"Hands On" DIY Picnic Blanket

A Spring picnic is perfect on any given weekend. But for Mother's Day, a lazy day picnic in the park, sipping wine, nibbling on appetizers, and enjoying the company of friends and family, sounds heavenly.

Monday's post listed the keys to a perfectly planned picnic. A modern basket, with classic touches. Acrylic glasses for wine. A simple arrangement of flowers. Delicious food. A beautiful and functional blanket; durable enough for food and drinks and comfortable enough for lounging.

Celebrate Mom (or a friend, wife, etc) on Mother's Day with this special gift:

"HANDS ON" PICNIC BLANKET

Poly backed canvas dropcloth (found at any hardware store -- I used a 5x5)

paint of your choice (I used 2 samples of Glidden from Home Depot and added some white to the lightest shade to create a gradient, 3-shade design on the blanket)

paint brush

painter's tape

set of hands (I used my kids' hands)

ONE: Take the dropcloth out of it's package and place in a dryer with a damp cloth for 5 minutes, until the creases have disappeared.

TWO: Create a pattern with painter's tape. I followed a swirl design and placed pieces of tape on where I wanted the imprint.

**I found the best imprints were made by swiping the paint on my kids' hands with a paintbrush. Feel free to experiment with a roller, or having them place their hands in the paint itself.