DIY holiday gift: handprint ornaments

Since I see most of my family every day, they donโ€™t usually read the blog. That is, except my nanaโ€ฆ sheโ€™s my most loyal reader ๐Ÿ™‚ Since she saw these already, I figured it would be safe to post, and in the occasion any of the other grandparents are here: Merry Christmas, youโ€™re getting a glittery hand ornament as part of your gift!

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For someone who isnโ€™t very crafty, Iโ€™ve definitely been riding the DIY train lately. I figured it would be fun to make a Livi keepsake for the grandparents, especially since itโ€™s her first Christmas. 

We made two different types of ornaments: the glittery handprint ones,

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and one using a hand/foot impression kit.

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I canโ€™t decide which one I like moreโ€ฆ I love how you can see every little hand dimple on the imprint ornament, but think the glitter is especially festive and beautiful. Iโ€™m glad weโ€™ll have one of each on our tree.

Ornaments  1 of 1

For supplies, I picked up 7 clear ornaments, Elmerโ€™s glue (it seemed to be the most child-friendly option) and fine glitter. The ornament impression kit was from Buy Buy Baby (a gift from Lisa). Everything else was from JoAnn fabrics, and to the cashier who grouchily told me my coupon expired last week: you can pull them up on your phone. I figured that out yesterday and saved $2 (bringing the total for everything to $11). Take that, sucka.

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This is not something I could have done alone. Lisa came over and we had a little assembly line: my computer set up on the patio table playing Elmo ABCs with India Arie, the glue, ornaments and glitter lined up on paper, ready to go.

Lisa helped me put glue Livโ€™s hand and then we told her to open her hand (she got the hang of it pretty quickly), pressed the ornament into her hand and Lisa glittered the ornament. I thought it might be an interesting experience with glue ending up in Livโ€™s mouth, in her hair and a quick bath time afterwards, but it was NBD. Glue on the hand, we washed it off and that was it. We got lucky for sure ๐Ÿ˜‰

For the impression kit, we just followed the instructions on the box, making sure to wet Livโ€™s hand first. 

It was an easy, beautiful and inexpensive gift โ€“ I hope the grandparents love it!

Any other ideas for fun holiday gifts from baby? I always love to hear your suggestions and what you and your family have done in the past.

xoxo

Gina

More holiday DIYs:

Felt Christmas tree

Yarn Wreath

Yarn puffs

Glitter Starbucks cup

 

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21 Comments

  1. Abby on December 6, 2012 at 7:04 pm

    Love them! Iโ€™m also feeling extra crafty this year, I blame it entirely on pinterest haha.

  2. Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie on December 6, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    What cute ideas!! Iโ€™m not planning on having kids for many years but Iโ€™m so excited for when I do to get to do stuff like this!

  3. Shaina on December 6, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    girrrrrrrl, you just saved me about $70! I RAN to my computer to cancel my shutterfly ornament order when I read this haha. This is SUCH a cute idea!! Its Trippโ€™s first Christmas too, so we thought a photo cube ornament would be cute but this is way better and way cheaper.

  4. Kelli on December 6, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    What a great idea!

  5. Gina on December 6, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    So adorable! You should put her name and the year on the ones you keep. As a kid and still today, I love that I can look back at my homemade ornaments and know how old I was! It amazes me that my parents still have my โ€œbabyโ€™s first Christmasโ€ ornaments.

  6. Jessica Jann on December 6, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    AWESOME!! love theseโ€ฆyay for โ€˜babyโ€™s first christmas!โ€™

  7. Lesley on December 6, 2012 at 10:49 pm

    Our daughter was 6 months old last Christmas. We went to a make your own pottery store and stamped her feet onto flat pottery pieces. We then added antlers, eyes, and a red nose to turn her footprints into reindeer. We wrote โ€œMerry Christmasโ€ on the pieces and the year. They turned out super cute and the grandparents loved them.

  8. Jenn on December 7, 2012 at 2:18 am

    Another good idea- take the handprint impressions 1 step further. Turn the hand upside down and paint it to look like Santa. The top of the palm to the thumb is the hat, thumb is the Pom Pom at the end of the hat, the rest of the palm is the face, and the fingers are the beard. Another idea- fill a non-glass clear ornament with paint, tape the top closed and allow your little one to swirl it around to make a custom creation:)

  9. Michelle on December 7, 2012 at 4:35 am

    Iโ€™m doing something similar for all Averyโ€™s grandparents too, thanks to Pinterest.

    In reference to the coupon, I know some stores need the printed version but I was able to use the email version at Childrenโ€™s Place the other day, even though the email said to print it out. And thatโ€™s a great store to rack up savings!

  10. Bri on December 7, 2012 at 8:08 am

    We just made the same hand/foot print impressions on Monday! Love how they turned out! Canโ€™t wait to see what other suggestions your readers have for grandparents. I have been trying to think all week. ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Mallory on December 7, 2012 at 8:13 am

    I LOVE the imprint idea!

    When we were kids, every year my mom made my grandparents christmas ornaments with our pictures on it so every year you can see how weโ€™ve grown. Now that weโ€™re all in our 20s we still make them one every year! Also, when we were in school, my mom kept ALL the ornaments that we made. Now many years later, she still uses them and has a story behind every one.

  12. june on December 7, 2012 at 9:29 am

    I made this last year for my little guyโ€™s first- he was only 2 months old, so we used mini ball ornaments and white craft paint โ€“ โ€“ we turned each finger into a snowman. If you google โ€œfive finger snowman ornamentโ€ youโ€™ll see how cute it is โ€“ there is also a little poem that goes along with it!

  13. Kerry @ Totes My Oats on December 7, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Love this idea! Itโ€™s something so meaningful and cute.

  14. Beverly Aragon on December 7, 2012 at 10:34 am

    The cuteness of Oliviaโ€™s chubby baby hand on the imprinted ornament melts my heart!

  15. Yvonne on December 7, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Iโ€™m sure people have already mentioned it, but paint the hand prints! That will make them more festive so that you like them both equally ๐Ÿ™‚ Cute idea for sure!

  16. Leanne on December 7, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    Did you do a puppy paw print as well? Too cute!!

    • Fitnessista on December 7, 2012 at 4:24 pm

      yeah, we did bellaโ€™s! we knew she wouldnโ€™t care ๐Ÿ™‚

      • Elizabeth M. on December 7, 2012 at 9:49 pm

        I was going to ask the same thing!! Adorable.

  17. Sarabell on December 7, 2012 at 9:10 pm

    I love this! I will have an almost-eight-month-old this time next year so I am definitely planning to make hand-print ornaments. These might be my favorite versions so far. =]

  18. simi on December 8, 2012 at 12:04 pm

    I love this!! Iโ€™m going to buy some ornaments to make today for this!!! My daughter will be 6 months old

  19. Alicia F. on December 8, 2012 at 11:08 pm

    HA! I love the comment to the grouchy lady at JoAnnโ€™s bc I had the same experience this week with a lady there as wellโ€ฆI couldnโ€™t bring up my coupon and she kept getting impatient with me, I of course turned red with embarressment and missed out saving $4 on my total. I was totally bummed but after seeing your comment, makes me not feel so bad bc clearly it is their lack of cheeriness thats all ๐Ÿ˜‰

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