Hand Prints

I'll readily admit that I've got an obsession with hands. I love holding my babies' hands. I love seeing their chubby fingers. I love that my older girls' hands are losing the chubbiness and becoming more womanly. I think that hands tell so much about a person.

Because of this obsession, I've done quite a few things with my children's hands in my artwork. However, up until recently, I'd never used my own hands or Todd's hands. I decided it was time to do just that. I wanted to make sure that my children had a physical record of Todd and I. Something they could hold, place their own hands on and think, "This is my dad. This is my mom. They touched this once."

There is something special about seeing someone's handprint once they have passed away. I wish that I had a handprint from my grandparents to hold. Perhaps my handprint album was spurred by the death of my friend's baby? I'm not sure. I do know that if something ever happened to one of my sweeties that I'd want a print of their hands to touch while I cried.

...So on a lighter note...

I created this album that is so close to my heart I can't even express it.

The quote reads: To receive everything, one must open one's hands and give.

Almost every embellishment and pattern paper is My Mind's Eye from the Lost & Found line. I mixed the girls and the boys lines with wild abandon.

Here are the pages. I followed a strict formula of picture on top, handprint on bottom.

I made the hand prints by spreading a thick layer of DecoArt Paper Perfect and having everyone press their hands into the wet surface. Paper Perfect is a specialty paint that dries to look like handmade paper. It was the perfect surface for such a project. The paint washed off easily with soap and water and it left a dimensional imprint.

I tried to match the personality in the picture with the embellishments.

Each picture has a name and a birthdate.

All of the pictures are courtesy of Sara Jarvie. She is an amazing photographer and knows my family so intimately that she captures each personality.

The impressions in the Paper Perfect were not very distinct so I painted the inside using Shimmerz Blingz in Pixie Dust to help them to stand out. It turned out to be the perfect touch.

Believe it or not, that was the closest to a smile that we got on my sweet Q-tip that day. I love this picture.

The back of the album.

A few more shots to give you a few different views.

For some reason, I really like this angle with the paint-y rings.

You can see that the album is pretty thick so it doesn't lie flat. I love dimension and texture!

I hope that this project inspires you to create something with your loved ones' hands. If you do, please leave me a link so I can gush over your creativity!

Happy Creating!

xoxo
Bethany