How to Take a Baby Handprint at Home: 10 Expert Tips for a Beautiful Print
We’re so happy to have you here and to be sharing the very best tips we’ve learnt over the past eight years.
James and I have personally taken more than 1,000 baby handprints and footprints at our MiMi Adores pop-up shops, so we know only too well that gorgeous little toes can be wiggly and beautiful fingers can be wriggly!
Over the years we’ve learnt lots of little tricks that can make taking a baby handprint so much easier, and we would love to share them with you.
Whether you’re using an inkless baby handprint kit or another baby-safe printing method, we hope these tips will not only help you get a lovely print, but also make taking your baby’s handprint at home an enjoyable experience for you both.
The most important thing we’ve learnt is that your baby’s print does not have to be “perfect” to be absolutely beautiful or to become a stunning piece of artwork.
What you are really capturing is a precious moment in time: a memory of this gorgeous stage when your baby is still so little, allowing you to carry the beauty of this moment with you always.
So, here we go — our ten best tips for taking a beautiful baby handprint at home.
1. Choose a calm moment to take your baby’s handprint
Choosing the right time for you and your baby really is key.
We’ve always found that the easiest time to take a baby’s prints is when they are warm, snuggled and relaxed. Shortly after a feed can work particularly well, especially when your baby is beginning to drift off to sleep.
If you would prefer to take the prints while your baby is awake, try singing a favourite nursery rhyme, chatting gently or asking someone familiar to keep them smiling and relaxed.
Try to avoid taking your baby’s prints when they are hungry, overtired or already unsettled.
And please remember that if it isn’t going to plan or is beginning to feel stressful for either of you, it is absolutely fine to take a break and try again another time.
There really is no rush.
2. Wait for your baby’s hand to relax
Young babies often keep their hands curled into little fists. This is partly due to the palmar grasp reflex: a natural, involuntary reflex that causes a baby’s fingers to curl when their palm is touched.
So please don’t feel that you are doing anything wrong if your baby simply refuses to open their hand!
We’ve met plenty of little ones at our pop-up shops who were determined to keep their fingers firmly closed.
Try taking the print while your baby is deeply relaxed or asleep. Gently stroke the back of their hand or softly massage their palm, then wait for their fingers to loosen naturally.
It may take a few moments, but patience really is the secret here.
3. Ask someone to help
It is definitely possible to take a baby handprint by yourself, but having an extra pair of hands can make the process so much easier.
One person can comfortably hold, cuddle and reassure your baby while the other gently positions their hand and takes the print.
Make sure your baby is supported comfortably throughout, and only use your printing wipe, inkless kit or printing pad according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Get everything ready before you start
Before you begin, make sure everything you need is open, prepared and within easy reach.
You may need:
- Your inkless wipe or printing pad
- Your printing paper
- A firm, flat surface, such as a hardback book
- A spare sheet of paper
- A damp cloth or baby wipes
Having everything ready means that once you begin, you can focus entirely on your baby rather than trying to find something halfway through.
5. Keep the paper flat when taking the handprint
We have always found it easiest to place the paper on a firm, flat surface and bring your baby’s hand down onto it.
One of our favourite methods is to place the paper on top of a hardback book. It gives you a lovely firm surface while still being easy to carefully position underneath your baby’s hand.
Try not to wrap or press the paper around your baby’s hand, as this can make it much harder to capture a clear print.
Keeping the paper still and flat will help you preserve all those lovely little details in their palm and fingers.
6. Place the heel of your baby’s hand down first
Rather than trying to stamp the entire hand onto the paper at once, begin with the heel of your baby’s palm.
Gently lower this part onto the paper first, then slowly roll the rest of the palm forwards.
Once the palm is in place, carefully press each finger onto the paper.
We find that doing it this way gives you much more control and helps to prevent those little fingers from curling underneath the hand.
7. Press each finger separately
This is probably one of the most useful things we have learnt from taking so many baby handprints.
You can get a beautifully clear palm, only for one or two little fingers to curl up at the last second!
Once the palm is down, gently press each finger onto the paper one at a time, working your way across the hand.
Pay particular attention to the fingertips, as these are very easily missed.
You don’t need to press hard. A soft, even pressure is perfect.
8. Lift your baby’s hand straight upwards
Once you have pressed the palm and each finger, carefully lift your baby’s hand directly upwards.
Try not to drag or slide their hand across the page, as this can turn an otherwise lovely print into a smudge.
