Put Your “Print” on Mother’s Day

Make a Mother’s Day Handprint Craft

There is just something special about a child’s tiny handprint that mothers and grandmothers alike will treasure for years to come. And Mother’s Day is the perfect time to give such a precious gift!

The great thing about making a handprint craft is that it won’t cost you much at all, but will be worth more than anything you could have ever purchased at the store. This Mother’s Day take a little time with your child to make a beautiful handprint craft to give to that special mother in your life!

Here is one of my favorite handprint crafts I did with my little girl’s hand when she was a baby. This could easily be made into a “flower garden” if you have more than one child to work with.

Materials:

Acrylic or Tempera paint
Cardstock paper
Wooden picture frame with matting (this one was $3 at a local superstore)

How It’s Done:

Using a paintbrush, thoroughly cover your child’s palm and fingers with your favorite shade of paint. I like a mauve color for girls, and a deep purple or pretty blue for boys.

If your child is an active toddler, it helps to put them in a highchair with a bib covering their clothing to keep them still and clean until you are done. You may need a helper to keep the child’s other hand from getting in the way while you work.

Position the handprint toward the top of the paper, not the middle. It may take a few tries before you get a good print, so be patient about it. Press your child’s painted hand palm-first onto the paper, then gently roll their hand down so that all of their fingers are flat on the paper at the same time. Then quickly lift the hand straight up so as not to smear the paint.

Once you have a good print, and it has dried thoroughly (which won’t take long as the paper will absorb it very quickly), you are ready to paint the stem.

Using a #12 flat paint brush, double-load the brush with dark green and yellow paint. To do this, dip one corner of the paintbrush’s bristles into the green paint, and the other corner in yellow paint. What you will end up with is a paintbrush with green on one side and yellow on the other. Stroke the brush on a plastic plate or something to get the paint incorporated into the bristles well, and the colors blended before moving on.

With the paintbrush straight up on the tip of its bristles, paint a line straight from the handprint down, creating a nice stem.

Double-load your brush again, and use one gentle stroke to create the leaves. Press firmly down on the brush to create the fat base of the leaf, then lift as you go to create the thin point at the end. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just as long as it looks like a basic leaf.

Once the paint is all dried, center your beautiful masterpiece in the middle of a matted frame, step back, and admire your work! You may even be tempted to make another to keep for yourself!