Handprint art is a great way to create something adorable and record milestones because you can see how your child’s hand grows over the years. You can make so many different things for so many occasions. I really wanted to come up with some fun handprint crafts for the Fall/Halloween season and share them with you all!
I want to share with you my Handprint Scarecrow! This is a great art project for you and your child do together!
What You Need
- Green and light blue construction paper
- Brown, green, red, orange, blue, black, white, and yellow washable paint (I used acrylic but you can also use Crayola washable paint) on a plate
- Paintbrushes, thin and thick
- Paper towel/piece of fabric for texture (optional)
- Scissors
- Glue
Directions
1. Paint your child’s palm–red on the base of the palm down to the middle as well as the thumb and pinkie, blue on the rest of the palm as well as the pointer and ring finger, and black or brown on the middle finger. Do this quickly if you are using acrylic paints so the paint does not dry too much–if needed, paint a first layer then reapply a thicker layer.
2. Press your child’s hand against the paper firmly, but not too hard so it does not hurt. The paper should be upside down at this point (if your page is blank it does not matter so much.)
3. While the paint is still wet, you can press a small piece of paper towel or fabric to the blue part to give the paint a little bit of a jean texture. This step is optional, but can give your artwork a little bit more character if you choose to do this.
4. Paint some details on the shirt. Start out by painting blue stripes. Make them a little bit wavy to give the look of wrinkled fabric. Add a line right above the jeans and a few short vertical lines to give the appearance of a tucked in shirt. Add a collar at the top then some little pockets on the jeans.
5. You can leave the shirt striped or continue on to make a plaid top. Add some black lines intersecting the blue stripes. These can be few and far between. Make them a little bit thicker than the blue stripes. Between the black stripes, add some thin blue stripes. Remember, these do not have to be completely straight–wavy lines give the shirt more personality and appearance of wrinkles. Go into more detail with the black around the collar, fill in the neck area if you choose, make the pockets on the jeans more distinct, add some buttons–it’s up to you.
6. Use some yellow paint and add some straw sticking out of the hands, feet, neckline, and a few pieces out of the tucked in shirt above the jeans. It’s ok if the paint still has a little of the brown or black because it will give the straw more depth.
7. Have your child stick his/her thumb into some orange paint then make a few thumbprints at the top of the shirt to create a pumpkin head.
8. Using the yellow again, paint a straw hat on the scarecrow’s head.
9. Use a little more paint, mixed either with a dab of white or black or brown for a slight change in color, paint some vertical lines on the pumpkin head.
10. Paint eyes, a nose, and mouth on your scarecrow using black paint. I painted triangles for the eyes and nose and a stitched mouth.
11. Decorate the field around the scarecrow. Make more pumpkins just like you did for the head…make them different sizes using different fingers. Add some texture on them and paint on some green vines. Paint a little green grass and some spots of dirt. Then cut off a little of the top of the green page to create a horizon line. Glue a piece of blue construction paper to the back to make a sky and give the picture more depth then let your child use his/her fingers to paint some white clouds onto the blue paper (you can also do this before you glue the pages together if you choose, just let the paint dry before you glue.)
Bonus Tip: Let your child complete this project on his own with some guidance, or paint on the details yourself to create a work of art together with your child. I love artwork that is made by children and finished by the parents because the end result is fun and unique and it is a great way to create bonding memories.
-Where will you hang your custom art?
Oh my word, that is sooo adorable and creative!!! Did you think of this all by yourself?! I love the part where you add the paper towel to the shirt for detail! The thumbprint head looks so much like a pumpkin!! I love it!!
Thanks Dawn! Yes, I did 🙂 Anything you see me post craft or recipe-wise I’ve come up with myself unless otherwise stated. This was a lot of fun and my son loved that I added details to his art!
That is very cleaver. I have seen hand art but never for a scarecrow! Great job.
Thanks!
These are so cute I think my niece would love this .Also might try it with my mentally challenged sister
Thank you! If you make them, I’d love if you shared a pic on my Facebook page! 🙂
What a cute idea, I need to go to my hobby store and stock up on craft stuff!
Thank you Amy! This one was nice because you don’t need a whole lot of craft supplies!
What a sweet Fall idea and craft! I bet you could create some fun Thanksgiving placemats and decorations with this fun idea!
Thanks Sarah! That’s a great idea!
We love handprint crafts in my class! This is really cute.
Thanks! Yes, handprint crafts are so much fun!
That is such a cute idea.
Thanks Michelle!
You post the cutest crafts!! I wish i had more time!!
Thanks! Aw well I just set aside a little time here and there to do crafts with my kids. If I schedule it I can manage! This one takes a little more time, but some of my other handprint crafts do not take long at all and are a lot of fun!
Aww. great idea.. I will show this to the kids and have them do this.. 🙂
Thanks LaDonna!
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