A gentle, straight lift will usually give you the clearest result.
9. Take more than one handprint — and keep them all!
Please don’t put pressure on yourself to capture the perfect baby handprint on your first attempt.
Whenever possible, we like to take several prints.
One might have a beautifully clear palm but be missing a fingertip. Another might have wonderful fingers but a little gap in the palm.
And this is really important: please keep them all, even the ones that don’t initially look very promising.
One of the things we’ve learnt through creating our artwork is just how useful those different attempts can be.
If we’re creating your MiMi Adores artwork, we can often carefully combine the best parts of different prints. One print might give us the lovely clear palm while another contains the missing little fingertip we need.
So that slightly imperfect print you were about to throw away might actually be incredibly useful!
10. Don’t worry about little imperfections
Real baby handprints are very rarely completely perfect, and we honestly believe this is part of what makes them so special.
Your baby’s handprint may have:
- A few light patches
- Missing fingertips
- Uneven fingers
- Small gaps
- A little smudging
- Marks around the outside
Please don’t worry. These are all completely normal.
Over the years we’ve found that different families want different things from their finished artwork.
Some ask us to preserve their baby’s handprint exactly as it is, with every little imperfection and detail intact. There is something incredibly lovely about knowing that this is exactly the mark their tiny hand made at that moment in time.
Other families prefer us to gently neaten, restore or complete their baby’s print before creating their artwork.
We are always so happy to do either.
What if my baby’s handprint hasn’t come out perfectly?
First of all: please don’t throw it away!
After more than eight years of working with baby handprints and footprints, we’ve learnt that a print really doesn’t need to look perfect on the paper to become a beautiful finished keepsake.
Missing fingertips, lighter areas and little gaps can often be carefully restored.
And if you have taken several prints, that can give us even more to work with.
For example, one handprint might contain a beautifully detailed palm while another has the complete fingers. We can often carefully bring those details together while preserving the natural shape and character of your baby’s hand.
Of course, restoration isn’t for everybody.
Some parents want us to retain every tiny gap, wrinkle and imperfection because that is exactly how their baby’s hand printed on that particular day.
Others would like us to create the most complete version of the print possible.
There really isn’t a right or wrong choice.
It is your baby’s handprint and your memory, and we believe your finished keepsake should feel completely yours.
Baby handprint FAQs
When is the best time to take a newborn baby’s handprint?
We generally find that the easiest time is when your baby is warm, content and very relaxed.
Shortly after a feed or while they are becoming sleepy can be particularly good.
There is no need to rush, though. If your baby is unsettled, simply try again another time.
Why won’t my baby open their hand for a handprint?
This is completely normal, particularly in younger babies.
The palmar grasp reflex causes babies to naturally curl their fingers when their palm is stimulated — which unfortunately is exactly the opposite of what you want them to do when you’re trying to take a handprint!
Waiting until your baby is deeply relaxed or asleep can make things much easier.
How do I stop my baby’s handprint from smudging?
Keep the printing paper on a firm, flat surface and try to avoid moving it once your baby’s hand has made contact.
Once you have pressed the palm and fingers, lift your baby’s hand directly upwards rather than sliding it sideways across the paper.
Should I take more than one baby handprint?
Absolutely.
We nearly always recommend taking several prints if you can.
Babies move, fingers curl and some areas naturally print more strongly than others. Having several prints gives you more to choose from afterwards and, if you are sending your prints to us to create artwork, gives us additional details to work with too.
Can an incomplete baby handprint be fixed?
Very often, yes.
Small gaps, missing fingertips, light areas and other little imperfections can often be carefully restored when the print is turned into artwork.
We can also sometimes combine the best details from several prints to create one complete handprint.
And if you would rather preserve the print exactly as your baby made it, imperfections and all, we can do that too.
One final thought from us
If there is one thing we would love you to take away from this guide, it is not to worry about perfection.
Your baby will only have hands this tiny for such a short time.
The little lines, creases and shapes you capture today are a record of a stage that passes unbelievably quickly.
So enjoy taking them. Keep the imperfect attempts. Write the date on the back. And don’t worry if your baby’s little fingers had other ideas about your beautifully planned handprint session!
Because years from now, it won’t be whether the print was perfect that matters.
It will be remembering just how little that hand once was.
With love,
Naomi & James
MiMi Adores
Baby keepsake artists with over eight years’ experience and more than 1,000 baby handprints and footprints taken in person.