arts and crafts Archives - The Ramblings of Lottie

6 Handprint Art Projects for Kids

Since Lock Down, I’ve had to fill my afternoons with activities for my toddler. Going to the park or soft play or seeing friends/family isn’t an option, so I started doing things like: music time, story time, more garden play, messy play and painting! Olivia gets bored of painting quite quickly and she’s still too little to do proper art projects. So why not have some fun with it? So we tried some handprint art!

I found ton of handprint art for kids ideas on Pinterest so, I thought I would recreate some of my favourites. You can do these in paint or card. You can make these into greeting cards or gifts for loved ones. I love these because not only is it a fun activity for you and your kid but it’s also a treasured keepsake. Something you can look back on and reminisce on when they were small.

All you need for these crafts is:

kid-safe paint
coloured card
scissors
tape/glue
felt tips
pencils/pens
child’s hand

1. Flamingo Handprint Card

Make an outline of your child’s hand on pink card.
Draw the neck and head of the flamingo to roughly the same size as the hand.
Cut both out and attach with tape or glue.
Draw some legs, cut out and attach with tape or glue.
Write your message on the back.

2. Dinosaur Handprint Card

Make an outline of your child’s hand on card (colour of your choice) ensuring your child’s fingers line up with the edge of the card.
Fold the card so the fold lines up with the edge of your child’s wrist.
Cut out hand ensuring you cut through both layers of card while keeping the fold by the wrist. You should be left with a hand shaped card.
Draw head and neck of dinosaur in the same coloured card. Cut out and attach to the back of the card with the hand facing down (so the fingers are like the legs and tail).
Draw on eyes, nostrils, mouth and any other features of your dinosaur. You could even use goggley eyes for your dinosaurs to make them extra cute!
Write your message inside.

3. Family Handprint Art

This one is my favourite and makes the perfect gift! You can also do this with paint but I preferred it with card)

Draw an outline of your child’s hand in their choice of coloured card. Cut it out.
Do the same with members of your household until you have a collection of different coloured handprints.
Layer them so the smallest is on top and the largest is on the bottom. Secure together with glue.
Frame for a gift. This would also look great in the centre of a wreath for the holidays or a Christmas ornament. You could write people’s names on them and the date on the back for a memento that will last forever.

4. Volcano Handprint Art

I think this one is so cute! Again, can be made into a card or gift. This can also be done with paint. Instead of cutting out your child’s handprint just get them to make a handprint in paint.

Make 2 outlines of your child’s hand. One on yellow card and one on orange card. Cut them out.
Draw and colour in a volcano. You could print one off or get your kids to draw one (even better).
Use the handprints as lava spewing out the top of the volcano. Glue the card cut-outs or get your kids to make a handprint in paint at the top of the volcano.
Decorate how you wish.

5. The Hungry Caterpillar Handprint Art

We had the most fun making this one!

Paint your child’s palm green with kid-safe paint and their 4 fingers (not their thumb) in blue kid-safe paint.
Make a handprint on white paper/card.
Repeat until you have 3 handprints next to each other.
Paint a red circle for the caterpillar’s head (or use a round sponge stamp like we did).
Once fully dry, draw on the antennae and nose. I made the eyes with yellow card and drew on his pupils then attached with glue.

6. Seasonal Tree Handprint Art

I love the idea of this project because it would be a great activity to teach children about the seasons. You could get them to make 4 of these (one for each season) and make their tree look different for every season. For example, Spring could have light green and pink/yellow dots, Summer could have dark green, light green and red dots, Autumn could have orange, red and brown spots and Winter could have none (make it a snowy scene). I made an Autumn one because it’s my favourite season.

Place your child’s hand in the middle of the page. Draw around your child’s hand and arm. Colour or paint it in brown. This will be the trunk of the tree.
Using your chosen colours, create the leaves making it more crowded around the trunk of the tree and gradually getting more spaced out away from the trunk. I used felt tips to make the dots but I love the idea of kids using cotton buds and paint to make this.

If you liked this, you may also like: Fathers Day Crafts For Kids
Super Easy Valentine Crafts To Do With Your Kids
At Home Activities For Toddlers
Mickey and Minnie Mouse Cupcakes

If you want to see more fun things to do with your little ones, check out my Pinterest! I have a “Kids Activities” board and a “Toddler Activities Board”: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ramblingsoflottie/boards/

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It really does mean a lot. Keep your eyes peeled because I have some very exciting things coming out on the blog in the next week. Two posts in particular I am incredibly excited to announce to you! See you soon! xx

Fathers Day Crafts For Kids

Father’s Day is coming up and with everything in short supply, at the moment, why not make something for Dad, Grandad, Step-Dad or father figure in your life? Not only does it mean more but it’s also a fun activity for the kids and some of these you can treasure forever! Without further delay, here are my favourite Father’s Day crafts for kids!

