Sunday, November 7, 2010

Five fingers snowman ornament


Every year I make a Christmas ornament with my kids for our tree plus one for Grandparents. My daughter made the five snowmen/hand print snowman ornament at school when she was 4 and I have always loved it. So, I decided to make it at home and am pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.

I bought the 6 red Christmas balls at Dollar Tree for $0.25!!! I went to the US on a girls weekend away a few weeks ago and I have to say I am officially jealous of all of you who live by a Dollar Tree. So the grand total for this entire project is....drum roll please....25 cents!!! 25 cents to make 2 ornaments (one from my son and one from my daughter) for me, 2 for my mom and 2 for my mother in law!! I could not be happier.

Materials:
Christmas balls (medium size, solid color of your choice)
White craft paint
Sharpie markers in a few colors

Method:

Put craft paint on a paper plate and have your child press their hand into it.
Carefully put the ornament in the palm of your child's hand leaving their fingers flat.
Have your child slowly close fingers around the ornament.
Hold the top of the ornament and have the child open fingers and lift the ornament from hand.
Place the ornament on a cup or in an egg carton to dry.
Once dry, use sharpie markers to draw accents i.e. arms, eyes, hat, etc. Don't press too hard or the paint will come off.
I wrote my child's name and date on the bottom so we know when it was done and by whom.
I also wrote 'Merry Christmas' on the back but you can't really see it in the picture.
Tie a ribbon around the top and you have a grandparent gift! 


Enjoy!
Stephanie

A few additions to this post: 
If you are doing this with really little hands, use the small ornaments and paint their hand with the paint. This will work far better.

If you don't like how the fingers look after you have put them on the ornament, you can easily wash the paint off the ornament and start over (as long as the paint is still wet). This is the joy of working with non-permanent paint :)

As someone mentioned in the comments, there is a poem that goes with this. I personally don't use it but here it is for those of you who want the poem:
These aren't just five snowmen
As anyone can see.
I made them with my hand
Which is a part of me.
Now each year when you trim the tree
You'll look back and recall
Christmas of 2010
When my hand was just this small!

94 comments:

  1. These are incredibly sweet!

    Can you spray them with a clear coat of some type, to prevent them from chipping?

    ugh! you use word verification!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm having the same issue.....paint is flaking off as its drying. Any suggestions?

      Delete
    2. You might try putting a coat of Modge podge on it after it's decorated and dried to seal it in. I haven't tried it yet but it's an option.

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    3. I make these ornaments with my 2 year old students every year. Once the paint has dried, I spray the ornaments with a clear coat of lacquer. Hope this helps!

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    4. Thank you.. I just made these ornaments with my 3 year old students and some a flaking. Do you know what kind of Lacquer do you buy?

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    5. What kind of paint was used? I used tempura and it's flaking. A fellow teacher suggested using acrylic and then spraying with hair spray to seal. Already did with 10 students and now need to redo them :/

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    6. I used acrylic and sprayed with hair spray to seal and they are working wonderfully!

      Delete
    7. use acrylic paint for glass you can find it in craft stores

      Delete
  2. What a cute idea! I love when you come across something so simple yet beautiful! I will try this one out for sure!

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  3. oh my gosh, that is adorable and a great keepsake. i love it!

    www.thecapeonthecorner.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a cute idea for a child's ornament collection. I used t have my kids make 2 ornaments every year, one for me to keep and one for their collection for their own tree one day.

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  5. What a creative idea. This tradition is certainly one to duplicate. Just imagine year after year adding an ornament of your child's hand. The stories...the memories. If one has many children the better because one can get BIGGER tree.

    Now I dont have any children...yet, but I can see doing this with all my God children and nieces and nephew.

    So Creative!

    Mr. Goodwill Hunting

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  6. There! You now have 100 followers! And I will be doing this craft with little hands this year! Thanx!

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  7. What a marvelous idea. It's so important to capture those hands when they're little and this is such a creative way.

    I'd love to have you and your creative ornaments join my meme Seasonal Sundays. The link is open until late Monday night. Hope to see you!

