Most children love this painting technique: painting hands or feet and stamping them on a piece of paper! Even if the prints don't turn out perfectly, with a little imagination you can conjure up great pictures from them. Animal motifs such as birds, fish, elephants, giraffes and hedgehogs are very popular for handprint images. Seasonal motifs such as elk, snowman, chick, ghost and butterfly are also ideal for designing greeting cards for any occasion.
Which colors to use?
You can create great pictures even with babies and toddlers. But what color can you paint children's hands with? Acrylic paints are typically non-toxic, water-soluble, and safe to use on skin. It is best to wash it off while it is as damp as possible. An alternative are special, very well-covering finger paints. When purchasing finger paints, read carefully what is written on the packaging. DIY enthusiasts can even make finger paints themselves, for example using water, flour and non-toxic food coloring. This variant is perfect for those who have suddenly been inspired to paint with their children but don't have any colors immediately available.
Create handprint pictures with children as a gift or decoration: Here's how it works
Even if crafting isn't really your thing, you can still give this cool idea a try. Pictures with children's handprints are quick to make and make perfect gifts for parents or grandparents. Homemade cards for Christmas or Easter are also particularly well received. Painting with finger paints is also greatChildren have a lot of funand they always look forward to it. In this way, their creativity is encouraged and their imagination is stimulated.
The children's handprint forms the basis for the picture. Your imagination will do the rest. Markers, googly eyes for gluing, construction paper, colorful threads, cotton balls, glitter and even Cheerios are then used. Anything you can stick on the sheet can be used. The more colorful and unusual the decoration is, the more creative the handprint pictures will be. Let our ideas inspire you! We have a motif ready for every occasion!
Typically you will need: finger paints, paper plates, brush or sponge, kitchen paper (to wipe hands). First put the desired colors on the paper plate. Paint the child's hand with a brush or sponge or dip it directly into the paint and then press it onto the paper. In order for the handprint to become a real image, further details should be added.
Instructions for owl picture
The basis of these cute owls are two white handprints. The shapes are cut out of construction paper and glued on top. If you want to recreate exactly these owls, you will need four ellipses for the wings - two large and two slightly smaller, as well as circles for the eyes. The finishing touches are small pieces of orange paper for the beaks and feet. You can also make the owls standing on a branch by cutting one out of dark brown construction paper. Now the picture with cute owls is finished. A beautiful saying for grandparents would definitely melt their hearts. It would be appropriate: “Grandparents have cupboards full of cookies, words full of wisdom and hearts full of love.”
Spring flowers
While the little ones just have fun splashing around with paint, older children can, for example, create entire landscapes and flower meadows by combining prints. First prepare the surface and then let the children make the impressions. Provide different colors so that theChildren's colorful handprint imagescan design. Colorful color combinations are particularly suitable for spring flowers or landscapes.
Spring picture with caterpillar and butterfly
The first signs of spring are blooming outside and the sun is shining. Another symbol of spring is the caterpillar, from which a beautiful butterfly emerges. Crafts on the theme of caterpillars and butterflies offer children the opportunity to learn through play. This caterpillar is made from individual handprints and is also great for group work. The palm is painted with green paint and the fingers with blue paint. To paint a complete picture with many elements with the child's prints, you can create, in addition to the caterpillar, his offspring - the butterfly. The shining sun is also a great addition to this spring image and can be beautifully painted with prints and yellow paint. With all of these elements, you and your child have created a complete, colorful picture.
Simple butterfly made from handprints
Butterflies fascinate with their beautiful wings and can be easily designed with handprints. The child's two hands are painted and pressed onto the paper. The fingers point in two opposite directions. The butterfly's wings are now ready. Then the child should paint the body in the area between the two prints, draw a face if desired and draw the antennae. For a colorful picture, the wings can be further spiced up with other colors and motifs.
Funny Easter pictures
In spring the Easter Bunny also prepares for his big appearance. Of course, you ask yourself: What can you do with these works of art? One option would be to frame the handprint pictures and use them as room decorations. If the pictures are made on a stretcher frame, you don't need a picture frame. As far as the motifs are concerned, not only Easter bunnies are suitable, but also carrots, chicks, sheep and generally everything that can be designed with both a handprint and a footprint.
The bunny made from a print is a nice Easter-themed craft idea. Children can also decorate Easter cards with this motif. To conjure up the rabbit, the palm and only two or four inside fingers (not the thumb) are painted with paint. After drying, two wiggly eyes are glued onto it and a mouth and whiskers are drawn on the rabbit with a black felt-tip pen.
These sheep are super easy to make! Make a handprint with black paint and let it dry. Then stick cotton balls onto the sheep's body. Then stick a googly eye on the thumb. A mini bow gives the sheep picture the finishing touch.
Fluffy chicks are often made from a variety of materials. Whether made of wool, cotton or paper, they are a real eye-catcher and are particularly well received by young and old. The wings and feet can be made from casts like the example above. A nice alternative is a handprint chicken and several small chicks made from fingerprints.
