I wasn’t planning to post about this little craft that Clara and I whipped up together, but then we got a photo of John’s Granny grinning and holding our creation and I couldn’t help but put together a little post about it over here – just so we’ll always remember it. Here’s what we made: a sweet little birdhouse, complete with Clara’s hand-prints on the roof.
It was originally painted dark red all over (from HomeGoods, where it was $4.99) but Granny is just such a sunny lady that we thought it would be a fun activity to paint it some happier colors and mark it up with some Clara-hands before sending it off to West Virginia. We just used some white paint for the facade and some yellow paint on the roof to cover all the original red paint. Some of our lines were a little wiggly, buy I think that’s part of the charm.
Then I coated Clara’s hands with white paint and we had so much fun smashing them into the roof four times (two right handed prints are on the right side, and two left handed prints are on the left). After it dried I sprayed it with clear outdoor sealant to protect it from the elements (three thin coats helped me feel like it was locked in there good) and then we signed the bottom with a Sharpie and added the date.
A little while later, John’s mom and dad took it to Granny’s house and snapped this cute photo of her with it. Clara LOVED seeing Granny holding her birdhouse creation, and I’m so glad we got to make such a fun little gift together.
If you’re looking for more easy projects that involve handprints, our friends at Childhood Magic have a ton of kid handprint project ideas that are super cute. We’re especially charmed by the Strawberry Handprint Card the Handprint Butterfly Craft.
Are you guys doing any kid-crafts these days? Sometimes they’re my favorite projects of all.
Wendy @ New Moms Talk says
Most of our crafts are for our kid as opposed to being made with her these days.
We’ll see what happens when we spiff up the pumpkins in a few days. At 10 months it’ll be interesting to see how she adds her “touches” to them.
Christy says
Sweet! Not only having Mommy/Clara project time, but also teaching Clara to help take care of nature. She should be able to see lots of critters come this winter with your naturalized backyard. Such a great location for her to grow up in.
Lisa @ Double Door Ranch says
How sweet! This makes me want to craft a little something for my grandma. I actually have the perfect thing in mind! She’s so proud of and intrigued by my DIY adventures, I bet she’d get a kick out of me making something just for her!
Julianne says
How sweet! I love how you think up these fun little ways to share your creativity with Clara. I’m sure that Clara is quite proud of her creation and over-the-moon joyful at how happy Granny was to receive it! :0)
Maureen says
So cute! These things are so special. Clara (as well as you and John) is lucky to have all these grandparents around!
Geertrude says
Oh, that’s such a wonderful project! I love the sentiment of Clara making something personal like that for her greatgrandmother. I wish I had thought of things like that when my girls were little.
They did do a lot of drawings for their (great)grandparents though. And I fondly remember sewing pincushions for everyone with them on their kid sewing machines, that didn’t have a reverse. Which meant I had to sew in all the ends by hand to make sure the stitches held ;-)
My favorite “kid craft” ever are the paper hearts I got for my very first mother’s day. The hospital nurses made them, dipping my newborns’ (not a type -twins) feet in plaster to make tiny little footprints and placed them in their cribs for me to find the next morning.
Hmn, so why didn’t I think of doing hand or foot prints for the grandparents? Oh well…
Geertrude says
Isn’t that funny, I made a typo when I tried to type typo. Pfff.
Young House Life says
Aw so cute!
xo
s
julie g. says
Love it! We gave all of the grandmothers birdhouses painted by my 8 and 10 year sons old a couple years ago and they were really touched. The boys also get excited when they see them hanging in the yards when visting.
Victoria says
I’m so glad you decided to post about it, it’s a fantastic project and Granny looks so happy!!! and is that your hair down i see sherry? love it!
Young House Life says
Oh gosh, don’t look to closely it’s a frizzball!
xo
s
Reenie says
How sweet and cute.
Sherry ~ have you tried this product? I love it for my semi-curly hair. I spray my hair with it when wet, then after I dry it ~ I spray a lil more and scrunch it… big loose curls. If you haven’t tried it ~ give it a try. =)
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/john-frieda-frizz-ease-dream-curls-curl-perfecting-spray/ID=prod373539-product?ext=gooBeauty_PLA_Curl_Activators_prod373539_pla&adtype={adtype}&kpid=prod373539&sst=550ae700-f118-c528-ba75-000049bf783c
Young House Life says
Thanks Reenie! Will have to check it out!
xo
s
Emily R. says
Aww, this is incredibly sweet. What a great idea, too!
Emily Fridenmaker says
Being from WV, I love when you post about John’s WV Granny! She is too adorable!
