School of handprint fish!

School of Hand Print Fish!

We kicked off our "school year" with this cute canvas painting which we have named, "School is for Fish". A phrase we herd from a unschooling friend not too long ago.



Using a white canvas, which I purchased with my favorite 40% off coupon from Michaels, paint it blue with either acrylic or tempura paint. I used a foam brush but any will work. You can either keep it solid blue, or did like I've shown above and make wavy lines to give some depth.

Paint your kiddos hands with the colors of their choice, keeping in mind the base of their palm you will draw a face. Press down and your pretty much done! I painted on some seaweed and light blue bubbles but it looked great without that too.

This is a great keepsake gift too, my MIL has been eying it ever since we hung it!

Autumn Leaves - Handprints

I LOVE Autumn!  There is a definite lack of the typical signs of fall in Vegas.  We happily drive to Mt. Charleston to see the leaves change color but I wanted to do as many crafts at home to help the kids realize the season actually did change.  As of yesterday it actually began to feel like fall, the Vegas skies weren't the usual gorgeous blue and I didn't constantly check the doors to make sure we weren't wasting our a/c.

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.

Halloween Ghost Foot Prints

I can't believe it's almost here!  Are you ready?  I haven't even bought the costumes yet or even decided what all the kids are going to be...breathe.  Well, at least I've started with getting the kids in the mood of Halloween with these fun family foot print ghosts. 

Halloween Family Foot Print Ghosts

This is a great playgroup activity.  We get our preschoolers together every year for these.  Its easy to have the kids sit in a chair as you paint their feet white then have them step down onto the paper.  This is best not done on carpet.  Keeping in mind your little one will want to put their foot down soon after you'll want to have a wet cloth near by to take the paint off.  You can use wet wipes but you'll go thru an entire box with just 5 kids trying to get thru the toes.  *We use the Crayola washable paints, 10 ct. 2 oz. Bottles - Assorted Color Washable Kid's Paint

I outlined these with glitter glue and went over the white with glo in the dark paints - it looks so cool at night!  I bought the googlie eyes at the dollar store, not the adhesive backed ones - it wasn't hard to put glue on the back.  We used the Dollar Store glitter paper for this one too.  It looks just as cute to draw on the eyes and mouth.

I'm a hand print/ foot print nut so I laminate all our projects...Scotch(TM) Thermal Laminator 15.5 in x 6.75 in x 3.75 in 2 roller system (TL901) for $39.89 its worth every penny!  I haven't had a single issue and honestly its been awesome!

Handprint Spidar with footprint ghost

I wish I could have gotten the ghost and the spidar on the same page but my baby just wasn't going to let that happen.  So, you go with it.  My little one was 17 months when we did this and she did great!  I was amazed that she didn't paint her face with her painted black hands. 

To make the spidar you need to keep in mind the placement - the palms will go together to make the fingers into legs.  I've seen this outlined in silver glitter glue but since I paired it with the ghost I left it as is.  Have fun with it!

Another Fall handprint craft...

I know I've said it already, but I LOVE Autumn!!!  I had all the kids contribute to this one.  We were up in UT visiting family when the kids actually got to see some leaves turning.  The girls were excited to gather leaves...I carefully inspected them for bugs yet still managed to take some home.  We did leaf rubbings as well, I forgot to take picts of those.  We'll go hiking soon again so we'll be doing that one again for sure!

Hand Print Tree:

Handprint Tree for Fall

Another Super Easy handprint craft.  I painted in the trunk of the tree the gave each kiddo one color to paint their hands.  Oddly my 18month old knows exactly what to do, she's been doing hand prints since she was 10 weeks old!  I let them go for it and they had a blast. 

Autumn is HERE!

Hand Print Tree for Autumn

It's time to do a handprint craft!  My kids love to get the squishy paints between their fingers and what better way to celebrate the new season?  Vegas doesn't have too many signs of seasons so we do our best to bring them in home.  We started with this craft then took a walk in our green belt.  No surprise that we didn't find a single sign of Autumn as we walk along in our tank tops and flip flops wondering when the temp will go below 105 degrees.

