An Easy and Frugal Grandparent Gift

Most grandparents love to receive gifts that showcase their grandchildren either in pictures or crafts. This can be a challenge for those of us who aren't very artistic or crafty. Every year I try to do something, some years have been better than others.

This years' gift is truly "hand" made. We made Christmas tree wall hangings from the kids' hand prints. We made three, one for ourselves and one for each set of grandparents. I think this years' gift is my favorite so far for several reasons:

• It is easy.
• It is inexpensive.
• It works well if you have multiple children.

What you will need:
A canvas like fabric. - I found a remnant of duck cloth. I split the remnant in 1/3's. Each piece of fabric was about 18" by 26".
Acrylic Paint. - Green, Brown, Gold, and any others if you'd like to decorate the tree with paint.
Dowel Rods - one per wall hanging.
Fray Check
Tacky Glue
Ribbon
Glitter or other items to decorate the tree with .

First I ironed the fabric. Then measured out the pieces. I sent Kellen to find a yard stick I could use as a straight edge because Lord knows I can't cut a straight line to save my life. He returned with Mamaw and her circular cutter, and cutting pad. She ended up cutting the pieces for me. Nothing like making your own Christmas gift!



Next apply Fray Check around all the edges. Allow to dry for ten minutes.

Now the fun (?) part. Pour some green paint in a shallow container you don't mind getting ruined. I used the lid of a whipped cream container. A pie tin would work well too. If you have multiple children start with the biggest one first. Have them dip their palms into the paint. Be sure the underside of their hands are well covered.


Imagine where the center line of the canvas is, then place the child's hands on the canvas so the wrist is about at the center of the canvas. I doubled up on their hands; two hands on either side of center for a total of four hands per child. You could adjust this for a different size wall hanging or the number of children you have. Press down slightly on the top of their hands and fingers to get the best print. Repeat as needed with the same child or the next one. When you get to the top of the tree have the hands point slightly up. Paint a brown trunk at the bottom of the tree.



While the paint is still wet you can add small decorations like glitter. You can also add paint or other decorations with glue after the tree dries.

Allow the tree to dry thoroughly, then use the littlest hand prints in gold for the "star" on the top of the tree. I also added "2007" on the top because that is what stamps I had that worked. The ruler helped me keep the spacing right and the numbers reasonably straight. If you are more talented than I, you could write "Merry Christmas" or other fitting title. I would include the year somewhere though so you'll remember.

To make the hanger part of the wall hanging, create a seam by folding about two inches of the fabric back, and glue using tacky glue. Allow to dry.

Take the dowel rod and cut so that it is a few inches longer than your fabric. Drill small holes on both ends of the rod, about half way between the end of the rod and where the fabric will be. The holes need to be large enough to put your ribbon through, but small enough that a knot of the ribbon will not pull through. I had a bit of trouble getting my ribbon through, but was able to thread it through with a needle.

When the seam is dry put the dowel in. Put the ribbon through from the top of each hole, and tie a knot in the ribbon under the rod. Then trim off an excess ribbon below the knot. All done!


The cost:
Fabric: 1.36
Fray Check: 3.59
Ribbon: .50
Paint: 2.19
Dowel Rods: 1.50
Tacky Glue: 1.19
Total: $10.33 or $3.44 each. Note: Cost is for new supplies, not for what was actually used.
Time: The better part of the afternoon, but of course that was with many interruptions and waiting for it to dry. You know, how any mom works on a project.

Finally a project within my crafting abilities, and my budget! I decided to give the gifts early so they could be used as Christmas decorations this year. (Um...and so I could post them on my blog before Christmas!) The first one was a hit, and I'm sure the second will be also!


Winter Bazaar
Works for Me Wednesday