Baby Food Turkey

Since I had a LOT of baby food jars coming in and out of my house, I was looking for a craft to keep the girls occupied over Thanksgiving and for a cute centerpiece for our table.  We ended up making a handprint turkey and I think it turned out really cute!

Things You'll Need:
 - Construction paper, pencil, & scissors
 - Baby Food Jar (washed and label removed)
 - Brown paint & a paint brush
 - Google-y eyes
 - Hands to trace

First we put the first coat of brown paint on the baby food jar.  No need to paint the 'top' of the jar since you'll never see it.  We did this and then let it dry while we made the hand prints.  I'd suggest a second coat so it has good coverage.

While waiting for it to dry, we traced my daughters hand on yellow, red, and orange construction paper.  Cut them out and then you can either tape, glue, or hot glue them together to create a fan look for tail feathers.  I found it worked well to flip the hands on either side so that the thumbs were at the bottom and you just sort of move the layers around so you can see all of the colors.  One thing to note is to make sure that the bottom goes straight across (don't angle so much that the thumbs are pointing down) or you will have problems with them bending or getting squashed when you put them on the jar. 

Once the jar is dried, you can glue the hand 'feathers' to the back of the jar and let it dry.  Next you can add the two google-y eyes and we just cut a small yellow triangle from the yellow construction paper for a nose.

What was extra fun about this craft was that my oldest decided she would make one of her own when she saw what we did; except she flipped it a little.  She used cool colors (blue, purple, green) and painted the jar blue with a layer of glitter paint(!!!).  Then she added a red and white pom-pom hat to it and called it a Christmas Peacock! :)

Hand & Foot Turkey

I had some time with my 4 year old, so we decided to make some Thanksgiving crafts to have on display when we hosted dinner.  This takes a bit depending on how long you wait to let the layers of paint dry, but turned out really cute!

Things you'll need:

 - red, orange, yellow,
   and brown paint

 - paintbrush

 - googley eyes

 - hands and feet!!

I thought it would be easiest to have the darkest color on the bottom so that it would show through the others as you put more prints on top, but you're welcome to switch it up however you would like to.  I do recommend waiting until the print is almost dry (or fully dry) before putting another print on top.  You'll see the progression photos around this post.  We tried to alternate the hands around a bit so they were not perfectly aligned.  I may actually recommend flipping the hands to the opposite side to completely get a different pattern.

After we let that dry, I coated her foot in brown paint and tried to make it so that the toes (feet) were below the hand feathers.  We added two google-y eyes after it dried and also a yellow beak.  You can add a beak cutting out a triangle from construction paper or I used the back of a paint brush to make a triangle with yellow paint.

Hand Print Bouquet

It's unfortunately been awhile since I last did a craft OR posted a not so crafty post, however with all of the holidays coming up, I've definitely been more inspired (in addition to life slowing down just a little bit to afford me the time to even think about doing a craft).  Alexandria and I decided to make some hand print flowers and I think they turned out really cute...although they're probably better suited for spring!

Things you'll need:
 - paper
 - different colored washable paints (flower colors, green for stem/leaves, brown for pot)
 - paint brushes
 - tiny hands, of course!

Pick your colors for the hand prints and decide how many flowers you'd like to do.  Three worked out well on this size piece of paper (normal 8x11), but even one would be cute!  I didn't have much of a method to my madness about which colors should go first, but after doing it, it's easier to do the lighter colors first because the darker colors will cover them eventually if they overlap.  Proceed painting a tiny hand with the first color, make the print, wash, rinse, repeat for as many flowers as you'd like to make!

Always expect some messes!  Alexandria was absolutely thrilled with herself for accidentally getting red paint all over her belly.  As you can see, we try to save the clothing (even though the paint is washable) and we've started doing our crafts on our new coffee table (::cough::cough::) I mean the girls picnic table in the middle of our living room..

After we did the hand print flowers, I free handed the pot for the flower stems to go in.  Leave the pot and hands dry so that when you do the stems, you don't drag any wet paint around the edges of them into the stem (best way to learn is by making mistakes)!  Last thing to do is to draw in the stems and even add a leaf or two if you like.

We ended up repeating this craft with my older daughter and then sending them to a close family member as a 'Get Well' card from the girls.  Much better than flowers that you will have to throw away after a week; these will look really cute forever and are a great idea if you want to give someone something they can cherish!

You're What Ties Our Family Together

For Father's Day, I helped the girls with a craft that we could give Daddy.  I used an idea that I got from my friend Beth's son's art work from his daycare that I saw (and photographed) while I was out visiting her.

