DIY Family Tree
By Amanda
Hi guys! So nice to meet you! My name is Amanda. I'm a Graphic Designer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.
I am a DIY and Lifestyle blogger part time, and my full time job is designing greeting cards for Target at American Greetings and I absolutely love it. I am a God-loving woman, a craft show go-er and seller on Etsy with my Momma, a D.I.Y enthusiast, a lover of dogs (and most recently kitties) and anything fuzzy (especially socks). I am Empowered & Poised because I am not afraid to put myself out there and use my creative talents to empower and inspire others.
Having influential people in my life has been so vastly important in shaping me into the empowered and poised woman I am today. My life has been blessed with 24 years spent with my grandparents. My grandma’s 80th birthday was this year. She is an Italian woman who values family so dearly so I wanted to create something special for her that each of my family members had a hand in creating.
I created this family tree for each member of my family to add their fingerprint and name to. It symbolizes all that we are because of my grandma and papa.
This is a simple and inexpensive DIY gift that a few people or a large group of people can make together, which makes it a perfect activity that all members of a family can participate in, young or old. This is also a perfect gift for the upcoming holidays!
During her birthday party, I set up a table on the side of the house where she couldn’t see what we were doing and I had a couple members of my family at a time sneak over to add their mark to the tree. Once it dried, I framed it, wrapped it and then we all gave it to her as a surprise. She loved it so much. She loves to show it off to all her guests when they come to her house. It really is the perfect personalized gift for someone special.
To create this, you will need:
Tree art (download the one I created here)
Cardstock to print on
Stamps in various colors or one color, depending on the look you want. (I got mine from Joann Fabrics, here are some on amazon)
Exacto Knife
Ruler
Markers
Wipes or paper towels (to get the ink off fingertips)
Frame (optional)
Ink Jet Printer (if you don’t have one, you can go to a public library or a FedEx Kinkos with the file on a jump drive)
STEPS:
To make this for a special member of your family, start by downloading the piece of tree art I created and print it a sheet of cardstock. I created the piece for an 8x10 frame. You can print it on a 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock and trim to the desired size.
Once you have the piece of art printed, you are ready to start stamping! Gather your family members, and have each of them stamp their thumbprint onto an empty branch. I would suggest doing a test stamp on a scrap piece of paper before stamping onto the print itself.
If your family members are scattered in different places and can’t all be in the same place at the same time, you can mail the sheet with a stamp pad and a marker to different places and have everyone complete their thumbprint and pass if off to the next person.
Once they have stamped their thumbprint, wait about a minute to make sure the ink is dried. Once the ink is dried, have them sign their name near their fingerprint with one of the markers. I wanted to make ours colorful, but you could just do green ink and black markers, or whatever you want!! Personalize it to whoever you are giving it to.
As you can see, I added a “L&M” into the center of the heart in the tree. That is something I added with a marker.
Once everyone added their fingerprints and names, I let it dry, added it to the frame, then wrapped it up and gave it to my grams. She loved it. She loved that everyone was involved in creating this gift for her. I hope your loved ones have a great time creating this piece and gifting it to others!
