Total Time 1 hour Ages school-age
Every dad can use a hammer around the house, especially if there's a long to-do list of fixes. By adding his first initial and doing a custom paint job, Dad will be sure to love it.
by Amanda Formaro
What you'll need
- 1 wood handled hammer
- Sand paper
- Acrylic paints, any colors plus white
- Paintbrushes
- Black fine point marker
- Clear acrylic glaze or sealer
Helpful Tip:
This project will require some patience because there's quite a bit of dry time involved. For small children, a coat of white and a few different colors of finger painting or brush painting is usually fine. For older kids, they may want to be more intricate, adding stripes, lines, and polka dots. Just be sure to allow dry time for each layer.
You can get cheap hammers at the dollar store.
You can speed up the process of this project by sanding the hammer and painting it white ahead of time and just allowing kids to decorate.
Crayons or markers are also an alternative to paint! Have kids color directly on the white painted surface, and then spray with sealer afterward.
How to make it
1. Sand the wood handle of the hammer to rough up any coating that may have been added. Paint one side of the wooden handle white. Once it's dry, paint the other side white.
2. Decorate the rest of the hammer in whatever fashion you like! You will need to paint one side, let it dry, and then paint the other side. Let dry completely.
3. Use a black fine point marker to add any details, such as outlines. It's important to let the marker dry for a good 30 minutes; otherwise your sealer may cause the marker ink to bleed.
4. To monogram the hammer, paint the first letter of dad's name toward the bottom of the handle (T for Tom, B for Bob, etc).
5. In a well ventilated area, have an adult spray the hammer with a clear sealer or glaze. Let dry and repeat for a second coat. Allow to dry overnight.
Crafts
