DIY Kids Handprint Keychains

This week Alexa and I made handprint keychains with shrink paper to give to Devin for Father’s Day.

They turned out so cute that I had to make more so I could have one and I could give some to family too.

These are super easy to make and are great gifts for Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.

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Materials:

Clear ShrinkFilm Sheets

Apple Barrel Outdoor Indoor Gloss Paint

Mod Podge

Paint Brush

Scissors

Sharpie Marker

Hole Punch

Parchment Paper

Baking Sheet

Side Note:

I only tried this with clear ShrinkFilm. I’m sure you could use the frosted film but you won’t see your child’s handprint as clearly.

I used the Apple Barrel Indoor Outdoor Gloss paint that I mentioned above. I haven’t tried this project with any other paint. I have seen comments that people have used other paints that wouldn’t stick to the plastic so I can only recommend the apple barrel paint you can find here.

Project Tips

Doing any project with young kids that involves paint can get messy fast. Before you start this craft have all your supplies together.

I also recommend having some wet paper towels ready so you can clean the paint from your child’s hand quickly.

Step One:

Use your paint brush to paint your child’s hand. You want enough paint on them to make a print but not so much that you lose the details of their hand.

Step Two:

Slowly guide your child’s hand onto the ShrinkFilm. Gently press on their hand and fingers to make sure to get their handprint fully transferred.

Alexa asked if I could do her foot too. The footprint keychains turned out cute too but she didn’t like how much the brush tickled her feet and thing started to get messy. Just a heads up if you want to try a footprint.

Step Three:

Once your handprints have dried completely you can flip the sheet over and add your child’s name, the year or their age with a sharpie marker.

Step Four:

Once the marker dries completely use scissors to cut out the handprints. It’s easier to use a smaller pair of scissors like these.

You can cut in between the fingers if you would like but just don’t make them too thin or they could curl and stick to each other in the oven.

Step Five:

Don’t forget to punch a whole in your handprints before baking. I think they look best and hang best when you put your whole on one of the three middle fingers.

Step Six:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your prints marker side down, paint side up. Make sure not to crowd your baking sheet because they do move while baking and they may stick to each other if they’re too close.

Step Seven:

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the oven is up to temperature, place the baking sheet inside and bake for 2-3 minutes.

Your prints will begin to move like crazy twisting and twirling but don’t worry. After 2-3 minutes they will stop moving and go flat. Keep a close eye because once they go flat they’re done.

Most of your prints should lay completely flat but you may get a difficult one that is a little wavy. In that case, immediately after taking them out of the oven press down gently with a spatula to flatten.

You need to do this while the plastic is still hot because if it starts to cool and you try to flatten them they could break.

If you have a print that curled too much and got stuck together you might be able to fix them by pulling them apart with two butter knives, but again you’ll have to do this immediately after taking them from the oven.