Father’s Day is quickly approaching! What better way to celebrate Dad than by having the kids make him a handmade gift! At the end of the day, material items fade, go out of style or lose their luster. This keepsake gift is one he can place in his office, hang on the fridge or put in a frame! You can also tailor it to your own unique color palate or use colors that match the photograph you choose. As always, the possibilities are endless!
We decided to make two versions to show the different outcomes and for Josh to be able to have one at work and at home. Both are shown below as well as the FREE printable! 🙂
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Materials needed:
- Food coloring or watercolor paint – we used the McCormick Neon food coloring (blue and green only)
- Elmer’s glue – I prefer the “Glue-All” because it holds better
- Paint brush
- Cups or bowls for paint – I like to use these silicone muffin cups
- Scissors
- Picture – size will vary depending on how you want it to lineup in the heart
- Cardstock paper – 2 sheets
- Free printable – link below!
Version one:
Craft table ready to use! Place 5-6 drops of food coloring in individual cups and fill with water. The more water you add the less vibrant your colors will be. Place a blank piece of card stock paper on a washable surface. We used a cutting board that could easily be cleaned.
Randomly paint the different colors of your choosing all over the paper. Allow the paper to dry completely. You can use a blow dryer to speed up the drying process.
Adults: Cut out the letters on the printable. I would normally use my Cricut for this process, but it can easily be done with regular scissors by making a small slit within each letter first. These precision detail scissors would work great or even an X-ACTO knife.
Trim your photograph to where you want the image displayed in the heart. Flip the printable over and glue the photograph on the back with the image facing forward (behind the heart).
Lay the painted piece of paper flat.
Flip over your cutout printable and run glue all around the back of it. Place it (glue side down) onto the painted piece of paper. You may have to add a few extra beads of glue under the corners of the letters.
Note: Do not run glue on the back of your photograph if you printed it on a standard piece of paper. The wetness from the glue could cause the ink to run.
The painted paper gave the letters a tie dye effect which turned out really pretty! I recommend picking a light and dark color for the best contrast.
Version two:
Cut out the letters on the printable and randomly paint all over the front of the paper.
Allow the paper to dry completely. Trim photograph to desired placement on heart. Flip the painted printable over and glue the photograph on the back with the image facing forward (behind the heart).
Flip over your painted printable and run glue all around the back of it. Place it (glue side down) onto the solid piece of paper.
We also can’t forget about Grandpa (Poppy for our girls) on Father’s Day! We did more of a tone on tone look for this one so you can see the difference! We used red food coloring and put 8 drops with water in one cup and 3 drops with water in another cup for a light/dark red combo.
