O is for Owl

I am in love with owls! So when Stella asked to do letter O for our next alphabet page, I knew right away what we would make.

Making our owl was simple. I cut out the parts:

 Stella glued the parts together:

Check out our other alphabet pages here!

 

Raise Your Hand if You Like to Get Crafty

It's no secret that my favorite kids crafts are those that use my little one's hand print. When I pull them out from year to year, it's nice to see how tiny they once were. Here are a few from our past. They're all super easy and adorable! 

Hand print ornaments make great gifts for grandparents!

Christmas Trees

Reindeer

A hand print wreath.

These are, hands down, some of my favorite Christmas crafts!

 

Handprint Reindeer~Countdown to Christmas {Day 3}

Tonight we made a classic craft, hand print reindeer, while watching a classic movie, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I can't believe that a movie I enjoyed as a little girl is now a favorite of my own kids. I also can't believe that I have been making hand print reindeer with my own kids for almost 20 years! It just doesn't seem possible!

Hand Print Apples in a Basket

It's really beginning to feel fall-like around here. So, sticking with that theme, we made a basket of apples today!

 
Start off by painting the palm of your child's hand and printing it several times on a piece of construction paper. Add some stems and leaves.

 
Next, I cut strips of brown paper to create a basket covering the apples. Older kids could weave this, but Stella is just 2 so I just applied the glue and let her stick the strips to it. After she placed the strips on, I cut the ends off to make it look more like a basket. It's finished!

*This is what happens when you walk away from little Miss Stella and she can reach the paint...

Hand Print and Button Apple Tree

With the big kids back to school, Stella has been begging to do something crafty. The girl loves to paint so to avoid another disaster like this one, I decided to make an apple tree with her.

I painted a tree trunk on a piece of construction paper and added some leaves with Stella's hand prints. Then, she glued on some buttons for the apples. Easy as pie!

Although we did ours on construction paper, how cute would this be on fabric with the buttons sewed on? I could see it on a cute tote bag. Hmm...maybe another day.

Toilet Paper Roll Turkey

I love making any project that I can add my kids’ handprint to. It’s fun to pull these little keepsakes out every year and remember just how tiny they once were.

This one is super easy and made mostly with recycled materials.

1. Stella painted a toilet paper roll with some brown paint (and did a little tasting as well).

2. Then, using a brown paper bag, Stella and I printed several  handprints with different colors of paint. (After all that hard work, Stella took a nice long nap!)

3. While sleeping beauty got some rest, I added the feathers and face to her turkey. First, I fanned out the handprints and glue them together.

Then I glued on the body of the turkey (the toilet paper roll).

And finally, I added some google eyes and a beak.

I'm linking up here:

...out like a lamb.

Last week, we welcomed March with our handprint lion so today I am sharing a handprint lamb. This one is fun because you can have a little snack as you are making it.

1. Trace your child's hand. Cut it out.

2. Apply a generous amount of glue to the hand, leaving the finger tips glue-free.

3. Glue popcorn to the hand. I had to crush it a little for Madelyn's because her hand is so small.

4. Glue an ear to the thumb and draw an eye and a mouth.

 ...out like a lamb!

Handprint Lion

They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but actually it has been rather "lamb like" so far for us. But, we made this cute lion anyway!

Start off making a hand print on a piece of construction paper. Then, using a finger dipped in paint, we created a mane around the end of the thumb.

 Add a tail...

...and a face. Roar! You just made a lion!

The Tree of Love

Did you know that love grows on trees? Well it does here!

{Here's how to make a Love Tree of your own!}
1. Paint your child's arm with brown paint and print it on a piece of construction paper.

2. Using a heart shaped sponge, print some "leaves" with green paint.

3. Using your thumb dipped in red paint, create some hearts for your Love Tree.

Now, you have a Tree of Love!

Igloos, Polar Bears, and Ice Skating Painting

Today we are having our second snow day in a row. Actually, with Martin Luther King Day on Monday, we haven't had school since last Friday! It's been nice lounging around in our jammies and watching movies all day, but the little kids are really starting to get bored. So, today we decided to embrace the ice around us and do some more winter crafts.

 Our first project of the day was igloos! Theses were super simple, but my girls love anything involving glue so they had fun making them. Just draw the basic igloo shape and they can glue on squares of white paper.

Next we made some hand print polar bears.

And last, we had some good old messy fun. We "ice skated" with our fingers! Just a little white paint on some foil and lots of fun!

The girls were a little bummed because it has been too icy to go outside to play, but these activities kept them busy for awhile. Hopefully tomorrow we will be back to our normal schedule!

Keepsake Ornament

Handprint ornaments make the best keepsakes. Pulling the decorations out year after year and seeing just how tiny my kids hands were way back when makes me smile. These ornaments are super easy and work well with hands or feet.

You will need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup water
• ribbon

1. Put the salt and flour into a mixing bowl and add water.

2. Mix the ingredients well. The dough should be firm.

3. Knead the dough until it's smooth. Pull a piece off and roll it into a ball.

 

 

4. With a rolling pin roll the dough into a circle about a 1/2 inch thick.

 

5. Press your child's hand into the dough.

6. Poke 2 holes in the top of the ornament.

 

7. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 2-3 hours. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool. Add a ribbon to hang it and you have the perfect keepsake ornament.