Monday, June 17, 2013

Handprint art gift idea for "Hands Down Best..." (Free Printables)

Okay so I'm a little behind here...so stash this adorable DIY Father's Day gift idea away for next year - and by that I mean "PIN IT" now and do it later.   This gift is definitely last minute do-able.  Heck, I ran to Walmart on Friday at about 10:30 to get all the supplies and we had it done and ready for daddy by noon.  So here's what you'll need:
  • Wood Board
  • Metal Clips
  • Fast Drying Spray Stain
  • White Acrylic Craft Paint
  • High Gloss Sealer (optional0
  • Computer/Printer
Start by staining the wood board.  If you have time, it's much cheaper to use regular rub on stain, but for last minute people, like myself, this fast drying spray on stain will do the trick.   This was actually the first time I used spray on stain.  I liked it for its ease and fast drying, but it's pretty expensive for a small bottle that won't last you too long.


Follow the directions on the stain and rub off the excess after a minute or two.  I then let it dry for about 15 minutes before spraying on a second coat to make the finish a little darker. 

A few minutes after letting that coat dry I painted my kids' hands with the white paint and pressed them onto one side of the board. I only did one hand of each child due to space, but you can do both if you prefer.
After the sign was completely dry I sealed it with clear acrylic sealer to give it a high gloss finish. 

While that was drying, I printed out the sign which I created in Powerpoint.  As I previously described, printing white text isn't exactly straight forward so you can see my easy tutorial on how to print white text on black paper (or any background) here. 

The last step was to glue on the clip.  If you're going with the "Hands Down Best ___" sign, be sure to glue on the clip so the hand prints will be upside down.  I just used a little super glue to attach it to the board.

This gift would also work make a great end of the year teacher gift or for mom for Mother's Day or the grandparents as a Grandparent's Day gift.
I've created the "Hands Down Best...." (mom, dad, teacher, mommom, poppop, grandma etc) as a set of FREE printables so you can easily print them out.  Click the link below to find the printable you'd like to download and print.

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