diy art project: little hands and feet paintings

interested in a fun and easy art project that makes a *fabulous* gift and preserves the memory of your little ones tiny feet and hands too? i just made these for my hubby's birthday and they turned out sooooooo cute!

supplies:


4 canvas' 10x10 (i bought two of these packs of 6 and am saving the remaining 4 for another project...or maybe the same one for grandma & grandpa.)

2 colors of acrylic paints (nothing fancy, just go find colors you like at michaels).

lots of patience :-)

directions:

take your two colors of contrasting paints and paint a solid coat (or two) onto your canvases. paint two of the canvases one color and the other two the remaining color. (this step can be done days before adding the hand & feet prints).

once dry, here comes the fun part......i figured out that the best way to complete this part of the project was with the kiddos in the bathtub and ready to be scrubbed down as soon as we were finished. (this part will also be easier if you have another adult there to assist you). simply squirt out a bunch of each color of paints onto separate paper plates. with a paint brush (i used one of the foam ones), paint one of your child's hands and press it onto 2 different canvases of the same color. (you can also take this opportunity to paint each hand separately and make one print onto each canvas, it is up to you.) from experience, i have learned that using the paintbrush to apply paint to the hands and feet makes a much cleaner print than simply dipping the hand or foot into the paint.

once you have the hand prints done, switch colors and paint the feet making one single footprint onto one of the canvases and multiple walking feet on the other canvas.

after the handprints were done, i painted my own hands and printed them near my little ones. :-)

you may want to test the contrast of the colors before you add the hands and feet prints. although the grey and green (see below) looked like a strong enough contrast when wet, you can see that it is harder to see than the tan and chocolate brown.

be sure to write the name of your child and the date on the back.

here are the finished products:

the finished product hanging in our playroom! (ignore the one on the far left that is hanging too low.....i need to fix it!)

i am happy with the results. what do you think?

let us know if you make these on your own and send us a photo of the finished products!

enjoy!