Hand Print Tree Project

My sister-in-laws birthday was coming up and I was thinking of different crafty things I could do and saw this great idea on Pinterest thanks to the Nap Time Decorator blog. It was a tree with handprints for branches. My sister in-law loves trees and anything that's about family so I had my crafty idea, I just needed to think about how to put it all together.

So my supplies included 3 pieces of large poster board, paint chips of various colors, a brown acrylic paint marker, a few tubes of acrylic paints in various colors, spray adhesive, a printed quote about family, and a picture frame. I had all of the supplies except the acrylic paint markers, they cost about $9.00 for a set of six markers, well worth it.

The Nap Time Decorator made her tree very simplistic. I wanted mine to have a little more depth to it. I did this by using paint chips to make the grass and ground cover and also used paint chips for the leaves. There really is no end to what you can create with paint chips!

I drew the tree on a separate piece of poster board, colored it in using a brown acrylic paint marker, then cut it out and played around with the positioning of it. I then painted my husband and my boys hands each a different color and had them put their print on a separate piece of poster board. It took two tries for each of my little guys since they were a little confused as to what I was doing. Then I did my own hand and cut the prints out. Once cut I played with positioning and fit to make sure the look was right for what I was going for and also to make sure the hand prints fit over the tree and into the frame without looking crowded.

Now that I had all my pieces it was time to paste them onto the poster board. I started with my green and brown paint chips for my grass and foreground. Next I pasted on the base of the tree and then added the hand prints. I then affixed my printed quote and then glued on the leaves. I found a frame that matched the coloring on the tree perfectly and ta da, project complete!

I really enjoyed this project. It was fun to get my whole family involved, even if they were not thrilled to have "icky" paint on their hands, and I enjoyed drawing and creating. I haven't done that in so long, there just isn't enough time!!

Anyone can do this and it makes great art for your home or as a gift. Have fun and post a picture if you try it for yourself.