Angel Handprint Crafts for Kids

Children love making hand prints.handprints image by ike from Fotolia.com

Many children enjoy stamping their hand print onto paper, and the feeling of dipping their hands into the wet, gooey paint. Children also like the feel of a pencil that outlines every crevice of their hand, leaving behind a personal imprint. Angel crafts lend themselves to a variety of opportunities for children's hands to play an important role.

Hand Print and Foot Print Angel

Children may enjoy getting their hands and feet wet for this craft. You'll need to provide them with tempera paint in whatever colors they choose for the angel body and wings. Pour the paint on paper plates, then guide children in dipping one of their feet into the color for the body. They'll "stamp" their foot print onto a piece of white construction paper, then turn it so that the heel serves as the angel's head. With their fingers close together, have them dip a hand into paint (either the same color or different), then stamp that onto their angel for wings. When the paint dries, they can add other features such as a halo made from a piece of yarn, and facial features. They can also decorate their angel dress with embellishments, such as rhinestones or glitter glue. (See References 1)

This little angel looks like she's flying, and is easy for even little ones to make. Have your child trace one hand print with fingers close together on blue construction paper and another hand print with fingers spread out on white paper. He'll also need to trace a small (1-1/2 inch wide) circle onto a piece of pink or brown paper for the angel's face. You can let the child cut out their hand prints and face or you can help them. Have them glue the white hand print to a piece of construction paper with the fingers pointed up. Then, lay the blue hand print on its side (so the fingers point to the right) and glue that on top of the white hand print. (This is the angel's body and wings, so make sure that enough of the "wings" stick out from behind.) Glue the face onto the body on the "wrist" part of the blue hand print and decorate it. (See References 2) For instance, they may want to use a 1 inch piece of a gold pipe cleaner or ribbon for a halo.

Let your child make an angel that looks just like her with this craft. Have your child dip his hand in one color of paint and stamp a piece of card stock with that hand. Turn the paper so that the wrist points up and have them stamp wings on by painting their hand a different color and then stamping them onto the paper next to the body. If they want, they can sprinkle some glitter onto the angel while it is wet. While it dries, cut out a picture of your child's face, then glue it to the angel. Cut out the angel and mount it to a square of craft foam for a sturdy backing (the size of the square depends on the size of your angel, but don't make the square too much bigger than the angel). (See References 3) Tie a loop out of yarn and tape it to the back of the craft foam so that the ornament can hang.