Design sunflowers
Sunflowers simply cannot be missed in summer. To enjoy them for longer, you can paint sunflower pictures from handprints. Each sunflower is made from many individual impressions with yellow color. The seeds in the center of the flower are dabbed with your fingers and brown finger paint.
Colorful fish
Beautiful fish can also be created from children's handprints. This time the hands are not dipped into the paint, but the different colors are painted onto the hand with a brush. After the paint has dried, the eye and mouth are painted with felt-tip pen. This idea for handprint pictures is perfect for crafting in kindergarten in the summer. In this way, the children can conjure up beautiful water worlds, which can then be used as lovely gifts for their parents or grandparents. To complete the picture, the little ones can paint on the water, some algae and other sea creatures.
Jellyfish
In fish, the prints are oriented horizontally so that the fingers represent the fins. But if a jellyfish is made from handprint, the fingers should point downwards. This is how the tentacles can be designed. When choosing colors, children can choose either classic blue or white, or paint colorful jellyfish with prints. Finally, stick on the wiggly eyes and add other elements to the picture if desired.
Touch up the handprints with pens
Even if the handprints don't look perfect at first, they can easily be touched up with paint and a brush. This task is more suitable for older children. Imagination can also be encouraged through play: children can decide for themselves what kind of animal the handprint will be turned into.
Parrot picture
Their colorful feathers are typical of parrots. So let the children choose their favorite colors and mix them as they please. Two paper circles of different sizes form the body. Three colorful handprints are therefore perfect for the suspension.
Greeting card with elephants
As you have already seen for yourself, you can depict many animals with finger paints and a print. This painting technique goes particularly well with the elephant because the thumbprint forms the perfect trunk. White tusks can still be painted on the elephant. The ears and tail can simply be cut out of foam rubber in matching colors and glued to the handprint. A googly eye shouldn't be missing either. The elephant offers a great idea for a birthday card.
Giraffe
Another great idea is a handprint giraffe. Here is the first variant: after drying, extend the print itself with a long neck, while the thumb print forms the giraffe's tail. The children can stamp the giraffe with yellow paint and then paint the spots and hair with brown.
A nice idea would be to paint just the giraffes' heads. Only four insides of the fingers and the arm up to the elbow are painted. This is how the giraffe's long neck, ears and small antler-like horns are created. To touch up the handprint image, you can outline the giraffes like the example above.
Painting hedgehogs with handprint
The hedgehog is a popular motif for autumn crafts and can easily be made from children's prints. First, the contours of a hedgehog are painted or a printed template is used. The spines are then pressed with your hands and brown finger paint. Other print images are also suitable for crafting with children in autumn, such as autumn trees, pumpkins and flowers in matching colors.
Handprint images for Halloween
Children like to do crafts for any occasion and learn more about the season or celebration.Festivals like carnivaland Halloween offer lots of great ideas for crafts and are particularly fun. These ghosts made from prints are a nice craft suggestion for Halloween. It is best to use black cardstock and white finger paint. After the paint has dried, the eyes and the open mouths are painted on the ghost prints with a black felt-tip pen.
Popular Christmas motifs
Christmas time is craft time! With handprints you can not only paint great pictures, but also decorate Christmas balls or make new Christmas tree pendants. There are also a lot of Christmas motifs that you can make from prints. You can then use the handprint pictures as part of the Christmas decorations and use them to decorate the walls or the mantel. So the children also take partDecorating the apartmentshare and together you will create a beautiful, festive atmosphere at home.
The handprint Christmas tree, for example, is a nice idea and can also be beautifully decorated with colorful fingerprints. The little ones can stamp a star on the top and it's done!
Glitter powder is often used in Christmas crafts and gives every picture a special touch. Gently apply the adhesive. Wherever it sticks, the glitter will stick afterwards. For example, you can only conjure up individual garlands and baubles on a handprint Christmas tree.
After the paper has been coated with glue, the surface is quickly sprinkled with glitter powder - before the glue dries. The remaining glitter should then be shaken from the card onto a sheet and carefully poured back into the tin. Another great idea for handprint pictures with glitter for Christmas is angels. To do this, you can paint the child's palms with white finger paint and then press it onto blue construction paper. With the glitter powder, the white angel wings become something very special.
If the desired motif for the print pictures has already been chosen, then you can consider whether it can be painted directly on your hand with suitable colors. Like this handprint Santa Claus, for example. The red pointed hat can also be made from red cardboard and a white cotton ball.
This handprint moose, which is made on a Christmas card, also adds to the holiday spirit. The moose head is created from one footprint, while the antlers are painted with two prints.
Another fun craft idea for winter is the snowman handprint. The snowmen are created from the individual fingers of the print. A little more precision is required here because eyes, mouths, carrot noses, hats and scarves are painted on the print with pens.
