Handprint Canvas Tutorial

We've been looking for some simple and affordable ways to make this rental apartment look and feel a little more like our home so when I found canvases on sale for 50% off, I bought a bunch. I wasn't sure exactly what I'd do with them since I'm not much of a painter, but they were so cheap, it wouldn't really matter so much if I made mistakes on them.

When I was in kindergarten, we made little handprints by pressing our hands into a plate of drying plaster. I thought I'd do the same except with paint - home decor and keepsake all in one!

Handprint Canvas

You'll need:
- a small canvas (mine was 8"x8")
- acrylic paint (1 colour for your background, one for the handprint)
- black permanent marker (optional, for writing child's name and date/age)
- paint brush

Directions:
1. Paint the entire canvas with the background colour and let it dry. We covered our work surface to catch the drips!


2. When the canvas is dry, then comes the fun (read: messy) bit. Paint your child's hand with the handprint colour. We watered the paint down a little so it wouldn't dry too quickly and we laid on a generous amount of paint. Not too much, though, or you might end up with a big blob instead of a handprint.


3. Have the child press their hand down on the canvas. I went and individually pressed down each finger, just to be sure it would show up.


4. Let the print dry.


5. Then take your permanent market and write the child's name.


Tada!