We bought some glitter paper at the Dollar Store that I've been saving for holidays.  Since Autumn is my favorite season we broke out the glitter paper!  This one is super easy.  Paint your little ones hand and some of the forearm brown.  Then the fun part, let your kiddo dip their fingers into one color at a time to decorate the tree!  We made 3 of them...this is the only one that doesn't have fall leaves all over the page.  They had so much fun doing it I just couldn't break in.  Besides, Autumn leaves fall....they were just thinking ahead of the lesson!

Fathers Day Foot Print with Poem Craft - Easy for Toddlers and Babies!

I wanted to find a fun Fathers Day craft I could do with my playgroup of kids 5 years old and under.  This one is super easy to make and a keepsake your husband will want to frame.

Supplies Needed:

• 8 1/2 x 11 colored paper - card stock if possible not necessary  *This will be your background to the foot prints, green was chosen for this mom
• A traced foot print from the father that you will cut out
• Print out of your favorite Fathers Day Poem
• 8 1/2 x 11 colored paper to use as background for the poem
• Sticky back foam embellishments
• Washable tempura paint

Paint your child's foot with the washable tempura paint and carefully let your child step down directly onto the fathers foot print.  Allow to dry before cutting out the traced foot.  If your nervous about the perfect foot print then follow the directions below for more then one child.

*If you have more then one child then cut out the fathers foot print first and glue onto the background paper.  Then have your kids put their foot prints onto it so their print won't get cut off during the trimming of the fathers foot print.  I love colors so each of my 3 kids will have a different color foot print.

While the foot print is drying cut out your poem and glue to its own background paper - we used pinking shears with fun edges to make it look for fun. Mundial P1852B CushionSoft Special Edition 8-1/2-Inch and 5-1/2-Inch Ambidextrous Scissors, 2-Piece Set, Pink

Once everything is dry, begin placing them on your background sheet. 

Embellish as needed! *Our Dollar Tree has tons of fun foam stickers but Amazon has some too:
3D FOAM STICKER BOX NATURE THEME

Fathers Day Hand Print Craft on Tiles!

This one we'll be doing yearly so dad can see how they've grown over the years!

We bought our white tiles at Lowes, we love Lowes!  It's amazing how many craft projects for our playgroup start at Lowes.

Supplies:

White Tile

Washable Tempura Paint

Permanent Glass Marker

This is super easy to do:

Wipe your tile clean before starting

Paint your kiddo's hands and make a print on each tile per child

Place the tile with fingers pointing down and write: Hands Down Best Dad

Write your childs name and the year on it as well, if you'd prefer you can write it on the back - just try to stay consistant each year.

Done!

Mothers Day gift idea

I like to give the grandparents keepsakes for Mothers/Fathers Day from the kids.  I personally LOVE them, so this year I treated myself and made one for me as well.  I wanted to make something they could actually use and may be even be a positive effect on the environment.  We slowly switching over to canvas bags when we go grocery shopping so I thought this would be great to give as a gift.

I bought ours at Walmart, 3 bags for $6 which I'm sure aren't environmentally friendly made.  Amazon has some great ecobags:

They also have a pack of 5 100% cotton bags for $19.96 100% Cotton Canvas Grocery/Multipurpose Tote Bag 5 Pack, Shoulder Length Handles  which is great if your doing this with a playgroup like we did!  Since we were making 3 bags for just us, the Walmart 3 pack worked out fine.

We used regular fabric paint and fabric paint pens for this craft -  You can buy puffy paint if you'd like more dimension for almost the same cost.

The supplies you see here are: Wipes to get the paint of ASAP - it dried very quickly onto your hands so wash off quickly!  Fabric markers, Fabric paints, Paint brushes, T-shirt, and Canvas Bag

 I painted the kids hands with the fabric paint and arranged them like a garden on the bag.

I did the same with the t-shirt.  I lined the bags and t-shirts up in a sort of assembly line and kept refreshing the paint on their hands after each mark.

I was surprised my 1year old did as well as she did with putting down her hands 4 times!  It may have helped that she was working on a Ritz cracker but I still think she did great.  These were super easy to make and I've already used my mother's day gift twice!

Mothers Day Hand print Foot print Flowers

Hand and Foot Print Flowers for Spring!

Finished Project

Mothers Day is on its way and the girls have been excited about growing their gardens.  We have been working on colours this week as well so I thought this would be a fun craft the girls would enjoy and the grandmothers would love! 

