Children Handprint Ideas
Handprints capture a moment in time and are among the most cherished gifts that children can offer to parents and grandparents. Kids can also translate their handprints into home décor projects, such as mobiles, wall art and wreaths. Handprint ideas include both imprinting and trace and cut techniques.
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Garden Art
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Children's handprints captured forever in concrete can make decorative art stones for the garden. To make handprint stepping stones, you'll need a mold and concrete topping mix. Flexible molds, such as latex or plastic, separate easily from the hardened stone without a release agent. If your mold is not flexible, coat it with a release agent prior to pouring in the mixed concrete. Let the concrete mix set up about 15 minutes before making the handprints. Make sure that the kids clean the concrete from their skin as soon as possible. Write names, dates and other messages in the wet concrete with a stylus after making the handprints. Decorative tiles and colorful rocks add color to the garden art.
Seasonal Art
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Handprint wreaths and garlands make festive seasonal decorations for doors, doorways and holiday trees. Children can trace their handprints onto foam paper or construction paper in seasonal colors. Cut out the handprints and string them together with raffia to make garland. A hole punch on each side of each hand provides an opening to tie the raffia. To make a handprint wreath, kids can cut out a wreath shape from cardboard or foam paper, and then glue the handprints around the wreath using a glue stick.
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Personalized Gifts
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Children can make handprint displays to add a personal touch to Mother's Day, Father's Day and Grandparent's Day gifts. Print a handprint onto a ceramic plate, an oversized coffee mug or cardstock to create a treasure. Glass paint or acrylic paint works to create the transfer; cover the palm, thumb and all four fingers with the paint, then press the hand onto the surface to transfer the image. Press lightly onto a non-porous surface, such as glass or ceramic, so that the paint will not spread. Kids can make personalized scrapbook pages with cardstock handprints.
Interior Accents
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Children can also use handprints to create interior accents such as mobiles or wall art. With the help of an adult, kids can make handprint cutouts from foam paper or craft foil, and then create hanging strands for a mobile. Puncture a hole in any part of the handprint, and then create a strand using fishing line. Add beads to the line separating the handprints. Attach several strands to a craft ring to create the mobile. To make wall art, glue the handprints, collage style, to an artist's canvas.
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References
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