Following in your footsteps craft

This piece is great because you can turn this into a card, framed artwork or even do this on a canvas! Not only is it super cute but it’s a life long memento. You are encapsulating your little ones’ feet (not forgetting the super cute toes) in a piece of artwork that will last a lifetime. In years to come you can look back on it and reminisce about the times they were small.

All you need to do is (carefully) paint the bottom of “Dad’s” shoe with kid paint (I used a sponge to minimise the mess on the sole) then carefully press it onto your card or canvas.

Wipe the paint off of the sole of the shoe with a damp cloth. Then, using a different colour of kid-friendly paint, paint the bottom of your child’s foot and make a print in the middle of “Dad’s” shoe print.

You can write anything you like around it but I thought ‘Following in your footsteps’ fitted nicely here.

And there you go! A perfect gift, or card, for Father’s Day.

Father’s Shirt Card

This is probably for the older kids but I love how versatile this can be. For younger children, you could use white paper and make the shirt in advance for them to colour in and design their own shirt for Dad.

Shirt Cards

How to make shirt cards

Equipment

Coloured card
Scissors
Glue
Shirt buttons/stickers/pens

Instructions

Fold a piece of, either A4 or A5, card in half.
Cut 1/3 of the way into the card near the top ensuring you cut through both layers. Do the same on the other side.
Open your card and cut down the spine to meet your first cut.
On the back page of your card, join the cuts you made so you remove a strip from the top.
On the front page of your card, fold over the top pieces until the top corners meet in the middle and form your collar. Secure with glue.
Cut out a tie/bow tie from different coloured card. Decorate and glue into place.
Draw buttons on the shirt or use stickers. If you are making a larger card, you could even design it so the tie lifts up to reveal a special message!

You could use real buttons you have laying around and just glue them on, or even stickers! I have even seen people colouring bow pasta (raw) and gluing them on to look like a bow tie! GENIUS!

‘Dad’ Finger Paint Card

Again, I know I put ‘card’ in the heading but you could easily frame this or do this activity on a canvas.

Simply cut out your letters in card and using tape folded over on itself (so it’s sticky on both sides) attach it to the card.

Then your child can paint all over the card. Little ones can use their hands and feet and older ones might like to paint a pattern over the top.

Once your artist is finished, carefully peal off the card letters and set aside to dry.

Baked Treats for Father’s Day

Who doesn’t love yummy treats? Especially Dads! Brownies, cupcakes, cookies, the list is endless but here are a few ideas for you:
Star Wars Day: Wookie Cookies if Dad is a bit of a Star Wars fan,
My Vanilla Cupcake Recipe to put your own design on
Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins maybe for breakfast? Why not?
Another idea for Father’s Day breakfast: Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes!

Also check out…

This LOVE canvas was made with my toddler. You can find out how I made it here: Super Easy Valentine Crafts To Do With Your Kids

If you liked my Father’s Day crafts for kids, you might also like: At Home Activities For Toddlers
Lock Down Daily Routine For Toddlers

For more toddler and kid craft inspiration, follow me on Pinterest! I am always pinning new activity/craft ideas. Look out for my “Kid Activities” and “Toddler Activities” boards https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ramblingsoflottie/ .

At Home Activities For Toddlers

With all the chaos of the Corona Virus, a lot of people are isolated at home with little ones. While this seems stressful, this is the perfect opportunity to have some fun! I thought I would create a post with some ideas of what to do with your little ones during this time.

Also, sorry for the silence recently! I spent the weekend in Wales for my best friend’s wedding and had an absolutely amazing time!

The following activities are really simple and you probably have everything you need to do all of these. No need to venture out. While all of these activities are simple, children should be supervised at all times.

1. Paper Chutes

These are super easy to make. You could even use the toilet paper tubes that you’ve bulk bought in panic. I used craft card because I didn’t.
All you need to do is tape the paper tubes to a free wall (I used the back of a door) and show your little one how to drop balls into them. If you have any ball-pit balls, these would be perfect. We don’t, so we used play fruit! Get creative! You could use balled up socks, tennis balls or even pompoms!

For older children, you could colour code the tubes and get them to sort different coloured pompoms into them to help them learn their colours.

2. Indoor Croquet

For this you will need: craft card, tape and scissors.
Cut strips of card long enough so small balls can pass through them when you bend them. Fold the ends over and tape to the floor. Little ones can have fun pushing the balls through the arches and older children can play a game with points or use things to hit the balls through.

3. Feet Painting

This is my personal favourite (although probably the messiest). We have a huge roll of paper bought from IKEA but you can use craft paper taped together or old wrapping paper. Dip your little ones’ feet in paint and let them walk across the paper. Older kids could try and spell their name with their feet or make pictures! Fair warning, you’ll have a lot of cleaning up to do!

4. Kitchen Messy Play

My little girl is still too small to help me in the kitchen or do baking together but we love to do kitchen messy play to introduce her to it. Olivia has a play kitchen so we gathered some of the play pots and pans, some rice, pasta and flour, measuring spoons and small toys to use.

