When I joined Pinterest, I was inundated with all kinds of handprint and footprint ideas, but most of them looked like preschool art projects. Fun to do on a rainy day, but nothing I wanted to frame & give to a relative or friend as a gift or memento.
I went to the website, hoping for a tutorial. Sadly, no dice. These prints are done by Piggies & Paws consultants. Click here for more information.
I thought I'd give it a try, though, to see what I end up with.
The easy part was painting Jonah's foot. He sat on a chair while I used tempura paint & brushed the bottom green. I don't think he liked it much; he's very ticklish and wanted his foot cleaned right away. *smile* My big hitch was how to get him to step on the paper "just right." I mean - there's only one shot at this and he cannot be allowed to walk around or else I'd be cleaning green footprints off my floors. *sigh* I worried for nothing, he managed to place his foot down perfectly on the paper & then promptly sat back in the chair and asked me to take the paint "off." I do think it would make a better outdoor activity than an indoor one - then who cares about toddlers running amok with a bit of paint on their feet?
Using the picture above as a template, I painted the rest of the tractor (tires, smoke stack, & cab) very carefully after penciling in some guidelines. The hardest part for me was the tires, those knobby treads took a little bit of work! All in all, I'm pleased with how it turned out.
The final touch was to sign Jonah's name & the year (2011).
Matting the art was a 2-step process. I bought a factory-cut, Kelly green matte but wasn't completely happy with the look. I wanted something more unique. In the end, I decided to make my own matte using some leftover green tartan fabric I had on-hand.
So...it's not exactly like their model, but I think it turned out pretty good.