Capturing Little Hands

About two and a half years ago, I came across a little tip I thought was just great. Someone suggested using Versamark ink (which is invisible) to capture your little one's hands on paper without a big mess. I didn't end up using Versamark, but I did copy the idea. Here's how I made the following page:

Copyright Stampin' Up!® 1990-2006

View the card and see the supplies I used here, at my gallery: Her Hands.

With the help of my sister-in-law, I inked up my daughter's hands with some White Craft ink (which is of a paint-like consistency). I then sprinkled some clear embossing powder over the little "stamped" hands and melted it. The cardstock that I used here is actually a dark plum shade, but since I had embossed her little hands it was easy to take a bleach pen (the type made by Clorox) and a paint brush and lighten the paper surrounding the hands. I wanted to provide more of a contrast and unique background and the embossing kept the hands safe from the bleach. Also I found that once I bleached the paper, my cardstock now matched some scrapbooking paper very nicely.

I love how this page came together for me so easily, although it was probably a good year long process from the time I stamped her hands to the time I assembled the page. That happens, I guess. Makes me not feel as bad about all my other works-in-progess--they are worth the wait!

I had run across the quote "This is the hand I used to hold..." in a scrapbooking magazine and I thought it was just too perfect for page. My daughter loves to look at them in her little scrapbook book (when I let her, that is--she's not quite three yet).

Hope you like this idea, too!