First Stop, the MOMA!
Ok, so maybe not the MOMA per say, but after only a few days of life, Ethan had completed his first piece of modern art. I failed to record the exact date, but somewhere in Ethan's first week we created his masterpiece.
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| At 9 month's Ethan's hands and feet no longer fit on the canvas. |
I admit, I stole the idea. You can buy these kits (I'll link to an example at the end of the post) where you can make these handprint sets. Great idea, although I saw a few flaws with buying the kit. First, they're a little bit pricey. Second, I wasn't thrilled with the color selection. I'll say it--they just didn't match! Lastly, I wanted to be able to have the control of the original paint so I could fix any terrible mistakes (control freak?), or could repaint the whole square and "redo" if necessary. (Luckily, I didn't need a redo)
How to
Instead, I bought the 4x4 canvases at Dick Blick online. They came in a pack of six for $6.99. The only problem is that the S&H was the same cost. UGH! Anyway, we're still saving some bucks (not only are the kits expensive, but the craft stores wanted much much more for similar canvases). I painted the squares initially before B.E. (before Ethan) using basic acrylic craft paint. After he was born, I used the same non-toxic paint and used a cotton pad (or use a cotton ball) to spread on the paint. I laid him down on an old towel and got to work. Of course, I did one limb at a time, and made sure to stamp them on quick! I had a baby wipe in hand to wipe him clean right away. I actually did both the feet at one time, and both hands later (his attention span for such an ordeal was quite short!) After the squares were dried, I touched them up. I painted over smears with the background paint (again why I wanted to paint them myself!). I also went in with a very fine dry brush and actually touched up in the feet with both the off-white and the background paints. I was very careful not to paint over the skin crevices, only to touch up smears, or to fill in places where the paint was too light. Of course, they're not without flaw, but that's part of their charm.
Anyway, I think they're a great way to capture Ethan, and of course, could be done at any time in a child's life (they'd also make a great gift!). They look super cute in his room too, don't you think?