Things you'll need:
 - any color paper you choose
 - paints
 - paint brushes (or anything to apply the paint to hand)
 - scissors
 - marker to write with

First up is to sketch the outline of a tie.  I just did this by eye (imperfection is the best part of home-made memories) and used the picture I took of the craft as a guideline.  Make it as big or as small as you'd like or as you need so that you can still fit a hand print or two (or more!) on the tie.  After you have the outline, use the scissors to cut it out. 

Next up are the hand prints.  You can do these whatever way you'd like; you just have to be mindful making sure they're positioned so that you'll be able to see a lot of each hand, ensure all will fit on the tie, and of the colors so that they will overlap and not disappear.  I picked purple and blue for the girls so that they'd both show up well.

Next is to add some finishing touches.  I added a 'DAD' to the tie knot, some edging to add some color to the cut out tie, and a super cute phrase 'You're what ties our family together'.  Here's the finished product amongst our very full refrigerator door!

Ocean Full of Fishies

I ended up LOVING this piece that we just finished and had to share pretty much immediately (after Alexandria was asleep of course) with everyone.  I got the idea from a website online for the fish and then just got creative while we were doing it to add in some other ocean pieces.

Things you'll need:
 - paintbrushes
 - variety of paint colors (green for seaweed, blue for bubbles, and whatever colors you'd like for your fish)
 - large sheet of paper
 - google-y eyes
 - permanent black marker
 - tiny hands :)

First, and of course the most difficult task, was to apply a variety of colors to Alexandria's hand before she made a fist and mushed them all together (which probably would have also looked neat)!  She was amazingly patient with this and held out her hand while I did the various stripes of colors.  One thing I tried to do was to make a larger part of her palm the same color so it could act as the fish face.  I made hers a little bigger than I would have liked, but it still turned out just fine.

Make the hand print facing either side of the paper.  I had it so her thumb was at the bottom of the sheet, but I don't think it would matter much if it was at the top since the fingers are representing the flowing fins.  Repeat as many times as you like or as many times as your child will let you re-apply paint!  We did two fish with each application of color and ended up with four cute little fishies.

At this point, I was kind of bummed and thinking about what else I could add when I thought about an ocean floor and using her fingers to make seaweed.  I painted only her four fingers with green paint (excluded her thumb), moved the bottom of the paper to the edge of the table and pressed her fingers all along the bottom.  I had to re-apply paint a few times, but I kept pressing until it was all off and then would go over it as necessary with newly paint covered fingers.

Again, I thought it needed something else on the left side.  I originally was going to fill it with a Mama fishy hand-print, but I opted for the easier task of letting her keep green paint on her hand a make a larger sea plant.  I added paint to the rest of her hand for this.  She went a little crazy smearing in the middle, so I added a print to top it off and like magic, we had a sea plant!

Next, I flipped the paper upside-down so that we wouldn't get in the wet paint and used her pointer finger to make blue fingerprint bubbles coming out of all of the fishies' mouths.

After it dried, I went back and added a half oval of sorts to make a head area on the fish and a cute half smile with the permanent marker.  Last, but not least I added a small google-y eye to the face.  You can see the face better in the first photo in the post.  There you have it!  Super cute fish and an ocean scene made all from my little girls hand!

Lobster with Daddy

In an attempt to get some work done, I suggested my husband do a craft with Alexandria the other day since she really calms down while doing crafts even if they don't last that long.  I picked out a really cute lobster idea that I saw and set them on their way.

Things you'll need:
 - Red paint
 - Paintbrush
 - White paper
 - Black marker
 - Google-y eyes
 - Glue

First thing first was to do the hand prints that would act as the lobster claws.  Use the paint brush to apply paint to one hand at a time and make the print on the paper.  Alex really enjoys this part! :)

For your own sanity, be sure to wash each hand after the print has been made!  After that, apply paint to a foot (either foot will work, so whichever is easiest) and make that print so that the toes are at the bottom of the paper and the heel will act as the lobsters head.

Next step is to add the arms and legs to the lobster.  My husband just free handed these with the paintbrush.  The beauty of crafts at home is that imperfection is actually the greatest part of the craft; at least I think so!  (Not that my husband did any part not perfect :-P)  After everything is all connected, then you can glue on the google-y eyes at the top of the head (heal).  Last step is to add the antennae and smile using the black marker as the final touch!

