Handprint Snowflake Crafts

Snowflake art can be made with handprints.

Around the holidays, a snowflake craft is a whimsical way to get kids ready for the season. You can use a handprint technique, in which paint is applied to palms and fingers and then pressed on paper, to make a series of charming snowflake crafts. These paintings can be used as decorations at home or given to family members as gifts.

Snowstorm

Use a piece of blue construction paper to act as a sky background for a series of fingerprint snowflakes. Let kids dip just the tip of a finger into white craft paint, then dot the paper with their finger, creating small circles that look like snowflakes falling to the ground. Paint a white border at the bottom of the paper to look like the snow that has already collected on the ground.

Wall Art

Have kids coat their whole hand in white paint and press their hand onto a large sheet of craft paper. Have them repeat the pressing motion, moving their hand a bit each time so that the prints fan out into a circle. When done, the snowflake will be made up of the kids’ splayed-out fingerprints. The picture can be framed and hung on a wall.

Mirror Flake

Just one finger covered in paint can be used to make a unique fingerprint. Have kids cover their finger in white paint and then press that finger on half of a sheet of black or blue paper, pressing it down a few times in a sporadic pattern. Quickly fold the paper in half so that the paint marks the other side of the paper. When unfolded, the paper will show mirror-image snowflakes. The paper can be cut out and glued to card stock to make homemade holiday cards.

Group Art

Get kids together to make a class project of one giant snowflake made from all of their handprints. Roll out a large sheet of craft paper (the sort used to make banners). Let students dip their hands in white paint, then press it onto the paper. Tell them to overlap the handprints in a snowflake pattern, so that the finished flake is made up of the kids’ individual handprints. Hang up the banner in the classroom as decoration.

References

• Activity Village: Handprint Snowflake Painting