Favorite Halloween Kid Art

We've got Halloween on the brain.  Our holiday plans are a little uncertain, but we're going to do our best to carve pumpkins, dress up, trick or treat and eat some delicious candy.  We even have some Halloween blow up decorations for the yard.  They're not my favorite, but the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE them so our collection of outdoor Halloween decor got a little bigger this year.

I do my best to do some hand and foot print art with the kids for the holidays.  

When Olive was a baby I'd stamp cards and mail them to our family with her tiny footprint.  That tradition didn't last long as we moved, added more kids to the family and got busier.  I have had to edit our traditions every year and now I only do hand and foot print art for myself.  It's some of my very favorite holiday decor.

We did some Halloween cats, pumpkins and a ghost this year.  As the kids are getting older, they like to help paint the canvas for me.  They both got to paint the background in any Halloween color combo that they wished.  Olive opted for candy corn stripes and Fletcher did a mix of colors, techniques and styles.  Both turned out great and were perfect to stamp their prints on.  

Process:

I buy canvases usually in 2 packs at Hobby Lobby, Crayola paint or the craft paint that's about $0.50 at Walmart.  We also have a random collection of sizes of brushes to use.
 

Select colors for the holiday & brushes.  Paint the background (big kids do this)  If you give them the whole rainbow of colors, they'll use them.  I want this art work to be specific for the holiday so I have them help me pick out the traditional "Halloween colors".

Let that layer dry

Stamp hand or foot prints & wash off (my job)

Let that layer dry

Add details to the hand and foot prints (my job)

Let that layer dry

Add the date to the back of the art.  I promise - the years all run together and you will forget.  I usually just put the year on it.  This year I added initials to the footprints because Fletcher's feet are almost the same size as Olive's now.

Leo's first time to paint his footprints.  Don't worry, we were right next to him in his Bumbo :)

A few more ideas from previous years.

I add the art work to our bookshelves.  It's such a fun way to document their tiny hand and foot prints.  I know this art work is best for little kids so I'm sure I'll treasure these extra when my kids are much bigger.

Do you save hand print and foot print art like I do??

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