    - The Tablescaper

    ReplyDelete
  8. AWWWW! I love all your ideas... with these and the mat i think the grandparents will be thrilled and its great to see how much they've grown every year

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  9. This is the most adorable idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I tried to make this last year with my little man, who was almost one at the time, and they came out very odd. But I will be attempting each year to show how much bigger (and better) they come out! Thanks for sharing ( and reminding me)!

    allthingsfee.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. So adorable & a precious keepsake too! My daughter's daycare made a similiar version a few yrs. ago. Would love for you to share these at my Holiday Hookup tomorrow!

    http://kraftykat76.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :)

    Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/handprint-snowman-ornaments/

    If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for reminding me about this project! I have a baby for the first time this Christmas, so I will be making some of these! Hope his hand is a little less wiggly they when we did his plaster hand prints!

    http://forevernewlyweds.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this idea, both of my older sons made these in k5. They are a wonderful keepsake. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Thank you for sharing this wonderfull idea - my boy and I made six this very afternoon: See my blogpost (in Norwegian - but you can look at the pictures) http://smuleblogg.blogspot.com/2010/11/de-fineste-juletrekuler.html
    Thank you so very, very much

    ReplyDelete
  16. Adorable! What a fun project to do with the kids. Thank you for sharing :)

    Kat
    http://minorimperfectionsbykat.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. There is a cute poem that goes with this idea. I printed it on card stock.. and attached it with ribbon to the loop at the top of the ornament. Super cute idea.
    This is the poem:
    These aren't just five snowmen
    As anyone can see.
    I made them with my hand
    Which is a part of me.
    Now each year when you trim the tree
    You'll look back and recall
    Christmas of 2004
    When my hand was just this small!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are adorable. I showed my kids, we are going to try this. Great poem to go with it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am so in love with this! I cannot WAIT to make it with my boys.

    ReplyDelete
  20. So, I give ornaments to my kids every year - which is a tradition that my mother passed on (I have an ornament for every year of my life) and I am definitely doing this one this year for their ornament. I love it. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. So cute and a lovely gift idea for grandparents. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Visiting via the Weekend Wrap Up. If one makes only one ornament this season, this would be the one. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. So precious!! I have seen these before and they are just too cute!! Come link up on Tuesdays to Handmade Tuesdays @ Ladybug Blessings... www.ladybug-blessings.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Adorable idea! I can't wait to give this one a try. Thanks for posting. :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I went out and purchased the items I need to do this project! Its going to be perfect, thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh I just love these. My little guys made one last year. So sweet!

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  27. Wow! I love this! I would love for you to link up at my new linky party here:
    http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-ornament-link-up-singing.html

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  28. Such a wonderful keepsake idea! I love it, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love this! What a great gift idea for grandparents as well.

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  30. I finally got mine done! Thanks for the great idea - it really worked out great for us!

    http://happyjoyousandfreeblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/hand-print-ornaments.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. Love these! Made them with my 3 year old and one year old and they turned out great!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow - splendid idea, I'll be doing that (with my daughter) this week end :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I absolutely love this idea! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to do this with my daughter!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I love that you took pictures at every step. I am linking to you from my blog at Blogs.scholastic.com Click on Nancy Jang. I am including you in my Christmas crafts post and using the photo you took to show others! Fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  35. ohhhh I have been searching for the perfect ornament to do a project with the kids with and I have found it yay! thanks for such a creative fun idea will definitely add this to my list of yearly traditions :)
    Ashley @ http://thisdixiegirlsdelights.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  36. Found this on FB via a friend. I am craft-impaired, and I think even I can pull this off. So cute! We're going to do it today. Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. this is too sweet. I can't wait to make these!

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  38. Cute, cute, cute!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any Grandmom would LOVE these!!! XO, Pinky

    ReplyDelete
  39. Super deluxe darling!! Thanks for teaching us.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I love this idea! I am featuring it on somewhatsimple AND TipJunkie this Friday. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  41. Awesome and TFS!!!

    Pamela

    ReplyDelete
  42. What a great idea! I was looking for a cute, simple craft to make with my daycare kids for presents to their parents. I had the decorating the ornament idea, but I think these are much cuter than what I had pictured in my head. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  43. I saw this on another lady's blog she was basically giving you a shout out thinking your ideas are great, i agree i love this idea and think i will do it with my nursery class and my kiddos....i noticed that you don't have this site
    http://goodideasandtips.com/ i have gotten so many ideas from her site and she has awesome day to day tips! I will have to add your blog to my list of things to watch thanks for the great ideas, if it weren't for chicks like you i would be lost!

