Handprint Out of Leaf

(Art and Craft)

We were so inspired by @mothernatured‘s IG post of handprint out of a leaf. Y is still 2.5 years old and still not quite there with her cutting skill, but why don’t make this together then?

Materials:

-leaf

-marker

-sponge

-paint

Instruction:

-go out and collect leaves

-trace your toddler’s hand using a marker on the leaf

-cut the handprint leaf

-paint the handprint leaf

-stamp the handprint leaf on a paper and gently pull it off to reveal another handprint on the paper

This was a whole day fun project for us yesterday! With a bigger child, it might be a quick one, but with a toddler no one can know how it goes until we did it.

We went out hand in hand and she brought her red bucket. This is Y’s first time using that bucket not for sand by the beach but just outside home for leaf collecting. She went her and there, climbed up and down, enjoyed the breeze of air, warmth of the sun, chirp of birds and saw a few chipmunks for almost 2 hours. When we let her free, she definitely collected a LOT!

We are surrounded with mostly plants with small leaves. Out of those collections, only 2 leaves are big enough though. No biggie, it’s more than enough.

Once she had her lunch and nap, we continued with the project.

I presented the materials and asked her “How is it to trace your hand?” She brought out he hand and put it on the leaf. She handed over the marker to me and I asked “Do you need help?” She answered, “Yes!” So we did trace her hand on the leaf using a marker.

Next task is to cut. I would like her to feel included, so I handed over other small leaves with a safe scissor to cut freely. I did the handprint cutting.

A simple painting tray was then set up in front of her. She took a while to observe the look of her handprints, to compare it with her own real hand. First with her right and then with her left real own hands. She was touching the leaf. I suppose she realized that each side’s texture is rather different. I told her that the back side of this particular leaf has kind of soft bristle. I asked her to paint the leaf. She did paint the back side of the leaf. I asked her to stamp it on the paper. She did. “Now, let us gently peel the leaf off, shall we?”

That look on her face once the print revealed was priceless. She tried to stamp the leaf on paper again, but it has no paint left. I was sure she was puzzled, but soon distracted with the handprint again. She was then busy adding more color and stamping even more handprints on other blank paper. I revealed the other handprint.

It’s gonna be a great birthday card for her grandparent! I added one last touch, because I couldn’t myself, to highlight her adorable hands by drawing a border with pencil. This is not 100% Y’s art project, I know, but we did this together. We had a whole day fun, yes!