We did the above prints on paper to see if we liked them enough to really make them as gifts, they had me hang them in our playroom they like them so much.  Tomorrow we'll be doing this print onto canvas bags to give as gifts.  It also ties in with our playgroups Green Team theme of giving eco friendly gifts.  We'll make one for this mommy as well so I can show off my kids prints at the grocery store too!

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 is rarely 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.

Since we are doing colours this week we discussed the Spanish words for each colour as well as the ASL sign for them as well:

Yellow - amarillo
ASL The sign for "yellow" is made by forming the letter "y" with your right hand.  Shake your hand from the wrist, and move it to the right. 

Green - verde
The sign for "green" is made by forming the letter "g" with your right hand.  Shake your hand from the wrist, and move it to the right. 


Blue - azul
The sign for "blue" is made by forming the letter "b" with your right hand.  Twist/shake your hand from the elbow (the wrist doesn't bend on this sign).  

Purple - morado
Shake a "P" twice. Use a movement that pivots from the elbow. 

Red - rojo
The sign for "red" is made by stroking your lips one time with the tip of your index finger. 

Flowers - morado
Touch a "squished O-hand" to your cheek on one side of your nose and then the other. 
 
Mom - mamá
Make the sign for "Mother" by placing the thumb of your right hand against your chin. Your hand should be open. 
 
Grandma - la abuela
The sign for "grandmother" is made by touching your chin with the thumb of your dominant hand, as when signing "mother." The dominant hand should be open. Move your hand forward in two small arches.

Note: Many people just move the hand forward without the arches.

Family - la familia
FAMILY: The hands trace the shape of a circle. As if representing a family sitting around a dinner table.

Love - el amor
The sign for "love" is made by crossing both hands over your heart. (Middle of your chest.) Your hands may be closed or open, but the palm side should face toward you.

Remember to sign the colours as your talking to your kids as you point them out on scavenger hunts, walks, field trips, or while playing.  The more you use the Spanish words and/or signs, the quicker they'll catch on and remember them!  My twins are 3 now and are trying to teach their little sisters signs all day long, its so fun to see them teaching.

I have to admit, I go a bit crazy for Spring. The weather here in Vegas is Perfect! We bought these plain white lanterns at Michael's, they have little battery operated lights inside with an extra light bulb. Target sells them as well.

I was able to get all 3 girls hand prints onto this but was unable to get a photo showing it. I really can't do every one's hand prints on regular paper anymore so I find other things to put them on!

I used regular washable tempura paint by Crayola and painted on the stem and leave myself. Since I'm hanging this in the playhouse outside I also dabbed glow in the dark paint all around so it looks like stars once turned off. The girls LOVE it on and off!

None of this is water proof so I do take it in every night for fear rain will ruin this keepsake.

Letter H Playdate and Valentines Day Craft - Part 2

We enjoyed making the hand print hearts so much that we did a couple more to hang on our craft wall! For the glitter heart my youngest daughters hand were too small to show real definition so I just did the twins hands.

HOW TO: Trace your childs hands into the heart shape shown in the picture. Use glue, I used regular Elmers School Glue for this, and thinly spread over the fingers. Put the paper on a cookie sheet and let them dump the glitter onto the paper. My girls LOVED this part! No need to be careful here, let it go all over! Once dried, tap the paper onto the cookie sheet to get any access glitter off. Pour the unused glitter back into the container.

I've whited out my kids names on the photos but wanted you to see where I placed their names so you can choose where to place yours. This craft was easy too. Basically the same as the Letter H page but I used decorative cutting sheers to make the pink heart stand out a bit.

Either of these would be great for grandparents or moms!

Letter H Playdate and Valentines Day Craft

We actually made this craft during a Letter of the Week playdate but I hung them up during February as well. We made different heart hand print crafts to give to the grandparents, I'll post those next.

Using red washable tempura paint, paint the palms of your childs hands. I do one at a time to cut down on the mess.

Place their hands as seen in the photo. Outline the prints with a red marker or a glitter pen.

Please visit my blog Playdates and Playgroups for more ideas to present this to your playgroup!

Handprint Flowers

I'm not including instructions since its mainly just look at the pict and copy or improve on it!














Handprint Flowers

These are super easy and fun to do! All 3 of my daughters were able to fit their hands on the paper - doubt that will happen next year!

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!