Handprint Calendar

handprint-calendar

If you’re looking for a creative handmade gift, I’ve put together a 2013 calendar template that’s ready for your child’s handprints.

Click here to download or print your calendar template.

Grab one of the handprint poems for the front page of your calendar. There’s space at the bottom for you to add names and the date!

Then browse through this list of handprint ideas, each with a picture and description, to choose the ones you’ll use for your calendar:

A few tips from our experience:

  • Have your children wear smocks or old clothes. Clip hair back away from face.
  • There’s beauty in imperfection, so don’t worry about smudges or other “mistakes”.
  • We usually do only one or two different designs at a time rather than trying to work through all 12 pages at once.  Washing hands in between each one gets a little tiresome!
  • When using multiple colors, it’s always easier if you let the bottom layer dry first, but it’s not necessary for most of these.
  • Have fun!

  • Victoria

    This is a fantastic idea and I think it will be great to use for my kids at work (I’m a 3 year old teacher at a daycare) Their parents are going to love their gift this year!

  • Deanna

    this is really cute! just curious, what size paper did you use??

    • Anonymous

      Hi Deanna — it’s just regular 8.5×11, although I would recommend using
      cardstock if you have it!

      • Deanna

        perfect thanks! we are so gonna make some of these!!

      • Janeskimmilk

        Hi. I downloaded the template but the pages printed cut-off. The last week of every month is cut off. How can I remedy this? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this out with my daughter.

  • http://talesofamommymonster.blogspot.com/ Sheena

    Once you have all the pages done, how do you finish it off? Do you just fold and staple it?

  • anne

    hi! i’m just curious – what kind of paint is best? i have zero to no experience with painting and a 2.5 year old, apart from washable fingerpaints, which didn’t give the greatest color. and is there any particular paper that is better?

    • Melanna

      I’m wondering the same thing, but I’m thinking probably tempera paint would work the best. I’m pretty sure its washable.

      • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

        I use bright white cardstock and whatever paint I have on hand. The only one that hasn’t worked too well for us is the “gel” fingerpaints from Crayola…the color of those just ended up too washed out!

  • Melissa

    I’m not getting how to put the pages together like a calendar. 

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Hi Melissa! I punched holes in the top corners of every page and then tied a ribbon through each hole. That simply holds the pages together and allows you to flip them vertically with each new month.

      Hope that helps!

      • Melissa

        That did!  I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. 

        I’m not at all crafty, but feel inspired by your project!  I’m hoping to make them for my children’s grandparents this year. Thanks for your blog!

        • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

          Yay — I’d love to hear/see how it turns out!

  • teach

    I have done similar projects with my special needs students. Only I make t-shirts and use acrylic craft paints. We recently did penguin nshirts for a recnet trip to our local aquarium,

    • teach

      That shoould read Shirts for a recent trip

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Oh, so cute — did you do the penguins with their hands or feet?

  • Tania

    Our fourth graders did this as a buddy project with our Kindergarteners. They all loved it. Thanks for the templates. These will be great gifts for our Kinder Buddies. One suggestion, instead of dipping hands in paint, use a paintbrush to paint on the color that you want on the part of the hand you want, it saves paint and makes the paint easier to work with.

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Great suggestion, Tania!

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