Family Tree Hand Prints (Part1)

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great night...be it if you got to bed early or was able to see the clock strike Midnight.  Both our girls actually stayed up.  :-)

Last year, our family started a New Year's Day tradition of creating a Family Tree using our hand prints.   We thought what a neat way to capture our little ones hands and see them grow throughout the year.

Materials You Will Need:

1)  Canvas Board

Last year, I bought mine on sale at Aaron Brothers.  It came in a pack of 3.

2)  Acrylic Paints

In the picture above, there is a lot of paint but you don't need this much paint.  Last year, we had a different color per person.  The picture came out colorful but didn't really match the living room.  So this year, I chose the same color (green to match our living room where it will be hanging again) but in different hues.  My husband had the darkest green, and then it went lighter as the person got younger.  ;-) I think I got this year's paints at Michael's.  They are just the small all-purpose acrylic paints that are about $0.99/bottle.  So chose whichever colors you like, but don't forget brown for the tree and a color for the year.

3)  Sponge Paint Brushes & Small Thin Brush

I just like how the sponge brushes cover the hand when being painted.  When I'm cleaning the paint out of the brush, I also use it to sponge away the paint from the hand.  Dual duty.  The small thin brush is for painting the tree and year.

4)  Tree Template (optional)

I hand drew the tree on the board, but I know not everyone can do that.  So I created a tree template for you to print out and use.

All I ask is if you do use it or share it,

please direct those you shared it with to my blog.

I would really appreciate that. :-)

How to Transfer Tree onto Board:

There are 2 ways that I will be showing you.

#1 TRACE it using the template

  

1)  PRINT out the TEMPLATE (preferably onto card stock paper)

2)  CUT it out

3)  PLACE (or use tape) the cut out template ONTO the BOARD.

Center the tree, but keep it low enough so the hands can fit on top while leaving enough room to add the year at the bottom.

4)  TRACE around the tree template.

#2 RUB the tree outline onto the board

1)  PRINT out the TEMPLATE onto regular copy paper.

2)  TRACE the outline of the tree using PERMANENT MARKER so it soaks through the paper.  Don't forget to put something under the paper so it doesn't soak through onto your table.

3)  FLIP the paper over.

You should be able to see the outline of the tree that soaked through with the marker.

4)  TRACE the outline with PENCIL using a somewhat thick line.

5)  FLIP the paper BACK to the front.

6) PLACE (or use tape) the template ONTO the BOARD.

Center the tree, but keep it low enough so the hands can fit on top while leaving enough room to add the year at the bottom.

7)  Using the bottom of the marker, TRACE and RUB the outline onto the board.

Press hard and go over it more than once.  This process kind of reminds me of those fake rub on tattoos. LOL

8)  REMOVE the paper and you should be left with an outline of the tree.

Whichever method you use, paint in the tree.  Also, paint the year at the bottom.  If you are unable to hand draw the year, then use a stencil.  Try to paint the tree and year at least a day before, so it has enough time to dry.  That way the brown won't mix with the hand color.

 

After the tree and year are dry, it's time to paint the hands onto the board.  

1)  Do a Dry Run.

Have each member place their hands onto the board WITHOUT PAINT to see the right placement.  See if the left/right hand would look better.  With little kids, it's hard for them to place their hands in weird positions.  If you want a clean print, move the board not the kid.

2)  Paint the hand with paint.

I usually do one coat of paint for coverage and then a second coat to actually transfer onto the board.

3)  Place the hand onto the board.

Tell the person to have their hand open like how they'd like it on the board and then tell them "DON'T MOVE!" :-)  You will place there hands.  Once the hand is down, gently press down on all parts of the hand.

4)  Have person lift their hand straight UP.

If the print is not to you're liking, you can always fix it.  If it needs more paint, add more paint onto the hand and place it in the same spot again.  If there are holes, which happens in the middle part of the hand, you can fill it in with the paint brush. 

It doesn't have to look PERFECT!  The imperfections make it have character. :-)

Here's a color comparison from our trees from last year and this year's:

Sorry this was a longer post, but I felt it was a "Longie but Goodie."  See my future post on how to hang your Family Tree Hand Prints.

Have a Happy Day,

Arlyn

Street Cred Mama