Mother’s Day Handprint Keepsake

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 Make an adorable and lasting keepsake of your children’s hands when they’re small for all the mommas in your life!

Before my daughter was born, I loved looking at pictures of baby nurseries. One thing I noticed in many of the nurseries was the trend of hanging a newborn’s handprint on the wall. The prints were always adorable and showed each individual finger perfectly imprinted into the dough. “That’s adorable!” I thought to myself as I looked through them. “When my baby is born I am SO going to do that.” And when she was born I found some dough recipe on pinterest. And I tried. And I failed.

The dough recipe I found at the time wasn’t right, and came out far too dry. My infant daughter decided it would be fun to grab at the dough instead of letting me press her fingers into it. So what we got was a crumbly mess of a ball which I’m pretty sure I still have saved in the attic somewhere, because you know, memories.

While seeking a recipe recently for salt dough to be used in my son’s science project, I came across Meaghan’s post for Salt Dough Ornaments. For the science project we combined 1 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup warm water as her recipe recommended. His project turned out great, and we also found the consistency of the dough was absolutely perfect for a handprint. Even though my daughter was no longer a newborn, I knew I needed to give a handprint keepsake another go. Dads out there take note, this is a perfect mother’s day keepsake for you to make with the kiddos! Moms out there take note, there’s no reason you can’t spearhead the making of your own mother’s day gift.

1) Combine 1 cup salt and 1 cup flour. Stir 1/2 cup warm water in slowly. When combined, should be about the consistency of play dough. Add a little more water if dry, or a little more flour if wet.

2) Once combined roll a ball and flatten until about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Press your child’s hand into the center. If you are working with a newborn I HIGHLY suggest springing for a footprint rather than a handprint, as my previous experience has taught me that newborns aren’t too eager to have their hands pressed flat. Don’t worry if you mess up, just roll the ball up and start again. Once you have a perfect print (or perfect enough to live with) make a hole near the top. Carefully turn over and write any information such as your child’s name or the date into the dough on the back. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours.

3) The handprint actually looks really awesome in just the natural white that it was made in, but if you want to add a bit of color now is the time. I sprung for some really bold colors for several reasons: A) I love bright things. B) Purple and orange were the only paint colors we had in the closet.

4) After the paint dries, hang with ribbon and enjoy! I love how much joy this sweet little hand brings me, especially knowing she won’t be this little for long.

Erin Bohn is the mother of three through birth and foster care adoption. She can most often be found working (in post production), eating (chocolate), or chauffeuring small people around in her minivan. Check out more on her blog No Bohns About It or follow along on her Facebook page!

Isn’t that the sweetest?  Thanks so much Erin!  The scrapbooker in me just loves to preserve memories!  And the teacher in me can’t let you leave without an adorable free printable!  Sweet poems for gifts like these are your bread and butter in the preschool industry 😉  So print out this little handprint poem to attach to your gift or to stick in your card and momma will have two memories to last her forever!