All Fired Up

“Love Prints” Wall Plaque: A How-To Tutorial

June 11, 2013

With Father’s Day right around the corner, you might be scrambling for the perfect gift to express exactly how your family feels about that lovable dude we call “Dad” – Well, we may have the perfect craft for you: the “Love Prints” Wall Plaque.Some friends of mine recently (very, VERY recently) added a new member to their family: baby Amelia. In fact, she was exactly one week old when we did this project! We decided to make a gift that she and her three year old brother could both help out with, and something the family could keep in their home for years to come.The craft itself is fairly simple – I purchased a pre-cut wooden plaque from AC Moore (about $15, but I had a 1/2 off coupon!) and blue and white bottles acrylic paint. Total cost: $10.

We laid down some old newspaper and then let Oliver (the 3-yr-old) help us paint the entire plaque a grayish-blue. (Tip: One coat is enough, and it’s okay if it’s not perfect; It’s handmade!)

After waiting for it to dry, we painted baby Amelia’s foot and pressed it down onto the plaque, wiggling each toe in place to ensure a good print. We wiped her foot off with a warm wet cloth, and repeated with the other foot at a slight angle to make a V shape. We then painted Oliver’s hand with the white paint and pressed it to the left of Amelia’s foot prints. I then used a thin paintbrush to paint in a lowercase cursive “L” in front and an “E” at the end. Lastly, their mom used her finger prints to create a heart on one side by overlapping and angling them a bit, like we did with the footprint “V”.

Now, when dad gets his gift, he will also have the task of adding his own fingerprint heart to the other side before it is complete! This way everyone in the family participated in making this “Love Prints” Wall Plaque.

And I can honestly say that this craft is so easy, even a sleeping baby can help out! Thanks for coming just in time to celebrate Father’s Day, Amelia!