Little Bits of Home: Playroom Progress: Fingerprint Art

Monday, December 17, 2012

Playroom Progress: Fingerprint Art

I'm still trudging along as slow as molasses on the playroom gallery wall. I'm reaching the finish line, though! Hopefully, once I frame the artwork I bought at a craft show last month, I'll be able to hang everything up!

After creating this elephant painting with Little One, I decided to try another piece of kid-made artwork with him. I was reading about different wall artwork ideas in my favorite home book, Young House Love. (LOVE this book! Run and get it if you don't already have it! And, of course, check out their amazing blog!) I decided to combine two of their ideas for the playroom--Tip #152-Commission Kid Art and Tip #156-Make Fingerprint Art.

I snatched up a cheap 5x7 frame at Target and dug through my scrapbook paper stash for some solid colored cardstock paper that coordinated with the playroom colors. I cut 10 rectangles out of the papers and glued them down to the stock photo that came with the frame.

I looked up different animal fingerprint ideas on Google Images and mapped out my plan on scratch paper...which animals I wanted to do, which colors to use, and the direction to make the fingerprints go inside each rectangle. I was planning to use a stamp pad for the fingerprints, but my paper was textured, so the stamps didn't show up well. I made a last minute call to whip out the finger paints and that worked out great!

I called in my willing helper to do the fingerprinting. He loved it! I have no pictures of this part because I'm apparently not Super Woman nor an octopus and couldn't direct a toddler with finger paints and hold my camera all at the same time. Haha!

Once all the paints were dry, I went back to my Google Image search and attempted to draw on the details to the animals. I say attempted because they are far from perfect. But, it kind of gives them character, right? At least that's what I'm telling myself. ;)