Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post! It was a busy month of May with dear friends visiting from California, end of year school projects, baseball games and parties! Time has slipped away from me and I realize how important it is to stay in touch with our dear ones and capture those memories as best as we can. Typically we share our fond memories in photos or videos on Facebook, Instagram, etc. But how often do you capture an individuals handprint? Many times children’s handprints are saved in frames, impressed in clay or cement for memorabilia. But so seldom do we see adult handprints on anything (unless you’re a famous celebrity in front of the once called Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA).
My mother shared with me, once she signed a guest book where the hostess traced the hands of her guests and then they would sign and date it below! I instantly loved the idea and thought I’d like to take it one step further. I decided to paint the palms of my guests hands colors of their choice, so they can leave their handprint in my guest book!
I now have a “Handful of Guests Book” that is so personal and I know will cherish it for years and years to come! This idea can be used for so many special events, such as your children’s birthday parties, anniversaries, graduation parties or retirement parties. Or how about a guest book for the artistic wedding couple? How fun would it be to capture your guests handprints at the wedding? It could be a bit messy, but if you have handy wipes close by it could be an amazing momento! I feel you can use your imagination on this and utilize the idea in so many different ways.
Supplies Needed:
1 blank journal (large enough for a handprint) or 1 scrapbook to fill with your handprints once dried
Acrylic paints (several colors for your guests to choose)
Sponge brush or paint brushes
Paper plates
Card stock
Parchment paper
Paper towels and handy wipes
How To:
What I like to have the guests do first is sign and date the bottom of the page before they leave their handprint. This way their hands will be nice and clean when signing. Next, allow your guests to choose the color or colors of their liking and place the paint on the paper plate. You can either use a paint brush or sponge to paint their hands (this gives you more details of their handprint) or your guests can place their hands on the paint filled paper plate and smear it around to mix the colors for a more creative look.
Place a piece of card stock behind the paper of where the hand will be placed. This will prevent the paint from bleeding through to the other side. Allow your guest to place their hand directly on the page and your done.
If you have many guests and you would like to do several at a time, I recommend you have your guest sign and date separate pieces of card stock, paint their hands and print all at the same time. Once the handprints are dry you can place them inside your scrapbook.
Finally, once all handprints are dried I use parchment paper in-between the pages of the handprints, this helps prevent the pages from sticking to one another.
I’m so excited to see how my “Handful of Guests Book” will develop over time and I hope you are inspired to create your own version too!
Have a happy day!
Thanks for stopping by All 4 One Home!
Dear Gretchen
I love your blog. Not sure how I missed it. This is put together so very well, I am so proud of you. You look fantastic and i love seeing your smiling face and hearing about your family. Keep up the great work here
Dana
Hi Dana,
Thank you so much for your kind words! Your success has always been my inspiration and your opinion means the world to me! I’m grateful to still be in touch!
Thanks Again!
Gretchen