I keep this big Tupperware box of messy play in the cupboard so we can get it out to use any time. We scoop flour into different pots using spoons and mix dry pasta and rice in bowls.

5. Water Play

This is an obvious one but this is my daughter’s favourite! Water play can be messy but you can use this to your advantage! Sometimes, I like to make a washing up bowl of warm soapy water and get Olivia to help me clean her plastic toys. She thinks it is a lot of fun and it gets them clean! Otherwise, the usual things are fun in water: her plastic tea set, measuring spoons, play pots and pans, etc.

Make it extra soapy and play with the bubbles!

6. Other Ideas

Just because you’re in isolation, doesn’t mean you can’t leave the house. Play in the garden and get muddy, plant flowers, go to the park, have a picnic lunch in your garden or paint the fences with water (you’ll be amazed how entertained kids are by this). Remember to pull together in these times. Help a neighbour, look out for those who can’t get out, text that Mother that is home alone with all the kids. Show some support.

Top tip! Everyday, put on some music and dance with your kids. It’ll cure boredom, lift spirits and give a little laughter which is something that is priceless in times like this.

Stay safe. Wash your hands. Make the best of the rain for the storm will pass.

Thanks for reading!
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Super Easy Valentine Crafts To Do With Your Kids

Simple and fun crafts to do with your little ones.

These are all really easy and simple, fun crafts to do. All of the following activites have no more than 6 steps and you probably already have everything you need to do them in your home.

I love doing holiday crafts and as my daughter gets older, I look forward to being able to do more crafts with her. I have very fond memories of sitting at my dining table with my Mum doing different crafts throughout my childhood and I hope to give my daughter the same memories. I am also hoping that doing themed crafts will get Olivia excited about holidays just like me.

Here are some of the crafts we did this week and some I hope you can have fun with your kids too.

Valentine Card

This is one of the easiest cards to make with your baby or toddler and it looks so good. It’s perfect to keep as a momento and is super fast to make during painting time.

What you will need:

Blank greetings card
Craft card
Tape
Finger paint

Method

Cut out a heart shape out of craft paper.
Using tape, attach the cut out shape to the center of a blank greeting card. This can be done by folding the tape against itself to create a piece of double sided tape.
Let your baby/toddler fingerpaint over the shape and on the card. You can use paint brushes, sponge stamps, paint rollers or simply their hands.
Before the paint drys, carefully remove the shape and tape from the greeting card and leave to dry.

LOVE Canvas Art

I really loved making this. Not only is it a perfect gift for Valentine’s but it’s also a great decor piece for your home. Is there anything better than having your baby’s hand and footprints to look at years later when they’ve all grown up?

What you will need:

Blank canvas
Finger paint
Acrylic paint/sharpie

Method

Mark out on your canvas where you would like the handprint and footprints to go.
Paint your baby’s hand and gently press it onto the canvas.
Paint your baby’s feet and gently press them onto the canvas in a V shape.
Draw out the L and E and, once you’re happy with them, go over it with black paint or a sharpie (I used a black felt tip and a fine liner to go around the edges of the letters).

Hanging Paper Hearts

These are so simple! This is probably something to do with slightly older children but they sure do brighten up the place. You can hang them on banisters, door handles or even a small decorative tree or branch. I have hung them on my ugly serving hatch as we’re having it patched up at the moment before we remove it and redo the whole wall! For now it will hang these paper hearts.

What you will need:

Coloured craft card (I used pink and red)
Stapler
Scissors
String

Method

Cut coloured paper of various lengths and widths. I started with red strips of 2cmx21cm to create the chain of hearts.
Fold strips equally in half.
With the fold at the bottom, bend the ends together to make a heart shape and staple together. If you want to make a chain, tuck the fold of the next heart in between the edges of the first.
If you are making a nest of hearts, join all edges of hearts together, bend and staple all together with one end of a piece of string in between.

You could even use the chain method to make a wreath or a long paper chain to wrap around your banister or hang on your mantle.

Woollen Heart Garland

I love how this turned out! Again, this is probably something to do with older children (or by yourself like I did) but it looks so cute. I did different sized hearts along the garland just because I thought it was pretty but you could do the same sizes, different coloured hearts or even different shapes like stars!

What you will need:

Cardboard
Scissors
Stapler/tape
Red wool

Method

Cut out several heart shapes from the card board (or double up craft card).
Staple the end of the red wool to the heart.
Randomly wrap the red wool around the cardboard shape until no cardboard is shown.
Secure the end of the wool by tying it off or using a stapler.
Repeat the above until all shapes are covered.
Measure out desired length of wool and attach the hearts in equal lengths.

I hope that you try some of these crafts. If you do, please take a picture and tag me in it so I can see your creations!
I will shortly be uploading a Valentine Treats post so keep your eye out for that!

I am the owner and creator of all images in this post.