A Simple DIY Father's Day Footprint Gift

Father's Day is coming up! If you're stumped for ideas, you can try this simple DIY Father's Day footprint craft. I love footprint gifts because you can involve kids of all ages (even babies) in the craft-making process. 


To make this DIY Father's Day Footprint gift, you'll want to put some washable paint on a paper plate.  Next, have your children put their feet in the paint. 

After that, have each of your kids place their feet on a separate piece of paper. Their feet should be placed on the paper in a V so that it forms a heart.

Cut out your 'feet' hearts and write the year on the footprint in the middle of the heart.

Paste 'feet hearts' on one piece of paper or you can put each footheart on a separate piece of paper. 

At the bottom or top of the paper write, “You’ve captured our hearts, Dad!” Or, for one child, you can write, "Dad you've captured my heart."  

Happy Father's Day!

Flower Crafts for Kids

With my garden blooming, my kids are often picking roses and digging in the dirt. It’s great fun. However, when it’s really hot or I don’t feel like getting mud tracked into my house, I encourage my children to do a flower craft instead. Here are three easy flower crafts for kids!

Paper Plate Flowers

All kids need to make this craft is two paper plates, a paintbrush, glue, scissors and water paints. First have kids use one color to paint one plate (plate #1) one solid color. Next, take the second plate (plate #2) and have them use a different color for the petals and another one for the center of the flower. Take the  plate #2 and cut petals out so that the edges are slightly smaller than plate #1. Glue plate #2 on top of plate #1.  If desired, make a stem with some green construction paper and glue it on the back of plate #1.

Pom Pom Flowers

For this craft, children will need several different colors of pom poms, construction paper and glue. Have children glue their pom poms in a circular pattern. You can have them use a different color for the center. Afterwards, kids can use a metallic marker to draw our stems.  Allow the flowers to dry completely before hanging or moving around.

Pastel Flowers

I like working with oil pastels because they blend nicely...as opposed to crayons. However, remember that these may stain clothing so make sure to have kids wear a smock and cover the craft surface with a plastic tablecloth. I also keep baby wipes nearby so they don’t get the pastels all over their hands.  For this art project, kids will need construction paper and a set of oil pastels. Children can draw several different types of flowers on their paper.  Encourage kids to blend different colors together to achieve unique shades.  

I hope these flower crafts for kids brightens everyone’s day!

Rainbow Crafts for St. Patrick’s Day

I bought some vivid cardstock at the store.  It was perfect for making rainbow crafts with my kids.  With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I thought some themed crafts would be fun.  After all, what child doesn’t like rainbows?  Throw in some shamrocks, gold and glitter and these rainbow crafts for kids are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.

Rainbow Shamrocks

For this, I took four different papers in basic rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow and blue).  I used a heart punch to cut out four hearts from each color.  Then, I made shamrocks out of three different colored hearts.  You can encourage children to make different patterns so no two shamrocks are the same.  You can even challenge kids to see how many different patterns are possible (use three different colors to make this easier).  We glued the shamrocks onto a green background and added a stem with a skinny marker.

Sticker Rainbow

I found a pack of 600 rainbow star and smiley face stickers.  Then, I gave my daughter a sheet of rainbow stickers and had her construct a rainbow.  For younger children, you might want to draw the outline of a rainbow so kids have a guide for the stickers.  At the bottom of the rainbow, draw a black pot and use shiny yellow stickers for the pot of  gold.

Glitter Rainbow Shamrock

Draw a shamrock or print one out and then trace the clover with glue. Using the glue, have kids cover ⅓ of the shamrock with glue. Then, let them choose one glitter color, sprinkle it over the glue and shake off the excess. Allow the section to dry. Then, repeat the process with two other glitter colors. Finally, cover the stem with glue and glitter.

These rainbow crafts for kids will brighten up your St. Patrick’s Day!

Heart Shaped Crafts for Valentine's Day

The last time I was as at the craft store, I was admiring all the pretty pink and red paper. They screamed take me home...so I did.  In fact, I almost picked up an entire booklet of scrapbooking paper but was able to restrain myself and, for less than two dollars, I took home a few glittery, gingham and brightly hued papers. They were all perfect for Valentine’s Day crafts.  Once at home, we decided to make some heart-shaped crafts for Valentine’s Day. Here are some of my favorites.  

Mixed Media Heart Flowers

I took three different pink papers.  One was a thick, glittery pink.  Another was a bright, almost fuschia color and the final one was white and pink gingham. First, I cut out a template heart (or you can use a die cut or paper punch).  Then, I used my template to make three hearts in each color. Next, I took a paper plate and cut out a square from it. In an alternating pattern in a flower shape, I took my hearts and glued them into the center of the paper plate square.  Finally, I took a white pipe cleaner and taped it onto the back of the paper square.  I allowed it to dry. These mixed, media heart flowers are cute for bulletin boards or to decorate a child’s room.  

Heart People

These are fun for kids to make. First, pick out a piece of sturdy paper to make your heart. Fold the paper in half so both sides are symmetrical (or use a heart paper punch).  Then, give your child wiggly eyes, markers, paint and buttons to make a face. Then, take some strips of construction paper and fold it “accordion style” for legs and arms. You can also use pipe cleaners for limbs.  Use smaller hearts for hands and feet.

Heart Bookmarks

Take two different colors (preferably white, pink, red or metallic shades) and cut each into identical rectangles.  Next, using one of the papers, take a small heart paper punch and make two hearts: one at the top and one at the bottom. Glue the punched out paper onto the second solid paper. Finally, take your punched out hearts and glue onto the empty spaces on the bookmark.  

These heart shaped crafts are a fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Charming Handmade Valentine's Day Cards

DIY Valentine’s Day cards are a lot of fun for the entire family. Giving a homemade valentine shows your recipient that you put a lot of time and effort into your cards. This Valentine's Day have a card-making party with friends and family. Here are some charming handmade valentine cards to get you started.

Love Birds

To make this handmade Valentine's Day card, I used one piece of black construction paper and two colorful papers. First, I traced a simple bird onto one piece of the pink paper. Then, I placed the paper over a second gingham paper and cut both out, so they were the same.  Next I cut out two hearts. I gave the birds eyes and mouths.  Finally, I glued the birds on the card and put the two hearts above them.  Inside I wrote,  You’re my Lovebird in a white crayon.

Sequin Hearts

For this Valentine’s Day card, I took a purple piece of paper and cut it into a square. Then, I took some multi-colored sequins and glued it onto the paper.  First I completed the outline of the heart.  Then, I filled in the heart with sequins. An idea for an inside message is: Your love shines. For the kids, I make a heart outline for them in glue and then they were easily able to glue on the sequins and then fill in the center.

Warm and Fuzzy

For this card, I took a red pipe cleaner and bent it into a heart shape. Then, I put some clear glue onto the back and pressed to onto a piece of construction paper. I put a book on top of the card to make sure the pipe cleaner stayed put. Inside I wrote, You make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Eyes on You

To make this funny handmade valentine, I took a small piece of construction paper and cut it into a square. Next, I took different sizes of wiggly eyes with adhesive and placed them all over the card.  Inside I wrote, I’ve got my eyes on you. This card is a really easy one for kids.

  
Your special someone will appreciate these handmade valentine cards.

Do you make or buy most of your Valentine's Day Cards?