06/14

Father’s Day DIY : A Gift to Be Treasured for a Lifetime

We love to celebrate just about every holiday (see Cinco de Mayo) at our house and I wanted to make sure we celebrated Father’s Day in an extra special way because I think that Brooks’ Daddy is the best Dad in the world. (Right next to my own Daddy of course!!) These days when I think about DIY projects, the one place I like to start is Pinterest. If you can think about doing it, the craft or recipe has probably been done already and there are pics to prove it.

Have you ever seen the hilarious Pinterest fails?? My Au Natural eggs started to head down that path, but Team Sims was tenacious and did those little eggies twice in order to get them right! Kidding aside, I REALLY wanted to make something Scott would love and would include Brooksie in a unique way. Thanks to our buddy, Pinterest, I came up with the perfect project. Scott and I love to collect art and what better artist to collect than a priceless original from Brooks Stuber!?!? I even made a Pinterest board of some of my fav DIY Father’s day inspirations.

Truly you could make as a gift for just about any holiday and for just about any family member (hello grandparents, I’m talking about you!). Plus you get a keepsake made literally by the hands of your little one. Here are my tips for making your masterpiece as painlessly as possible and without getting paint on your couch.

Create your work of art on a piece of stretched canvas

It will look so much nicer and makes it ready to hang after completion. Frame if you like, without or with glass for added protection. You can find stretched canvas at most craft stores or online inexpensively. I would recommend getting a few in case heaven forbid you make a mistake.

Work outside if possible

Much easier to hose down an outside area! You will be surprised how far paint can splatter and even more surprised how fast little paint-covered hands can move. Working outside can create its own challenges. See pic below of when Duke (our dog) tried to get in on our project.

Get everything organized and ready before you bring your child into the mix

You are working against borrowed time, especially with toddlers!! Have everything laid out and organized so you can get them through the project without too much duress. The more prepared you are, the easier the project will be to accomplish.

• Lay down old newspaper or kraft paper to protect your surface.
• Put weights around the edges (I used rocks form the garden) so the edges of your paper don’t blow up from the wind and ruin your artwork. Make sure and follow this step. I promise you will thank me. I ruined one of my canvases from not listening to my own tip!
• Have all your paints out and ready with two cups of clean water for rinsing
• Make sure you have a roll of paper towels at the ready!

Use a paintbrush to apply paint to your little one’s hand

You can get the paint on quickly but just be careful to not put too much paint on the hand. Think ink stamps, but your stamp is a wiggly live little person. Then immediately press your child’s hand onto the canvas. Ask them to hold as still as they can. You don’t need to do this step for very long thankfully!

Talk it up

As with most things in Toddlerland, explain what you guys are doing and how much FUN it is going to be. This project would be impossible if you had an uncooperative artist. If your babycakes is having a bad day, this is most definitely not the day to attempt this project.

If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again

Nobody is perfect. Don’t get frustrated if your “handy” work gets messed up. Hence why I suggested the multi pack of canvases. See pic below of our melted tree. It looks like the leaves are crying and the color of pea puree!

In the end, I LOVE what Brooks and I made for his Daddy. I know Scott will love it, too!! I know just the spot in his office where we can hang his Brooks Stuber creations. Please share with me any of your DIY Father’s Day projects. I would love to see what everybody is making!