You guys…..Rowan starts Pre-K this week! Ahhh, I can’t believe it! Out with the toddler, in with the little boy. *sniff*

You all know I LOVE personalized keepsakes and traditions (Project Gallery, anyone?), and I am so, so glad that we started this one for back-to-school. We’re only three years in, and it’s already been so fun watching Rowan grow and develop in these photos.

He’s also starting to show off more personality (just wait till you see this year’s photos…his faces! Ha!), his handprint is getting bigger, and the shirt is starting to (sort of) fit a little better.

Check out Rowan’s Year 3 Update in his back-to-school shirt!

Rowan’s Back-to-School Shirt with Handprints: Year 3 Update!

Adding Rowan’s Handprint

Since Rowan is now four and more mature, we were actually able to take action shots for once! Yep, my husband and I no longer needed to tag-team the hand-printing process in order to avoid a paint disaster, so here are some snapshots of the fun.

This is Rowan’s “Mom told me to smile but I don’t want to then she threatened me so I’m gonna give a crazy grin” face. :)

I painted the orange paint onto his hand with a foam brush, and then passed the torch to my husband for application. Before the paint was applied, I specifically told and demonstrated to my husband that Rowan’s handprint should be *angled* so it would fit nicely and not cover up too much of the black vinyl.

So what did Matt do? Applied Rowan’s hand completely vertical. No angle at all. -_- Thanks, hon.

Oh well. It still looks great. Plus, I was able to wipe off most of the orange paint that was on top of the black vinyl, so you can still read everything clearly.

After the handprint was applied, I hung the shirt off the top of my WorkBox 3.0 to dry. Looks great, huh?

Rowan’s Back-to-School Shirt with Yearly Handprints: Year 3!

And here is Mr. Rowan modeling his shirt for this year’s photos! Just look at that face….let’s just say he gets a little annoyed with all of my requests for pictures. :) #bloggerskid

I just love seeing how his little handprints have already started to get bigger. This is going to be so fun to continue every year….and to display at his high school graduation party! :)

Rowan Throughout the Years

UPDATE: We recently added Rowan’s handprint for Kindergarten (I KNOW!)! Just look at how Rowan has grown over these past four years. Too cute!

Check Out My Back-to-School Shirt Tutorial!

If you’d like to see the complete tutorial I shared a couple years ago when I first made this shirt for Rowan, check this out!

And here’s Rowan’s Year 2 Update that I shared last year. Here I also talk about some things people apparently misunderstood about this project…..some of them, errr, surprised me.