Six years ago, I made an ornament for Lo's first Christmas. Baby handprints are so cute and tiny and they deserve to be documented and hung on the tree year after year. This year, I made one for Bowie, too. And I thought I'd share because this is by far the easiest way to go about it, if you're into handprints. And crafts that aren't messy. And things that won't make your baby cry. (No plaster!)
To make four baby handprint ornaments, all you need is one 4 oz. package of
Crayola Model Magic in white. This is the stuff. It is one million times easier than plaster. (And probably more durable, too.)
Divide it into fourths and roll it into balls. Yay ... easy gifts for grandparents, plus one to keep for yourself.
Flatten each ball into a circle with the palm of your hand. This stuff is so nice and smooth that this takes all of 30 seconds to do. Poke holes in each circle with a straw.
Then, all you need is a nice little squishy baby hand volunteer. Smush those little hands and fingers down on the circles. Don't make the baby cry. This is fun.
This modeling compound is like a smooth, non-messy, non-crumbly, non-sticky play-doh and it won't get all over your baby's hands. Let each circle air-dry for at least 24 hours. It's so easy that it's almost too easy. And there's zero clean-up. (Except you'll probably want to wash your baby's hands after you're done just in case there's a little residue ... never hurts.) You can leave these as-is after they are dry, tie a ribbon through the hole and be done with it. I painted Lo's handprints and covered them with glitter, so I'm doing the same for Bowie's. But they are really cute left plain white.
I was worried that Lo's ornament may not stand the test of time, but it still looks perfect. I'm semi-careful and don't let the kids play with these, obviously, but I haven't had to seal it or do anything else to it and it has held up over the years. These are so simple and inexpensive to make that you could also make extras (without holes) to keep in a baby memory box or other safe place. And obviously, you can make handprint ornaments at any age – they're not just for babies. It would be fun to make one for each member of your family.
