Hand Towel Crafts

This is an ideal way to personalize hand towels, and is an ideal introduction to hand towel crafts. If the kids get involved, a hand print hand towel is a great memento to keep alongside photos e.t.c.

You will only need the most basic of materials for this hand towel crafting activity:

1. Some hand towels (white work best).

2. A selection of fabric paints.

3. Something disposable to put the paint on (disposable paper plates work great here).

Simply put the color or colors of paint you like on a paper plate. In general the brightest colors will produce the most pleasing results (red, yellow and light blue are particularly nice) If using multiple colors you can swirl the paint around so that the hand prints will be multi-colored (don't swirl the paint so much that the colors mix to form new colors).

Prepare the towel by folding it in such a way that the hand prints will be visible when you have it on display, or when it is folded.

Now comes the fun and messy part! Take the child's hand and press it into the paint. You want to make sure the hand is fully covered in paint. Press the hand onto the towel in the position you want the print. Leave it for a few seconds, then pull it straight off to avoid smearing the design.

If there are bare patches in the design, use a small paint brush to color them in, taking care not to use too much paint.

Depending on your particular preference you may like to write the child's name under the hand print, or let them do it themselves (under careful supervision!) You may also like to add the date the creation was made for future reminiscence.

The finished towel should be left to dry naturally for around three days, after which it can be washed. Don't be tempted to speed up the drying process as this may result in cracked paint.

The excess paint on the plate can be put to fun, messy use with any old towels or scrap paper you have lieing around.

This form of hand towel craft can be taken a stage further with foot prints or even paw prints. Just make sure your paint covered rascals don't reach the carpet!