Elaine says
Love that it was “semi-homemade”. The construction of a birdhouse seems a little daunting (to me) but the redecorating and personal touch is what makes it special. Next time I go I to Homegoods, I’ll keep my eye out for items to personalize. Christmas is right around the corner….
Ginger says
We did a handprint birdhouse for a grandmother, too (in her favorite team colors). We built ours but it was really kind of a hassle and I would definitely buy a $5 premade one if we did it again — the handprints are what they care about, not the parents’ carpentry skills!
Brittney Everett says
Aww that is sooo sweet! That is a wonderful simple project that anyone would love! Granny’s expression is so adorable!
Jennie says
This is so lovely and sweet. How wonderful for Clara to get to do a fun art project, but also to share it with Granny too! The handprints were a great idea … love this!
Anika says
What a sweet idea! I’ll definitely be filing this away for future use. Glad Granny liked it, too!
Ashlee says
I can’t wait to do crafts with my little turtle monkey (he’s almost 3 months old) but for now my crafts are with a group of 4 – 8th graders. But I do remember making “stained glass windows” in elementary school and it works with kids. You take crayon shavings and put them together in some wax paper folded (like a card). Iron the wax paper to melt the shavings into a thin layer, then frame with construction or scrapbook paper and boom… hang it in the light and it’s actually pretty cool.
Jennifer says
I just LOVE your blog, and you guys in general :) And it’s just so cool to find out you have family in WV. I am born & raised in WV and live in Hurricane, not too far from Huntington :)
Great job on the birdhouse. I also have a 3 year old little girl, and I think we’ll try a little craft project like this. Thanks for the inspiration (again)!
Maddie says
*sniffle* so adorable!!
J. Matthews says
Omg, that picture of Granny is so sweet! I think I might copy this idea for the grandmas in our family!
Shelley says
Is John’s Granny adopting? She just seems like the sweetest!!
Young House Life says
She really is! I was so psyched when I got to marry into her family. Haha!
xo
s
Sangeetha says
Super cool! I am going to ask such a dumb question. What paint did you use for Clara’s hands? I want to make something like this with my four year old but not sure which paint is easily washable as well as durable when you hang the bird house outside? Thanks1
Young House Life says
We used just regular old kid’s paint (washable Crayola paint from Target) and then I sprayed it with three layers of clear outdoor sealant to protect it from the weather!
xo
s
Whitney Dupuis says
So sweet! I think handmade gifts are the best ones of all because you actually took the time to create something for your loved one. They are so much more meaningful.
Jayme says
Aww! I live in Huntington & hope to one day be driving by a house & see this hanging in a tree in her yard!
Kerry says
I can see the resemblance in John and Granny’s smiles! Happy, happy!
Jeana says
I made a birdhouse like this for my Mom when my older son was 1. He’s now almost 23 and she still has the birdhouse on display. It’s one of her favorite things!
Karen says
The Granny smile is SO worth it! :)
[Subject change]… So Sherry, I understand that peeps don’t want ya blogging all the time about the pregnancy, but was wondering: Is the-all-day sickness finally abating?
Here’s hoping it stopped on the 13th week!
Young House Life says
Sadly I’m still having all-day sickness, but my morning sickness didn’t let up until 16/17 weeks with Clara so I think I might have another month to go until I’m in the clear if this one follows the same pattern. Here’s hoping it’s not a whole-pregnancy thing!
xo
s
Chasity Dix says
I know it’s still a bit early for real baby bump pictures but I’ve been checking your family blog daily, anxiously waiting for them. I am so freaking excited for you guys – I have baby fever like crazy so I will be obsessively soaking up every detail you post. Don’t be creeped out :)
Young House Life says
Aw thanks! I just have a little bump and didn’t take weekly or monthly pics with Clara or anything, but I’d like to capture this bump a few times throughout the pregnancy like I did with Clara so I’m not sure when, but it’ll happen :)
xo
s
Amanda says
So cute!! What kind of outdoor sealant did you use?
Young House Life says
Just a clear outdoor spray sealer! They sell them in the spray painting aisle. I went for one with a satin finish so it wasn’t too shiny.
xo
s
Emily F. says
So cute! I love that my daughter is starting to get into crafts. We painted a pumpkin last weekend and are going to paint more this weekend. Also, not a joint task, but I refinished some old school chairs (pic is of two of them, I actually have 4) and refinished an old end table to match and put a chalkboard top on it. She loves it! We colored on it for about an hour last night :)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/mullenem/photo1.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/mullenem/photo2.jpg
PS She is Clara’s birthday buddy, born on May 14th one year after Clara! Also, a baldie. Her hair is just starting to really come in!
Young House Life says
ADORABLE!
xo
s