A Footprint Heart Father’s Day Card

One of the things I look forward to most as Little Bug grows up is doing craft projects with her. Although these won’t start in earnest for a number of months still, I saw this first Father’s Day as the perfect opportunity to introduce her to the fabulous world of creating.

I decided that we would make Mr. Mountaineer a footprint heart card for Father’s Day.  Tiny feet make the perfect heart shape when positioned correctly and I thought it might be fun to get the paints out together.  Although we created this card for Father’s Day, it is the perfect project for Valentine’s Day, Christmas or even a “just because” craft.  If you don’t want to make them into a card, just add them to your first year scrapbook.  Their feet will never be this small again!

Estimated Time: A half hour to create the print and another half hour to make the card

What You’ll Need:

Crayola washable red paint

Cotton balls

Paint palette

Scallop edge scissors

Glue dots or tacky glue

An old sheet or towel

Heavy white cardstock or painting paper

A prefolded blank card

Red twine and other embellishments (optional)

What to Do:

1.  When creating with infants, the first rule is preparation.  So, before getting out the paint or beginning the project make sure you have all of your materials at hand.  It can be really difficult getting them once the craft has begun.

2.  Squeeze paint onto the palette. Dab paint onto one of your baby’s feet with the cotton ball.  Warning:  Infants will wiggle, so don’t wear your best clothes!

3.  Gently press your baby’s foot onto the cardstock at an angle.  Wipe off the foot with the towel.  Repeat with the other foot to create the heart shape.

Let the heart dry.  If you want an additional footprint heart as a keepsake, use a bigger piece of cardstock and make two hearts instead of one.

Put paint away first and, then, give your baby a bath (or risk her getting back into the paint after they’ve had their bath – take this suggestion from experience).

4.  Use the scallop edged scissors to cut a heart around the footprints.  Glue onto the card.  Add your message and other memorable notes.  If desired, embellish your card with twine, stickers, or stamps.

Although a bit messy, this project was a lot of fun.  I know I enjoyed it more than Little Bug, but I think she was really into the paint.  Mr. Mountaineer was very surprised and happy to have such a special keepsake of his first daughter.  This might even become our family tradition – footprints for the first Father’s Day.

Happy Celebrating,

Natalie

Linking to:

Naptime Delights