When you start having children you begin to find ways to create keepsakes and memories of when they were little. You keep their ID bracelet from the hospital, the first picture they ever drew for you, their first pair of shoes, and other things to place in your hope chest. When they go to school they get to use finger paints to make pictures and they bring home things such as a Thanksgiving turkey made out of their handprint. They can do the same thing at home but instead of using paper let them make their handprints on aprons, pillow cases, or kitchen towels and oven mitts. These make wonderful gifts for parents or grandparents who will treasure them and they are very easy gifts to make.

First, you will need solid colored kitchen towels, different colored fabric paint, paper plates, and a fabric pen. Do not use a kitchen towel with stripes or other patterns because the handprint will not show up as well as it will on a solid color. You will also want to use dark colored fabric paint to go on white or light colored kitchen towels and light colored fabric paint to go on dark colored kitchen towels so that the handprints will be easier to see. The same is true for the fabric pen.

You are going to need a work area such as the kitchen table to do this project. Make sure that the table is clean and dry before beginning your project. Lay the kitchen towels flat on the work area and smooth out any creases or folds. Fill the paper plates each with a different color of fabric paint. Place your hand in the paint and move it around until the entire hand is covered with paint. Press your painted hand firmly on the kitchen towel to create your handprint. Repeat this step until the entire towel is covered with handprints.

Once you are finished with the paint, thoroughly wash and dry your hand before completing your project. Using the fabric pen you can now write your name underneath your handprint. At the bottom of the kitchen towel it might be nice to use the fabric pen and write the date the handprint towel was created. Discard any unused fabric paint and thoroughly clean off your work area. You will need to allow one to two days for your handprint kitchen towel to completely dry before using it.

Of note, before beginning this project you will want to make sure that you are not wearing any good items of clothing and take a chance of spilling or dripping paint on your clothes. Also, this project can be done using your footprint as well as your handprint.

Jonathan Pitts

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