Fun Kid Craft: Easy Hand & Fingerprint Tree

It’s that time of year when I start to think of fun and easy crafts my kids can create that I can later on use as gifts for family members during the holiday season and this simple Easy Hand & Fingerprint Tree is one of my favorites. Not only is it one of the most inexpensive crafts you can make, it is cute enough to frame in a nicer picture frame and present as a gift item for grandparents, aunts and uncles at Christmas. Or if you are like me, frame and use as wall art in your home school classroom or even dining room. We had everyone in our family do one so it was like a little family tree collage in our hall.

This is one of the simplest crafts and of course the kids love being told to play in their pants with this Hand & Fingerprint Tree!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• Multi-Color Water Based Paints
• Washable Markers
• Paint Brush
• Construction Paper or Canvas
• Picture Frame in desired sizes

HOW TO:

1. Start by drawing or painting the bottom of your tree on chosen paper. Doesn’t have to be fancy, as you can see in my photo. Just a simple tree outline. If you are more artistic you can use paint or colored pencils even to fill in the tree trunk and make it look more realistic.

2. Trace hand prints splayed with thumbs on inside at top of tree trunk. I simply used marker but if you have a child willing to stand still long enough you can use paint for this outline. Make sure hands are facing outwards and connected some in the middle for overlapping.

3. Allow your child to dip the tips of their fingers in desired colors of paint and simply “dot” their fingerprint as leaves all over the trees. You may wish to do this in all fall colors and show some leaves falling or even a small pile of fallen leaves under the tree. Younger children will require some supervision with this part so they don’t glob prints on top of each other.

4. Allow painting to dry and frame as desired This is such a simple craft to do with your children but it really does create some unique photos you can hang or give as gifts. I also like the concept of doing one each year around a certain date and then comparing when your child is an adult to see their hands growing. I have also seen the large multipicture frames with the word Family in the center with these pictures in them to show the “family tree”.

Have fun and remember these are a great way to interact with your children while creating something fun to use in your home.