    ReplyDelete
  44. These are the cutest! I am following you now so you can inspire me with all of your creative ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Thanks for the inspiration. Just made these with my kids for grandparent gifts this year. I posted them on my blog & gave kuddos to you & linked back! Thanks again!

    http://sustainablychicdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/kids-snowman-handprint-ornaments.html

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hi!
    I made some of these and they turned out great!
    You can check it out at: http://craftyladylindsay.blogspot.com/2010/12/handprint-snowman-ornaments.html
    Feel free to grab a featured button from my sidebar if you want.
    Thanks!
    Lindsay @ Diary of a Crafty Lady

    ReplyDelete
  47. These are adorable! I wish I had seen this post before Christmas! Hopefully I will remember this next year! :-)

    http://lissalaneous.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  48. I love these and tried to do it with my son last night, however we ran into a problem and I'm hoping you can tell me what to do about it! I used red glass balls and Apple Barrel white acrylic craft paint but the white paint turns pink as soon as it dries. And even after three coats of paint, the snowman are still pink! So I'm not sure if it's the paint that's not covering well or if the red glass is dyeing the paint. Any suggestions on how to make my snowman white?? Should I try a different brand of paint? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hi Sandra,

    I am sorry you are having problems with this. Have you tried to wipe the glass ball with a wet cloth to see if the red paint comes off? If the red doesn't come off, then you can assume the white paint is drying slightly opaque. I honestly don't think the red paint would bleed but you never know. I have not personally had this problem and I use the cheapest dollar store white paint. I would suggest switching white paints for a thicker kind. Sorry I can't offer any other advice. Let me know how it goes and if you get it to work.
    Stephanie

    ReplyDelete
  50. My grandkids and I made these for gifts to all the grandmas and Aunts, They came out great! A real keepsake!

    ReplyDelete
  51. We did this on homemade glitter ornaments. Pink glitter, naturally, for my pink girl. They turned out great! Thanks for the idea!

    ReplyDelete
  52. I just finished making these with my 16 month old! He really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing the idea!

    (PS- You can check them out here: http://craftingplay.blogspot.com/2011/12/snowman-handprint-ornament.html)

    ReplyDelete
  53. I had a problem tonight. I got my son to do this (almost 3) after much cajooling....and then the paint all peeled off after it dried! I used plastic balls and tempera paint. I'm assuming that I need to use a different kind of paint. Does anyone have any ideas?

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  54. @The Fish Family--did you figure anything out? I'm doing it today and we are using that tempera paint.

    ReplyDelete
  55. I tried this today with Tempra paint and had the same peeling problem. I guess there will be a quick trip to the store tomorrow for something else. Any suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whenever we needed tempera paint to stick better on a suspect surface, we added glue. The Elmer's School glue blends in perfectly. (Mix in equal parts and you don't have to worry about any paints changing color.) Plus, you have the added bonus of being able to place little seed beads and such for the eyes, etc. Both the paint and the glue are water soluble and so the mixture still washes off easily and it is economical. Also, use a clothes pin to clip them to a "clothesline." (You may also slip a large safety pin through the little loop and close the pin over the "clothesline." they will slide around more with this method and the safety pins don't always work for the current project.) It is a perfect solution for drying all kinds of art works. You don't have to worry about the bottle, etc. tipping over or them being in the way. And by the way, we had a preschool class of sixteen making projects somewhat like this one.

      Delete
  56. Thanks so much for the idea. I used it in my art class for our homeschool co-op and the kids loved it!

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  57. Great idea. Should be a lot of fun.I always like when people is trying to create something and not just get cheap supermarket junk.
    -----
    Christmas tree ornaments

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  58. How long does it take for the paint to dry? I'm thinking about doing this with my son's class for his Xmas party but want to make sure we will have enough time to have them dry and decorate them! Thanks for any help!!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Terrific ornament! Share your ornament (or more) on our Linky List to get exposure for your own blog and share with your community. http://muddymonkeys.me/2012/11/28/wanted-homemade-christmas-ornaments-for-children-and-kids/

    ReplyDelete
  60. Will be trying this with my Tiger Scouts

    ReplyDelete
  61. Can anyone tell me how long these take to dry? I am planning on doing it with my daughter's class and I only have 15 min with each group of kids. Will they be able to do the fingerprints and then have time to decorate the snowmen once they dry...all in 15 min?

    ReplyDelete
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