Christmas Craft – MistleToes

We’ve all seen the footprint gifts on Facebook and Pinterest. They have them for each and every holiday: Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, etc. Some are simple like the heart shaped footprints, yet others have become stretched into some weird shaped objects in which you need to squint and tilt you head to kind-of get what the creator was going for.

This one is by far my favorite and the only one I have ever attempted with my daughter. I plan on doing it each year until…well until her feet get too big for it to be “cute” anymore. This print is also extremely easy and the mom making it does not need any imagination or creativity (perhaps just a touch of patience). The items needed to make it are also cheap, see below:

• Red and green acrylic paint ($1 at Hobby Lobby)
• Sponge brushes
• Modge Podge to seal painting (as cheap as $4 and can be used on multiple projects)
• Paint canvas (varying prices, I got mine on Amazon for $12 for a 12pk; http://www.amazon.com/Art-Supply-Professional-Quality-Acid-Free/dp/B00GZZKIII/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449516752&sr=8-1&keywords=5x7+paint+canvas)
• Smaller brush to paint words (could substitute with Sharpies)

That’s it! Now you’re ready to attempt making some perfect footprints. This is the tricky part. Luckily, footprints are much easier than handprints; here’s my method.

1. Put adorable baby in their highchair and distract said baby with food or some type of toy
2. Use sponge brushes to paint the toes red and the rest of the foot green
3. Take the baby’s foot with your hand and gently and slowly press it against the canvas; almost like rolling the foot from the heel to toes
4. Remove foot and wa-la! The most adorable and sweet looking MistleToes!
5. But you’re not done, repeat steps 2-4 with the other foot.
6. Let your stamped feet dry then paint “MistleToes” and any other message.
7. After everything is dried, use a dry spongebrush or regular brush to Modge Podge the entire canvas.

There you are! You can either keep it to add to your ever-growing Christmas decorations or give it as a gift to grandma, dad, or an aunt!