I know, I haven’t exactly done a birthday post yet (thanks to many of my pictures turning out blue – but hey, I thought they were lost forever, so I’ll take blue!) BUT Clark, Mom and I decided to use Labor Day to tackle one of our planned fun projects: making thank you cards for the participants of Clark’s first birthday!

After finding this picture on Pinterest (PS – what a great blog!), I decided that the quickest way to send something heartfelt from Clark was to do a hand paint craft. I used Microsoft Publisher and some cream colored 3.5×5 cards that I already had lying around to create the inside, which says, ” Thank you for making my first birthday so sunny! Love, Clark” in Calvin and Hobbes font. But how do you make handprinting over 20 cards as quick as possible (with an uncooperative little guy)? Enlist your mom’s help. I stamped Clark’s hand prints on the cards while Mom quickly removed the stamped card and placed a new one in front of him. They aren’t perfect, but they sure are cute! All I have left is to draw the rest of the rays and the faces, and they are ready to go. I hope that everyone who came to the party will LOVE them!

A quick tip for those moms of 1 year olds: If you want your child to stamp precisely, think again, haha. I had to hold his hand and spread his fingers out each time. He was more interested in painting his high chair (which was easily wiped off) than making the craft, so be prepared to fight with your child a bit. I think the fun of washing his hands and playing with the soap made up for it, though!