I've moved to ladybugsandlattes.com
You can find this post and more here
***
Are you looking for a memorable and useful holiday gift for grandparents (or yourself)?
Working with toddlers, I have done numerous art projects that involve hand and foot prints. Really, is there anything more adorable than seeing your child's small hand painted to slightly resemble an animal of some sort?
Back in January, I had this great idea to create a calendar using hand-print art...until I tried to paint my (then) 5 1/2 month old's hand and get her to make a nice looking hand-print on paper. She was definitely not into it and I was not about to fight her 11 more times. Slightly bummed but determined, I came up with a plan b.
Footprint Calendar!
Sure, it takes two of us to do the pictures because I need my husband to help hold her foot as the paint brush tickles it endlessly, but man, these pictures make me happy.
First, I came up with different foot-print pictures that would go along with monthly themes.
If there's one thing we tend to see a lot of in January, it's snow.
February: "a heart for Valentine's Day"
April: "April Showers..." with a chick carrying an umbrella and fingerprint rain drops - this one is my favorite
I was able to capture a single handprint to make a flower and then two footprints to make a butterfly.
June: "Summer Fun" with a bumblebee and fish
August: "Corn stalks"
What's the best part of the end of summer in Illinois? Corn on the cob.
These pictures could tie in with an Eric Carle/Back to School theme. Really, I just thought the toe print caterpillar was adorable and I love ladybugs, so I chose the bug theme for this month.
October: "Ghosts for Halloween" Duh.
I thought this foot-print turkey was an adorable alternative to the hand-print turkey that we all made in Kindergarten.
December: "Christmas" - 2 reindeer, a Christmas tree, and thumb-print lights
After making all of this beautiful footprint art, you can use the originals to create your own calendar. If you're looking for something way easier, take photographs of each picture. Then you can submit them to one of the websites or stores that will turn your pictures into a calendar for you!
Even better? You can get one for only $5.32! Around this time of year, awesome sites like VistaPrint offer deals like a free calendar (just pay shipping).
I will update with a picture of the finished calendar once my own arrives in the mail.
I've tried and tried but I cannot get the white paint to show up for the snowman! Please help.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure...I used crayola brand washable finger paint and a paint brush to spread it evenly.
Delete