Spring Flowers Hand Print and Foot Print playdate!

Hand and Foot Print Flowers for Spring!

Finished Project

Spring will be pretty.

Just give it a week, When flowers are blooming down by the creek.

Bees will be buzzing as trees start to bud,

But for the moment I'm covered with mud.

Snow has been melting, since winter is through,

Replacing the whiteness with puddles of goo.

I stepped off the sidewalk and into the ooze.

Next thing I knew, I stepped out of my shoes!

Mud on my ankles and mud on my clothes.

I stumbled face-first and got mud up my nose.

Spring will be pretty, but I must confess,

The first days of spring are a muckety mess!

Let's get messy! 

Bring your kids over to our house and dip their

feet and hands in paint to make a keepsake for Spring!

RSVP as usual - only plus 1 if your bringing 2 kids and so on.  Please list any allergies in your rsvp.  Directions will be emailed the night before to all Yes rsvp's.

Craft Directions:

These are super easy to do, I was even able to get both of my 3 year olds hands and feet onto the SAME piece of paper! Granted it was a large piece of construction paper, but they fit none the less. I had to settle for a new piece of paper to get my 11month olds flowers done but that eased my fears of her turning her flowers into a finger painting project which would "ruin" the twins prints.

8-Oz. Color Splash! Washable Tempera Paint (Pack of 12) Using Washable Tempura Paints make this project an easy one to clean up after.

Supplies:

Washable Tempura Paints

Paint brushes

Wipes or a wet hand towel

Paper to apply prints onto

Step 1: Choose your colors for the flowers, my girls actually chose different colors! I thought we'd have our usual purple and pink but they surprised me and I think they turned out great! Place your hand and foot prints as shown. I use regular baby wipes to clean off the paint but a wash rag would be far more economical.

Step 2: Draw in your stems. I used a regular foam paint brush. I buy mine at Michaels but have seen them at Target and Walmart. Make sure to wash these out ASAP, even just soaking them will make them last longer. They may be cheap to buy but having to run to the store Just to buy paint brushes aren't in my plans for the day.

11month old's project

Step 3: Paint on leaves and add the name and date to either a stem or on an empty part of the paper.

Handprint Leaf - Craft for babies to school aged kids!

Fall into Autumn by Creating a Creative Keepsake!

Leaves

by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow.

The weather is changing and the leaves are falling! 

Bring your little ones over to our house for a keepsake craft you

can give as gifts for Thanksgiving or keep for yourself! 

Please bring a tile that will fit your child's hand, bring a big one

if you'd like to do more then 1 hand print. 

*The Dollar Store has some plates with a leaf pattern if you'd prefer to do this on a plate.

This playdate is potluck as usual, please list any allergies in your rsvp as well was what Autumn themed snack you'll be sharing with your friends.

Directions will be sent out the night before the event to all Yes rsvp's. 

We have a small dog and outdoor kitty.

I had my 18 month old do this handprint, it took a couple tries but she finally lost interest in squishing her fingers on the tiles slick surface.  Thankfully I have a box of baby wipes next to me to quickly wipe off the "mistakes" and re-apply the paint to her hands.  Yes, we did take a shower afterwards since she puts her hands in her hair immediately.

We used the washable Crayola tempura paint; Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red.  I painted her hand with the lighter colors first then dabbed on the darker colors.  I wanted the leaf to look as if it was laying down or falling so I had the tile diagonal when I placed her hand down.  As usual I painted my fingers a bit so when I took her hand I didn't take any of her paint off - oddly enough, if my hand isn't painted a little as well I seem to be concerned with getting some on me.  This is weird since I'm covered in paint or glue most of my day anyway but if you ever find yourself hesitating due to not wanting to get paint on yourself - PUT it on yourself and you'll be able to grasp your child's hand and move her fingers however you wish!

After her handprint dried I used the back end of the paint brush to paint on some leave veins.  I let that dry then outlined the hand print in a leaf shape with gold glitter glue.  This is at our Dollar Store almost year round so I use it often!

After its all finished I sprayed it with an enamel to seal it.

Thumbprint Critters

Thumbprint Critters - Too Cute for Baby and Toddler Keepsake Clothes!

I cannot believe how easy these were to make!  I saw a little boy at the park yesterday with this on and asked the mom where she bought it.  She told me how she made hers and I rushed home and broke out my fabric paints!  Unfortunately I had to wait for my baby to finish her nap before starting my new craft.

For the toddler t-shirt I dipped my babies thumb into yellow paint to make the baby ducks, then let it dry.  After it was dry I painted her thumb green and made the froggie.  Her part was DONE!

