Must Have Hand Print Mother's Day Keepsakes

Their little hands grow so fast! Hand print art projects are my favorite! These hand print crafts make great Mother's Day gifts for mom or grandma. Truly a forever keepsake to be treasured!


Hand Print on Ceramic Tile
Supplies:
6X6 white ceramic tile
Bright colored acrylic paint for the hand print
Small foam paint brush
Paper plate for the paint
Krylon clear spray

1. Wipe off the tile to make sure it is clean.
2. Squeeze paint onto the paper plate and use a foam brush to paint your child's hand. Press your child's hand down on the tile.
3. Let the paint dry.
4. Spray a very thin layer of Krylon clear spray paint on the tile and let it dry completely. Add two more coats of clear paint, letting it dry between spraying.


Plaster Hand Prints
Supplies:
Plaster of Paris (this can be purchased at a craft store)
Mold (We used the aluminum to go salad container from Pizza Hut)
Margarine container or old bin for mixing
Paint stick for mixing (free at the paint counter at home supply stores)
Pencil for writing the child's name
Old T-shirt or paint smock
Cup for measuring water and plaster

1. Put on an old T-shirt or paint smock
2. In a margarine container or old bin, mix plaster with water according to the directions on the package. Mix well using the paint stick. Be sure not to breathe the plaster dust when measuring and mixing.
3. Let the mixture set for about 5 minutes, until it is the consistency of pancake batter.
4. Pour the mixture into your mold.
5. Help your child press her hand into the plaster pushing down each finger and the palm of the hand. Wash hands immediately.
6. If you do the hand print too early and the mixture still has too much liquid, simply wiggle the mold, shaking the plaster smooth and try again.
7. Use a sharp pencil to etch your child's name and the year into the plaster.
8. Press a paper clip or ribbon at the top if you'd like a hanger. I prefer to skip this step and display on a small plate stand.

This activity can be used as an Alphabetology alphabet activity for...
M for Mother's Day
G for gift
H for hand print

Letter G: Hands On Science

Kids learn by doing! With this simple science experiment, your little on will have fun while exploring color mixing. Use food coloring to tint water. Pour the water into an ice cube tray and freeze. Practice saying "Hypothesis" and explain that hypothesis is a fancy science word meaning a guess. Have the child make a hypothesis or guess about what will happen when yellow and blue are put in the baggie together.

Help the child put a small piece of yellow ice in a plastic zip bag with a small piece of blue ice. Your child will use her hands to warm the ice and help it melt. The yellow and blue ice melt into green. Read White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker about a silly rabbit who jumps into buckets of different colors of paint.

As an Alphabetologist (someone who does fun and silly activities to learn the letters of the alphabet and early phonics) use this project for...
Letter G: mix yellow and blue to make green
Letter P: mix red and blue to make purple
Letter O: mix yellow and red to make orange (the "o" in orange doesn't make the aw sound as in "octopus" but it's okay to use as a fun project)
Letter B: red, blue, and a bit of yellow to make brown.
Letter H: Talk about the science word "hypothesis" and what it means. Mix different colors after making a hypothesis about what the outcome will be.

Letter C: Cotton Ball Art

Do you have some cotton balls and clothespins? I love art projects that don't require a trip to the craft store for supplies. Pinch the clothespin onto the cotton ball to make it easy to handle. Put blobs of one to three different paint colors onto a paper plate and let your little one create.

This activity can be easily used as an alphabet art project for many different letters of the alphabet. Here are some examples...
Alphabet Letter G for green: Use blue, yellow, and green. Mixing the blue and yellow will create green.
Alphabet Letter C for cotton balls and clothespins
Alphabet letter P for purple: Use blue, red, and purple. Mixing blue and red create purple.
Alphabet letter F for fall: Use fall colors red, orange, and yellow for art that looks like fall leaves in the wind.
Any letter of the alphabet: With a marker, write a letter of the alphabet on a white paper. Use the cotton ball to dot paint on the letter.
Alphabet letter R for red (or any color and its letter): Paint with just one color and write the letter the color begins with ten times randomly on the page.
Any other ideas?