handprints on my wall…

Okay, handprints on your wall…annoying! But these…totally cute!

I’m a Becky Higgins’ Blog follower and last year she posted this amazing idea…handprints on canvas! I loved it.

I spent some time being sad that J was already 7 and I had missed all those cute handprints…and that T was 4…and that S was nearly 1 and I had missed his newborn print. But then I snapped out of it and realized that I could pout…or I could start the new tradition!

New tradition it was!

The colors are based on the kiddos favorites right at that moment. Hence the hideous orange and green of 7 year old J. That will be precious at some point, right? Of course, S didn’t choose his color at 1…but he did at 2.

In fact, for Sam’s birthday celebration this year we invited a few pals over for a simple cupcake playdate. I had canvases for all the kiddos and we spent a few minutes doing handprint canvases for them too! The kids loved it and I think the mamas went home with a new idea in their heads too!

Right now they are hanging on a wall in my dining room…it was blank so that’s where they went. T man likes to hang up his artwork there too. For now, I’m fine with that. When I get my guest room converted to a scrap room (hopefully in the next few months!) I think I’m going to take the handprints and put them on a wall there. Much more appropriate in a craft room.

Oh! I forgot to mention that when I’m doing this, I also make sure to do a print on paper. I add them to a year in review layout for the boys and sometimes scan it in if the colors don’t match my layout…like here:

Now, are you thinking…’what in the world is she going to do with 10+ years worth of handprint canvases x three kids’? Honestly, I don’t know. I like the idea right now so I’m going with it. Will they always be displayed in my house…maybe, maybe not. That’s one of the reasons I put them on layouts too. If for some reason they get damaged, or packed away or *gasp* thrown away…I’ll still have their little handprints documented…and that’s the point anyway.