Handprint Leaves

This has been a favorite this year, which surprised me because normally Alex HATES handprint/footprint/fingerprint crafts. He doesn’t like to be messy, and he hates having me control his hands. This time, though, he was all about that finger paint, smearing it left and right, all over the table, his chair, his shirt, me, people in Timbuktu, etc.

Not sure why handprints are suddenly okay, but I’m good with it. I actually love handprint crafts. I love seeing how small their little hands were, and I love the cute and creative things people come up with. Have you seen this list of handprint crafts from Happy Hooligans? Adorable, right?

I pinned it awhile back, but figured I’d never use it because of my son’s need for clean hands, but hey, maybe I’ll need to revisit… Pretty sure there was an apple with a caterpillar sticking out that we need to make pronto 🙂

Anyway, this craft is just too easy. Here’s the breakdown:

Materials

finger paints

marker

hand

construction paper or cardstock

Handprint Leaves, Step-by-Step

There are no pictures for this tutorial, since I was the one helping Alex do it. Sorry about that, but I do think the instructions are pretty straightforward.

1. Start with some form of sturdy paper. I used cardstock for the header photo, and construction paper for the other 3 paintings Alex made. Both work great.

2. Smear child’s hand with finger paint. I definitely recommend using washable finger paint, especially if you’re going to be doing this with very little kiddos.

3. Press child’s hand onto paper. Use these tips on how to get a good handprint for best results. Try with the fingers spread or close together, or a combination of the two to get different looking leaves.

4. Let the handprints dry. Once they’re dry, trace around the handprints, then add some veins in the centers.

5. Hang up your gorgeous fall artwork and enjoy!