Let me just say this, in defense of all well-intentioned wives who will inevitably try this project at least once in their lifetime, it would do you well in the appreciation dept. to video tape the process of the making of the shirt itself. Afterall, we ideally want the man in our lives who is on the receiving end of this gift to truly melt in appreciation of this present, and to ooh & aah and tell you how much better this is than that laser precision table saw he wanted. While we might not get such an overwhelming reaction (those reactions do in fact happen on Mother's Day;), seeing your husband put his hand against the tiny imprinted fingers on the shirt will inevitably make this all worth while.No daddy in his right mind will ever understand what labor- nor the blood, sweat & tears that are poured into this simple looking activity. My second piece of advice is: when making the handprint of a 3 month old baby, you will need about five people to help you- at least one for each tightly clenched finger. Despite the fact that April & I were about three or four people short, this shirt still managed to come out okay...despite a few necessary smudges. The one thing that I did right in FORESIGHT, rather than hindsight, as are the above 2 lessons learned, is to STRIP EACH CHILD NAKED. Red fabric paint is made to come off of skin a lot better than hands. Prepare yourself though, for while the graphic arts are normally PG rated, the process in making a Father's Day Handprint Shirt with red paint will create a bloodier scene than you will find in any horror movie. Speaking of which, did I mention to video tape it when you undertake this project?.....
