Easy, Heartwarmin' DIY Mother's Day Cards or "Don't Touch ANYTHING with those paint-dipped mitts!!"
Oh, Mother's Day. I can only imagine the masterful plan my husband is whipping up to ensure mine is steeped in sweet stress-squelching bliss.
In the meantime, it's my job to ensure all of the mothers in our family experience the ultimate "Awwwww"-worthy experience for their own celebratory day of do-nothingness (finally!). And, since we're hundreds of miles away from our family and delivering hugs from the kids is an impossibility, I figured we'd deliver some hands.
I started with some blank cards and envelopes that I picked up from Michael's a while back. Value pack came in counts of 50. First, I thought I'd trace the kids' hands on ornate scrapbook paper, cut them out and Mod Podge them to the front of the card. HmHah. That's funny.
Have you ever tried to steady a 6-month-old's hand long enough to trace it with a pencil?
Five seconds into the job he was trying to eat the pencil and crinkle the paper between his little snausage fingers. I was able to get one decent trace job in before I abandoned the mission. I cut out the first hand and traced two additional before I realized maybe this whole idea of minimizing the mess was over-rated. For these three cards, I Mod Podged the hands to the front of the card. Mod Podge isn't great on paper. Wilts it a bit before drying as stiff as a 2x4, but all in all they ended up very cute. Next time I'd probably just glue them though.
Well that was fun. And by fun I mean way too much cutting and pasting. At this rate, I'll be here 'til next Tuesday and I have very little Sunday left before cranky gets all bundled up in the kid-pants.
Grab the paints. We're goin' in.
I would recommend using quality oil paints for this job because the paint dries in peaks so you can not only see their hand print but also feel it. I liked this effect for the far-away relatives. Felt more personal and real.
I had our daughter put her handprint down first. Waited for it to dry. Then had our son go at it.
Throw on an oversized t-shirt, dress your kid in his classiest diaper-only attire and dip his pudgy little paws in that paint. Again, keeping his hand still enough to avoid a circular blurred blooble of blue was a challenge. Some prints were better than others, but I think that's what adds that heartwarming homey feel.
I Googled "Mother's Day Card" messages and found ones that we liked for each person. We printed these and glued them to the inside of the card. Our daughter wrote personal messages on the inside.
In the meantime, it's my job to ensure all of the mothers in our family experience the ultimate "Awwwww"-worthy experience for their own celebratory day of do-nothingness (finally!). And, since we're hundreds of miles away from our family and delivering hugs from the kids is an impossibility, I figured we'd deliver some hands.
I started with some blank cards and envelopes that I picked up from Michael's a while back. Value pack came in counts of 50. First, I thought I'd trace the kids' hands on ornate scrapbook paper, cut them out and Mod Podge them to the front of the card. HmHah. That's funny.
Have you ever tried to steady a 6-month-old's hand long enough to trace it with a pencil?Five seconds into the job he was trying to eat the pencil and crinkle the paper between his little snausage fingers. I was able to get one decent trace job in before I abandoned the mission. I cut out the first hand and traced two additional before I realized maybe this whole idea of minimizing the mess was over-rated. For these three cards, I Mod Podged the hands to the front of the card. Mod Podge isn't great on paper. Wilts it a bit before drying as stiff as a 2x4, but all in all they ended up very cute. Next time I'd probably just glue them though.
Well that was fun. And by fun I mean way too much cutting and pasting. At this rate, I'll be here 'til next Tuesday and I have very little Sunday left before cranky gets all bundled up in the kid-pants.
Grab the paints. We're goin' in.
I would recommend using quality oil paints for this job because the paint dries in peaks so you can not only see their hand print but also feel it. I liked this effect for the far-away relatives. Felt more personal and real.
I had our daughter put her handprint down first. Waited for it to dry. Then had our son go at it.
Throw on an oversized t-shirt, dress your kid in his classiest diaper-only attire and dip his pudgy little paws in that paint. Again, keeping his hand still enough to avoid a circular blurred blooble of blue was a challenge. Some prints were better than others, but I think that's what adds that heartwarming homey feel.
I Googled "Mother's Day Card" messages and found ones that we liked for each person. We printed these and glued them to the inside of the card. Our daughter wrote personal messages on the inside.
All in all, happy with the end result. Happy Mother's Day "Ya'll" (When in Rome...)
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