I’ve always wanted tattoos, but luckily I didn’t get the tribal ring around my belly button that I wanted at 17 (when my stomach was all flat and hadn’t had two babies and several years of cake) or the bar code I wanted on the back off my neck as some sort of statement against consumerism or something (what?! why??). Oh, teenage Jennifer, you crack me up.

I still want a tattoo and might get one to honor my grandmother later this year, but for the moment I’m all about non-permanent forms of expression. I love printable tattoos and have especially always loved the classic Mom tattoo. So we combined both in this free tattoo printable just in time for Mother’s Day!

We’ve created a template that is reversed to look great after printed. You’ll use temporary tattoo paper – you can pick it up online or at your local craft store.  Or you can try this way with regular computer paper and tape. There are a few (thousand) tutorials that also include tracing paper, backs of printable label paper, but we’re going easy with the premade stuff.

This ham didn’t want to stop posing for pics and said things like “man, I look tough lovin’ my mom.” Yes, honey. Yes, do you. He later added about 15 more but then refused a photo shoot. Go figure.

Duck face and some tats, do I know how to raise ’em up right, or what?! To my credit the face was all hers. It’s her “tough girl who looks cool” face just in case you were wondering. Oh, and she wanted Love Rocks on her fingers, but I don’t quite know how to spell or count sometimes, so we ended up with Love Rock. Whatever. It’ll wash off soon.

We had a great time with these and the best part is you can’t mess ’em up. Here’s how to print and put them on if you’re using tattoo paper. First download the free Mother’s Day temporary tattoo printable template and print on your tattoo paper as the brand instructs.

The paper I used had a two step process. Print, let the ink dry and then coat with a glossy second sheet. This stuff is tricky and you pretty much get one shot. Mine had a wrinkle in it already so I tried to position it to the white space so it wouldn’t hit any of the tattoos.

Next cut your tattoo out close to your design.

Peel the top layer off the design and position it where you want your tattoo. Wet a towel or just put some water on the tattoo. And press firmly into place. Let it sit for about 15-20 seconds and then peel the backing off. (Sorry we didn’t snap pics of this part, but I trust ya got it.)

And voila! Happy, tough looking kids that love their mamas (and grandmothers, and you!).

Hope you have as much fun with these temporary tattoos as we did! Happy Mamas/Aunts/Grandmas/Dads doing it all/Maternal figure Day, my dears!

xo, Jennifer