Next I drew in the legs and faces with a Sharpie - not recommended.  It blurred after the 1st washing.  Splurge on the fabric markers, its worth it.  I used fabric paint for everything else and it hasn't had a single issue.


I was having so much fun with this that I had to make my favorite flower handprints too!  She's always in a onsie so I grabbed one of her white onsies and began the thumb print process again.  Once the duckies and frog was dry I painted her hand red and made a print high enough to draw a stem on.  This fabric paint dries quickly so make it fast!

Both of these shirts are worn pretty regularly and I've had no fading and TONS of compliments!  These are definitely keepsakes.

Hand Print Keepsake Holiday Ornament

This is going to be a great

holiday tradition!

When picking out your ornament to decorate, remember your kiddos handprint will be on it so make sure the texture is smooth and a solid color.

Ornaments can be found at Dollar Stores and major retailers.

We'll spray it with a sealant so it'll be a bit more hardy to water and such.




Supplies you'll need:
Solid color ornament (plastic is safer if you can find it)
White tempura paint
Red, Green, Blue, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Blue tempura paints.
Sharpe pen or permanent black marker
Ornament hanger to let hang while drying

Step 1
Dip your child's hand in white paint. Let them grip the ball then release. Let completely dry.

Step 2
You can be as creative as you'd like with decorating the snow people. I like alot of colors so I make each scarf a different color and alternate the colors of buttons.

Step 3
Using your permanent marker, draw on a top hat, coal eyes, button mouth or a big smile, and stick arms.

Step 4
Using the permanent marker or a glitter glue pen, personalize with the year, name of kiddo, or and season greeting.

I found some big plastic ornaments at the local Dollar Store that all 3 kids could fit a handprint on! We make one for each set of grandparents for Christmas gifts.

Tips
Tempura is washable so if you need to wipe off a print when your kiddo couldn't resist playing with the fun texture of paint and the gloss ball - you can as many times as you need to! With my toddlers and baby I let them get the squishies out of their system before I do the real print, I have a wet towel on hand for when they're done and clean up the ball. Then its just a quick grab of the ball and their done!

Handprint Leaf

Hand Print Leaf

If your hosting a Letter "L" playdate or showcasing Autumn, this is a fun and easy handprint to do!  Since your adding a couple fall colored paints to their hands and letting your little one squish them to mix them up a bit, this is PERFECT for toddlers and babies.  I did this one with my 17month old but I'm sure you can imagine we do these all the time.  She was amazed that I let her squish her hand!

Have your tile ready to go - wipe is clean of any dust.  I bought ours at Lowe's for .79cents each.

Dab 3-4 fall colors onto your little ones hand and let them squish them together

*I like to get my hands in the mess as well so I can gently guide their hand without taking any paint off

Press their hand directly down and lift up before they get the idea to move their fingers

*Have a wet towel nearby to easily erase "mistakes" for quick re-do's

Let the paint dry - usually takes about 20 minutes total

Using a paint pen or a narrow paint brush, draw on the leaf's veins

Let it completely dry

Spray with a gloss sealant

Handprint Turkey

Use paint to make this handprint turkey instead of tracing. Add a few details to the turkey and some fall leaves and you have a beautiful work of art to display at Thanksgiving time.

Supplies:
Paint (various colors)
Foam paint brushes for each color
Paper
Markers
Colored paper for leaves
Glue stick

Instructions:

1. Paint your child's hand with different paint colors. I used brown for the "head and body" (thumb and palm). Use different colors for the "feathers."
2. Let the child stamp their handprint on the paper before the paint dries.
3. Repeat with the other hand.
4. Add details such as legs and a beak with markers.
5. Write the child's name at the top of the paper.
6. Cut out leaves from colored paper.
7. Use a glue stick to attach leaves to the paper.
8. Hang and enjoy!

 

Turkey Handprint and Footprint cutout

Isn't he so cute?!  My daughter was 9 month old when we made this for Thanksgiving, we gave them to each sets of grandparents.  We're going to do this yearly so we can watch her grow thru her prints.

Trace both of your kiddos hands
Trace your kiddos foot
Cut them out and glue together as seen above
Glue on some googlie eyes and a beak
Draw on some legs and your done!

Handprint Autumn Wreath

This wreath is perfect for moms with babies!  If your little one is having a hard time not moving their fingers when its time to make a paint print, just trace that cute hand! 

Gather your fall colored paper

Trace your child's hand a couple times on different papers

Stack a few different colors at a time and cut out one of your child's traced hand prints

*Traced handprints tend to shrink with each set of cutting so make sure you've made plenty of templates before cutting out all the handprints

To make the wreath above I have about 18-20 cut out handprints using 4 different shades of Autumn

Glue all the handprints into a circle

Let dry