With This Hand - My Tribute to Being a Lefty

If you look back at the handprint crafts I've done over the years, the vast majority feature my right hand. Why? Because I'm left-handed, it's easier to trace around (or paint on) my right hand. Being a lefty is a big part of my identity, so I decided to make a project to celebrate my left hand specifically. Obviously, right-handers could make the same project featuring their dominant hand. Affiliate links below. 

With This Hand

Materials:

• mixed media sketchbook
• acrylic paint (skin tone and contrasting color)
• sponge (cut into 1" pieces)
• black Sharpies (or, for dark skin, white Sharpies)

Steps: 

Paint a page in the sketchbook with the skin tone of your choice. When the paint is dry, position your dominant hand on the paper and trace around with a fine-tip Sharpie. Trace as close to your hand as possible. 

With your dominant hand still in position, use a sponge to dab a contrasting color of paint all around your hand. You will get some paint on your hand. 

Remove your hand and wash it. Then use the sponge to touch up any areas where the contrasting paint didn't quite reach the outline of your hand. As you can see, doing this makes the paint denser immediately around the hand. 

When the paint is dry, use an ultra-fine Sharpie to write WITH THIS HAND. Then write on each finger (and down the arm, if desired), focusing on things you do using that hand. On my pinky finger, I wrote about drawing, painting, and the other artsy things my left hand does. My ring finger has a wedding ring, so I talked about the important role my left hand has in showing the world my commitment to Steve. On my middle finger, I wrote about writing, a big part of my life. My pointer finger talks about the stirring and folding and mixing my left hand does as I cook and bake to feed my family. My thumb talks about the books and magazines I read as I hold them in my hand. I continued down my arm, writing about my identity as a lefty.