Baby Handprint Crafts

Make Your Own Baby Footprint Memory Box

No matter how rushed or harried you feel with your newborn, taking the time out to make a memory box will be an investment that pays back for the rest of your life. If you have to hire a sitter to make it happen, then do it. Thirty years from now, on the eve of your little one's wedding night, you'll be so glad you captured this precious and fleeting time.

You're memory box doesn't have to sit on a shelf and gather dust, either - if you want something you can see and enjoy everyday, consider making a shadow memory box. A shadow box is basically a picture frame, but the back of the frame is 1-3 inches back from the glass, so it can hold three dimensional objects. For this article we'll be talking mostly about shadow boxes, but if you want to create a closed box, all the advice here still applies. There are some nice plain closed boxes at Joann.com.

Empty shadow boxes cost from $10 to $30, like this one from Amazon.com. If that doesn't strike your fancy, try a search at Amazon, Target, the Container Store or other retailers for "shadow box". Remember, you can paint the box any color you want.

CREATING THE BOX
You can put anything that strikes you into the shadow box, but here are some ideas to get you started:

- Photographs of the baby, and of the baby with you and your partner, with their grandparents, godparents, etc
- A cast of the baby's foot or hand. See our article on cast making for directions.
- An imprint of the baby's hands and feet on paper. See our article on baby footprints for detailed directions.
- A few of the small items that you see everyday now. Maybe the top to a baby bottle, the cap to some baby food.
- A photocopy of the birth certificate (always good to have an extra!)
- A piece of a toy that's been broken off, or a small extra toy that won't be missed.
- The hospital band (the one put on their ankle for identification)

That's hardly an exhaustive list, but it will probably get you to think of even better items for the box. For craft supplies, you'll need:

- a pair of scissors
- baby-themed wrapping paper
- glue
- double-sided tape
- assorted acrylic paints
- a paint brush (or a sponge)
- several small dishes for the paints
- sewing pins (many shadow boxes have cloth or cardboard boxes, so having pins on hand to hold things in place can be helpful)
- the shadow box

To start, cover the inside of the box with the wrapping paper. Then arrange and attach the objects and images as you like. Keep in mind that you can glue a string to the inside top of the box to hang something (a piece from a mobile, maybe, or several items attached by the string). You could even paste something to the glass in front to give a foreground effect. Its up to you!






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