ink-free baby footprints

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm dead tired (Marcus is an angel that keeps things quite interesting in the early morning hours). But not having posted anything in a while that was letterpress or diy-related was starting to bug me. So, here I am still sleepy, but happy to report back with a simple (baby) project! *

I wanted to make a print of Marcus' foot but I didn't have any inkpads suitable for baby's skin. I did a quick search on the net and found that I could simply get his footprint by using some eye shadow! Now, nothing is easily done with a newborn and you have to find the right time to do these kinds of things. I decided to get his print while on the couch, just after his feeding time and he was dozing off on my chest. I whispered to Chris in a frenzy to get all of the materials and set them beside me.

Because Marcus was on on his way to dreamland, and we were chest to chest, I was able to bend his leg and have the bottom of his foot facing the ceiling. I was able to apply the eyeshadow with a small brush to his foot without any problems. I just placed some tissue underneath his foot so that any eye shadow that fell didn't get on my shirt.

The cardstock I used for the prints were just some of Chris' old generic business cards. They were the perfect size and smooth enough to get a good print. I made about ten prints and at least a few of them were frame worthy.

Once the footprints were made, it was clean up time. I used a little bit of eye make-up remover with cotton balls, and q-tips for in between his toes. Following that, I used some olive oil for the last couple of wipes. I wasn't able to get his foot completely clean but I had it mind to give him a bath later that evening anyway to do the job.

To complete the prints, I placed the cards on a larger piece of cardstock, took it outside and sprayed some Easy Tack on the prints to hold the eye shadow in place. The adhesive does double-duty because I placed a sheet of acetate over the prints and then cut them out individually. So the prints are protected and you can still see them through the acetate.

Voila! Ink-free baby footprints.

Now it's time for me to go back to sleep.

*This post was made possible because of my mom. She is with me with right now, looking after Marcus. Thanks, Mom!

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