Have you ever had a really good idea because of something that you happened to find in the store? Did you think, "That would make the best craft and would be such a great keepsake!"?

Well, I did that day I was 8 months pregnant and we were taking a walk in WalMart (again) to get away from the heat of the summer outside. We were in the craft and painting section of the store and I found these adorable, small canvases. I thought they would be perfect to print our coming baby's hands and feet. I loved the idea of decorating the nursery with something so sweet and personal.

I am also not one to accumulate junk or be very sentimental, however, I thought that I would keep those canvases and give to our baby girl when she grew up because they would be adorable.

So, we bought 4 and anxiously awaited our bundle of joy. She came and we were so excited!
Since we received so much help, I thought that making thank you cards should take priority. So, I roped my husband into helping me get cute handprint thank you cards made.

After I had made about two dozen of those, I thought that I could finally handle the canvas project. I had done the thank you card handprints using an ink pad. I thought that paint would look better on canvas than ink pad, so I got some washable black paint (and good thing!)

I also thought that I could handle this little craft project by myself. I was VERY wrong!

Here are the results:

Need I explain how terribly wrong everything went?

I'll give you the Reader's Digest version: Baby was awake (bad idea), although recently fed (better idea), noncooperative, screaming in no time, and refusing to open her hands or even let me press her feet in the right way! Also, there was paint everywhere!

So I made a lot of mistakes on this one.

Here is what I would change if I did it again (who knows if I ever will...):

1. Have baby be asleep.
2. Have a partner help you. (Seriously, I underestimated how helpful that would be!)
3. Possibly use an ink pad. I don't know about this one. Maybe it was the paint I got, but it was too thick. The right footprint turned out the best and that was because I had her place her foot on a paper towel before the canvas. I am still not thrilled with it because I wanted to see creases on her hands and feet.
4. Have some back up canvases. I should have learned from making handprints before that it will probably take more than one try to get it right. Unfortunately, I only had one shot and I blew it!

So if you want to make baby prints on small canvases and have success, let me know your secrets!

What has been your worst craft fail?