Sharing a Little Love

My neighbor sent me a picture message with a 'not so crafty mama' craft and I decided to take a stab at it for myself.  In the end, I think her version came out better, but it's still capturing the memories that is the most important part of the craft.  I asked for her copyright permissions for the craft and to post!  (Thanks Marla!!!)

Things you'll need:
- Red paint & paintbrush
 - Pink paper (you'll need red paper and glue if you'd like to do layered hearts)
 - Pen
 - Tiny hands

The first thing you do is make a heart.  You can do this the traditional way by folding a piece of paper in half so that both sides are even, by tracing something that it heart shaped (possibly printing out a big heart on your computer to trace), or taking the really easy way out (as long as you have a Cricut) and just popping in a cartridge and having it cut out a perfect heart for your with a few button touches!  Regardless, as long as you have a heart, then you're good for this step.

I didn't take the time to create an 'inner' heart to give extra color or depth, but my neighbor did and I think her's looks sharper than how ours turned out.  After you glue the layers together (if you have them), you're ready for the hand prints.  I prefer to use the paintbrush to apply the paint to Alex's hands.  She's becoming much more interested in this process and spent a lot of the time playing with the bristles on the brush while I was covering her in red paint; very cute!

Right hand on the right, left on the left and you've completed your hand prints.  I had Alexandria do hers one on each side; Marla's however looks neat with the thumbs overlapping...to each is own!  Add a little personal message as a touch and your quick & simple valentines are done!  Alexandria left one of these on her changing table to surprised Daddy with in the morning and then gave one to her teacher at daycare.

One Year Paw Prints

Alexandria thoughtfully (with some extra thought by Mama) got both my husband and I the same frame/kit for Christmas that we could use to make a keepsake for her first birthday.  She bought the BabyPrints - Photo and Baby Footprint Desktop Frame at Babysakes.com.  They have various versions of the same idea, but we thought it would be nice to have a picture with the print.  The frames come in all different sizes, colors and layouts so you can pick whichever you like the most.  We also chose to have my husband's be a footprint and mine be a hand print so we had one of each as a keepsake.

Things you'll need:
 - BabyPrints kit (or substitute using the suggestion in the note at the bottom of the post)
 - Baby for hands & feet
 - Aluminum foil
 - Hardcover book about 8 inches square (I used one of Alex's many board books)

The instructions were pretty good that came with the kit.  You cover a book with the aluminum foil so you have a non-sticky surface to roll the 'printing clay' on.  You knead the printing clay for a few minutes (make sure your hands are clean as any spec of dust/dirt shows on the white clay) and then roll it out on the board.  You might want to keep in mind while rolling what type of shape you'd like the print to end up on.  My rolling came out in circles / ovals, so I just rounded them up a bit after we did the print to make them more uniform.  You could also roll it so that it's more of a rectangle / square shape so you can make even edge trims after you do the print.  Whichever you choose, I would say I rolled it until it was about a 1/4 inch thick or maybe a little more.  There's really no science or trick to getting a level surface, but now that I think about it, I may have been able to press a book on top of it to level it off and make it even; might be worth a try!

As with others, my husband's help was needed for the foot print to hold Alex up over the print.  We did let her put a decent amount of weight on her foot once it was placed on the clay.  With the hand, I sat her on my lap and put her palm down on the clay first while I spread out her fingers and then smushed her hand into the clay. 

You then let the prints sit for a few hours and then flip them over based on the instructions so that the backs could dry.  Personally, I let them sit just the way they were for a day because when I tried to flip it over, some of the clay was sticking to the foil and I didn't want to ruin it.  I think we let them sit for about 4 days and I flipped them back so that the print was facing out after a day of the back facing out.  After it's dry, you assemble them in the frames and are done!  Now they provide double sided sticky tape for this which does NOT work, so I'd try to use something more permanent to stick the print to the matte they provide so that it stays on better.  Here's the final product!

Because the hand print was larger than would fit in the white matte frames they provided, you can see the brown piece in the print side of the frame that separates the glass from the print.  The white mattes they included in the kit covered some of the hand print edges, so I just didn't put them in.  I'm considering painting the brown piece white so that it contrasts better with the other side and doesn't look dingy!  After that, all I have to do is find an empty wall or table top on which to display them!

**NOTE: If you'd like to do this without buying a kit, I suggest using Crayola Model Magic as it is the same consistency and has the same drying effects as the 'printing clay' that came with the kit.  You'd just have to find a frame that you could use that had some depth on one side so that the hand/foot print would have room to fit behind the glass.