Handprint Crafts

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Handprint Crafts

Kids enjoy dozens of easy handprint crafts.

Most kids love crafts, and their tiny hands make ideal stencils for numerous simple art projects. With just a few basic art supplies like construction paper, safety scissors, paste, glue and finger paints, you can keep even the youngest tykes entertained while encouraging their creativity. Arts and crafts websites like DLTK, Enchanted Learning, Busy Bee Kid's Crafts and Free Kid's Crafts offer dozens of simple handprint crafts online.

Sun and Sunflowers

Kids can make a simple handprint sun or sunflower in just a few easy steps. For a sunflower, trace the child's hand about eight to 12 times on a yellow piece of construction paper and cut them out. With the palms in the center and finger pointing outward, fan them into a circle and secure them with paste or tape at the palms. Cut out a small brown circle of construction paper to glue over the center. For a sun, use the same procedure, alternating the color of the handprints with various shades of yellow and orange and omit the brown center circle.

Feathered Animal Crafts

Children's handprints make ideal outlines for wings and feathers. To make a duck, trace each of the child's hands on yellow paper and cut them out. Cut out a small circle of yellow paper -- about 3 inches in circumference -- and fold a paper plate in half. Glue the handprints at the palms to one end of the paper plate with the curved section at the bottom. Glue the circle to the other end and draw on a face with crayons or markers. To make a turkey, trace your child's handprints -- about four times -- on several shades of brown, orange and yellow paper. Glue them to an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll to make wings and draw a turkey face on the opposite side of the roll.

Reindeer Handprint Crafts

For Christmas your kids can make simple reindeer puppets and headbands with just a few sheets of construction paper and a small brown paper lunch bag. Your child can trace his handprints twice -- making two pairs -- to create the antlers for both the headband and puppet. Cut a strip of construction paper about 3 inches wide and long enough to reach vertically around his head. Use tape or a sticky paste to secure the ends together and glue one handprint to each side, creating antlers. Glue the other two handprints to the back of the closed end of the paper bag and draw a face above the fold to make a reindeer puppet.

Fingerpaint Handprint Crafts

Eliminate the needs for scissors and glue by making easy finger paint handprint crafts with your children. To make a heart, have the kids place each hand palm down in red or pink paint and, with closed fingers, make one handprint first, and the second handprint overlapping at the fingers to make a heart shape. Kids can make a colorful rainbow by applying handprints to canvas in even, half-circle-shaped rows, alternating colors and slightly overlapping each row. Make a handprint tree by painting one hand green and overlapping several impressions in a circle shape, then painting the other hand brown and pressing down with the palm at the bottom and the fingers slightly overlapping the lower end of the green "leaves."

Century bird cages

Tuesday, December 31, 2013