I am one of those people who make a handprint/fingerprint craft for every season, and this turkey family handprint project is my favorite one yet. Here is what you need:
- Variety of paint colors
- Several sponge brushes
- Large canvas
- Permanent markers (optional)
I used washable paint; it comes in 8 and 10 packs. I picked out my colors ahead of time, knowing that I wanted my "feathers" to be orange, blue, green and yellow. You can use any colors that you like or that would go well with your decor. I had intended our painting to only be up during Thanksgiving, but I love it so much that it is up year round. (I think this would be an adorable peacock family hand print craft too!)
I used a 24" x 36" canvas. It was big, but I'm very glad that I got it that size because our hands barely all fit. I found the middle of the canvas and marked it with a pencil so I knew where to work from.
I put all of the colors on a plate and used a different paint brush for each color, instead of washing a brush between every color so I could work faster before the first color dried. Sponge brushes work great for putting paint on hands. TIP: Less is more when it comes to hand print crafts. You only need a very thin layer.
Paint the entire hand and then press it on. Then have the person leave their hand and thumb on the canvas but pick up their fingers and stamp to the left and right in order to create more feathers. Don't worry about imperfections, a perfect hand print wouldn't look right on this craft and it is the little "mistakes" that make it look good.
For stamping children's hands, I recommend two adults helping. One adult to hold the canvas and one adult to hold the child's hand. TIP: I always tell my kids to "high-five" the canvas and that works well.
When I was done with the turkeys I used a permanent marker to draw the turkeys' legs and I added an eye to each turkey with brown paint. Then I painted grass and a red border to give it a more finished look. From start to finish, this project took 15 minutes and it is one of my most treasured things.
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