This is Clara’s first Christmas and the boys are getting bigger every day. I decided to make a momento of their little hands to keep for Christmases to come.

I envisioned a little hand Christmas tree pillow, and rarely one to make something completely from scratch, I thought about how to make it as easily as possible. I saw these napkins online at World Market and thought they’d work perfectly.

At first I thought I would trace their hands on cardboard to make a sort of stencil and cut out fabric hands. And then I had a reality check and realized I don’t have the time nor will to cut out all those hands. So paint it was.

All this mess for her one little handprint! Things can get out of control fast with babies. It was still worth it.

Tools

• two napkins with trim
• iron
• acrylic paint (green and gold)
• paint brush
• paper or old towel
• buttons
• fabric glue
• pins
• sewing machine or needle and thread or even fabric glue will do the trick

Instructions

1. Iron the folded creases out of your napkins so they won’t be noticeable on your pillow.
2. Put a towel or paper down on the table before you start with the paint so it won’t soak through. I realized this quickly from trial and error!
3. Get the kids to dab their hand in paint — shouldn’t take too much convincing — and carefully place it on the napkin. We worked upside down to make their handprints face the bottom of the tree. To attempt to make it centered, try to do the first handprint in the bottom center and work up.
4. Paint a simple trunk and the date, if you like. I used gold paint for a little sparkle. I found it easier to dab than brush strokes.
5. Use fabric glue or stitch buttons on for your ornaments.
6. Pin the napkins together — right side out if your napkins have trim and inside out if they do not.
7. Sew three sides of the pillow. If you don’t have a machine, you can use fabric glue for this too!
8. Stuff in a pillow insert. This is a down one from Ikea I had from an old pillow.
9. If you have trim, sewing is a breeze because you can sew that last side on the machine. If not, you can finish the fourth side by hand or with glue.