The Sweetest Piece Of DIY Decor To Cherish Childhood Memories

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Parents know it's important to document the moments in their children's lives that matter most. That's why they save baby shoes and fill scrapbooks with photos of first communions and birthdays. But these keepsakes don't always make for good home decor. If you want to hang something on your wall to enshrine a moment from your kid's life, consider framing their first steps. All you need to do is put some ink on your baby's feet and have them walk across a piece of canvas.

You'll need to measure and cut a piece of canvas and put it in a frame (if you're an artist, you can use decoupage to decorate the frame). For this project, you'll also need a steam iron, a measuring tape, a yardstick, a pencil, scissors, a table, and a roll of canvas, such as U.S. Art Supply's Unprimed Canvas Roll. The canvas is the most expensive material — thankfully, you don't need very much canvas for this project. It's always best to buy the shortest, and therefore cheapest, roll you can find, unless you have another use for it. Many parents may worry about the safety of their children touching ink, but there are skin-safe options, like the Biggun Washable Ink Pads. These pads come in various colors, and you can easily capture a fingerprint, a footprint, or a handprint with them.

An Instagram account called @beigehavenco provides a helpful tutorial on how to complete this project. Start by picking out your frame and measuring its dimensions, and then mark the canvas to reflect those dimensions. You can use your yardstick to draw straight lines where you plan to cut the material. After you cut the canvas, use your iron to remove any wrinkles. A wrinkled canvas will result in imperfect ink prints. Then pick out a flat surface (cover it with paper or a plastic tablecloth if you're worried about staining) and lay the canvas across it.

Now you can apply the ink and allow your kid to walk on the canvas. Just be careful not to let them fall. Wash off the ink with soap and water before your kid can walk on anything else, like your carpets. If you get ink on your carpet or furniture, baking soda and water is one of the best ways to remove stains. Some people even try removing ink stains with hairspray.

Give those prints at least a day to dry, and then put the canvas in your frame and hang it. There are also other options you can try using this concept. Maybe get prints for each member of the family. Or, if you have a pet, you can capture their paw prints on a canvas.