These Hands Will Hold My Heart Forever - Handprint Canvas Art Keepsake

Do you ever run across a craft that is so lovely that you just HAVE to make it?! I absolutely LOVE the gorgeous handprint canvas art keepsake that Clean & Scentsible made using her Silhouette (please see her post for a step-by-step tutorial). It reads, "These Hands Will Hold My Heart Forever." The finished handprint canvas craft makes a lovely gift idea for Mother's/Father's/Grandparent's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas, and birthdays.

*This handprint canvas keepsake post was originally published on 3/23/11 and updated 1/25/18

Handprint Canvas Art Keepsake with Sweet Saying

My handprint craft-loving friend and I decided to each make one with our kids to display in our homes since we loved her canvas craft so much. Since neither of us own a Silhouette, here is our modified version of how we made ours.

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Supplies:

• canvases
• ink
• paint
• letter stamps
• patterned paper
• washi tape
• scissors
• letter stickers (scrapbook aisle); optional
• wipes

Tutorial:

Start by adding masking tape to make a straight edge along all four sides about a half inch inward from the edge. To assure the tape is sticking well enough, rub back over the masking tape while applying firm pressure.

Next, paint the edges and sides of the canvas with two coats of colored or black paint.  Our painted frame still bled a little, to to hide the messy look, we glued (Mod Podge) strips of black ribbon where the black paint and white canvas met (hard to see in the photo, but it made it made a nice border/frame).

Make handprints with non-toxic ink. We used red ink for the kids' prints and placed on cardstock instead (fear of smearing all over the canvases). After it dried, we cut around their little handprints and glued them on with acid-free glue in the top-right corner.

Since I thought a sibling canvas art keepsake would be cute, I made one handprint with my 3 year old and one with my 7 week old. How precious is her teeny hand!? My friend made a handprint with both of her son's hands.

→ Baby Handprint Tip: If you are making prints with a small baby, it is best to do it right after they have eaten since their hand is more relaxed and will more likely stay open while you press it down. If it is too hard to get a print, you could instead trace around the hand onto cute scrapbook paper and cut it out. Just be sure to adhere it with acid-free glue for preserving longer.

Along the bottom, we glued a strip of ribbon (polka-dots in top photo) and glitter washi tape (bottom photo).

The heart shape was cut from a paisley patterned scrapbook paper and placed near the bottom left corner. We went over the tops of the hearts with Mod Podge (optional).

The words for the canvas saying are made with letter stamps and black paint (ink would work too). You can usually find letter stamps in a scrapbook/craft section in stores.

The tiny words "hands" and "heart" (top photo) are made with scrapbooking letter stickers. It looks fine without the words too - with just the handprints and paper heart symbolizing the words.

This is the handprint canvas keepsake my friend made with her son:

Handprint Canvas Art Keepsake Ideas

Here are a few more canvas crafts we have made:

• Footprint Easter Canvas
• Footprint Penguin Canvas
• Handprint Fish Canvas