Easy Summer Crafts: Handprint & Footprint Lobster

Today seemed like a very long day and a very short day all rolled into one.  It’s the last day of “summer” according to our school calendar, which made it go by quickly, but it’s also our first weekend home in several weeks so it also felt like a very long day.  And since my kids have been on the go a lot lately they were looking for things to do.

After we returned from the movies late this morning (more on that later this week), Greenleigh looked at me and said, “What are we going to do now, Mommy?”.  Honestly, this mommy didn’t have a clue.  “Can we do arts and crafts?”, she said eagerly.  And just at that moment, I remembered a pin that I saw on Pinterest sometime around the beginning of summer.  It was an adorable lobster handprint and footprint that I’ve wanted to do for a while but just hadn’t gotten around to it (I’d love to link to the pin, but I didn’t repin it myself and couldn’t find it when I looked earlier today).  And then I remembered that Rich Art had been gracious enough to send me some paints when the girls were away with their grandparents.  “Yes, honey.  I think arts and crafts would be a great idea!”.  Okay maybe not “great”, but it would pass the hour or so until naptime.  Which lead to a chorus of “Arts and craps!  Arts and craps!  Arts and craps!” from Hazeline.

This craft is super cute and ridiculously easy to do – the kids had a ball.  To do this craft, all you need is red paint, black paint, construction paper, a few paintbrushes, and some googly eyes (I had a bunch left over from my owl hairclips, so I just used those).  For best results, I would recommend:

1. Start with the footprint.   I found that this was the hardest part, especially for Hazeline who is younger.  I worked best when I held her ankle and gently pressed down on her foot.  Make sure to not only press on the toes, but also the middle of the foot.  Hazeline’s lobster is a little skinny since I kinda forgot that part.
2. After you’ve done your footprint, then do your handprints.  I put the girls hands on the paper and then pressed down on each finger.  Don’t forget the area between the hand and the tip of the thumb…I wasn’t paying attention when I was doing Greenleigh’s and this part didn’t really come out well.
3. Wait for the red footprint and handprints to dry completely before moving on to the black paint accents.
4. Connect the handprint and footprint by painting on small red “arms”.  Doesn’t have to be perfect, just as long as they’re connected.  You can also add little legs on the side, but I chose to skip that part.
5. Once everything is dry, glue on the googly eyes in the heel area.  Allow them to dry completely, or you’ll have to re-glue them a few times like I did.

Perfect lobster?  Maybe not.  But  pretty darn cute.

 **A very special thank you to Rich Art for providing the paints for this project.  Not only did they help out a mom fill a few hours on a Sunday, but they also provided paints that were a breeze to use and clean up.  The paint stayed put on the paper, but easily washed right off their hands using only a baby wipe.  And since we have a ton of paint left, I’m sure their are other painting projects in our future…stay tuned.