. 1cooking software -- MasterCook Deluxe Valusoft, $20

SPORTY MOM

CUSTOMIZE HER WORK OUT: An iPod Shuffle, $49 -- the perfect workout accessory: light, easy to clip on, and budget-friendly. Personalize it by pre-programming all her favorite workout songs; make play lists for stretching, yoga, cardio, etc. Add a quick drawstring bag for her dirty gym clothes and use a colorful plastic bag holder for her dirty sneakers.

LITERARY MOM

HIGH TECH AND HOMEMADE: The Paperless Paperback, by Hammacher Schlemmer ($299). It's an electronic book device that enables her to read any book, anywhere, anytime, plus magazines and other periodicals. And it reads like a book, not a computer screen! Personalize it by downloading a book she'd love to read. Put it in a cute tote bag, and you're all set!

ARTISTIC MOM

EASY MASTERPIECE: To create a beautiful Andy Warhol-style painting, all you need is a photograph -- it doesn't have to be perfect -- and upload it on photofiddle.com, and you'll get it by mail for $74.95. They even send you a sample preview before you pay. You have until Tuesday to order for Mother's Day. You can do it on paper or canvas, and the results are amazing. To see Bussen's, go to http://photofiddle.com/view_for_friend.php?num=568470&str=VWZ1A4UI5ULONK302T2A3823V21YO8QE.

SIMPLE AND ARTSY FLOWERS - You don't have to be artistic to come up with a great-looking flower arrangement. You can use vases packed with one kind of flower for a beautiful effect.

[jdroberts9]

Thank you for your Mother''s Day story on different types of moms. I hope that close to Father''s Day you will have a similar story on different types of dads: Green Dad, Culinary Dad, Sporty Dad, Literary Dad, Artistic Dad (the "mom categories" you listed), and others. To try to place all dads -- all of them with potential for being good or bad parents -- into one category doesn''t work for us any more than it works for mothers.

[timee7]

Thanks for the great story. I created my own art on the site http://photofiddle.com/ you recommended. I didn''t realized that I can make an only painting and a bunch of other styles. Mom will love this gift.