Baby’s First Steps Footprint Art
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Scroll all the way down to watch the video below to see in action, sweet Baby’s First Steps Footprint Art. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more fun videos!
Your baby’s first steps are a precious milestone. I know. I went through it 3 times and most recently with my third baby! Unlike my first two, my third didn’t want to walk around 12 months like his brother and sister. He crawled late and was content sitting down, playing and enjoying the view!
I know from experience, and research, all babies are different. So I waited until he was ready and sure enough right at 16 months, he took his first baby steps!
There’s nothing like the sheer joy and excitement on a baby’s face when they figure out this gross motor skills. My baby was no exception, each step was a pure giggle and delight, even when I put this silly baby walking helmet on him to help ease the falls
Footprint keepsake art is nothing new, but I wanted to do something big and momentous to celebrate baby’s first steps. The ones we were all waiting eagerly for. So I set out a huge canvas (actually white posterboard so it was flat), dripped some paint on it (of course in rainbow colors as is the style of most of our colorful rainbow crafts!) and let baby walk to capture colorful rainbow footsteps.
With Mother’s Day coming up with makes a wonderful sentimental gift!
We used washable paint which is easy to wipe and clean off.
It’s so fun to see what kind of footprint art appears as your baby walks down! If there are blank areas it’s best not to have your child walk through as it could mess up the first footprints. You can easily add more paint to the bottom of their foot and “stamp” where you want. OR press their foot against the splattered paint that was not walked through.
A huge note of CAUTION! Do not let your new walker slip and slide over the paint on their own! You will need to hold them by two arms up above or hold their hand side by side so they don’t slip on the paint.
You also want to do this outside to ease potential messes. Another tip is laying down a huge canvas paint drop cloth. We love ours and use it over and again for big canvas art projects!
This one-of-a-kind, baby footprint keepsake is just the type of sentimental gift mom will cherish as a Mother’s Day gift!
Pair it with this beautiful poem by Helen Bush. The original was written with the words ‘Daddy.’
Walk Alongside Me
Poem by Helen Bush
Walk alongside me, mama.
and hold my little hand.
I have so many things to learn
that I don’t yet understand.
Teach me things to keep me safe
from dangers every day.
Show me how to do my best
at home, at school, at play.
Every child needs a gentle hand
to guide them as they grow.
So walk alongside me, mama –
We have a long way to go.
We’ve created a free printable of the poem so you can easily print out and hand out with the footprint canvas as a gift!
Get the materials and instructions below and make sure to scroll down to watch the video!
BABY'S FIRST STEPS FOOTPRINT ART
Capture your baby's first steps in this sweet footprint art.
Materials
Instructions
- Lay out your paint dropcloth, preferrably outdoors to keep the mess to a minium.
- Drop splatters of paint in a line down your white posterboard along the path your child will walk. You can do any colors you want.
- Hold your child's hands either from above or on the side, and help them walk down the paint. They will make footprint art as they walk! The paint is slippery so make sure to hold your child's hands at all times.
- If there are blank areas it's best not to have your child walk through as it could mess up the first footprints. You can easily add more paint to the bottom of their foot and "stamp" where you want. OR press their foot against the splattered paint that was not walked through.
- Allow the canvas to dry completely. You can decide to trim the white edges of the posterboard if you want.
- Pair this beautiful canvas art with this free printable Walk With Me Mama poem.
What a sweet keepsake gift or Mother’s Day present! Any mama would love to remember how small their baby’s footprints were at one time!
Watch the video below to see this Baby Footprint Art in action!
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Agnes Hsu is a mom of three and has been inspiring parents and kids to get creative with easy activities and family friendly recipes for over 10 years. She shares her love for creative play and kids food to her 2MM+ followers online. Agnes' commitment to playful learning and kindness has not only raised funds for charity but also earned features in prestigious nationwide publications.