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Looking for a fun 4th of July Handprint Craft to do with your toddler? This one is so easy and cute to do!
4th of July Handprint Craft – Patriotic T-Shirts!
This fun 4th of July handprint craft is SO easy to do – and perfect for kids of all ages (even toddlers!). If you're looking for ways to include your kids in the Independence Day spirit, crafts are a great way to bring the whole family together, and this one is no exception. My kids love wearable art, so these American flag t-shirts are a really sweet way for them to show off their artistic skill and dress for the holiday!
Looking to decorate on a budget this year for 4th of July? Check out these Dollar Tree 4th of July Crafts to save huge!
Supplies needed:
To make this fun 4th of July handprint craft, you'll need:
- Plain, cotton t-shirts (you can grab these in so many different colors now at craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby)
- Red, white, and blue fabric paint (if you get white t-shirts, you don't need the white paint!)
- Sponge brushes
- A piece of cardboard (just grab an old Amazon box)
Note: If you want to make this craft non-wearable, just use paper or canvas instead of t-shirts!
How to create this Fourth of July Handprint Art:
- Lay your t-shirts flat and place cardboard inside so you have a nice, firm surface. Pull the fabric tight on the front (you can even use a little tape on the back to collect the excess if needed).
- Using a sponge brush, paint your child's palm with the blue paint. You want the paint to cover the whole surface of their hand and be thick enough to transfer, but not too thick that it will be a globby mess.
- Have your child relax their hand (as easy as that sounds…) and guide them down to make a handprint on the left side of the shirt. Press down gently on each finger and the back of their hand to make sure you get a full handprint. Have them pull their hand straight up.
- Next, use sponge brushes to paint your red and white stripes. Depending on how exact you want these, you can kind of “stamp” a line across, or glide in a brush stroke. Note: My 4-year-old did this part on her own and despite having a flag in front of her for reference and me giving examples, she decided to just wing it and make lines wherever. You win some, you lose some. 🙂
- Wait for the paint to dry completely before wearing to your favorite July 4th event!
Tips for this handprint craft:
- One major tip from a lesson I learned along the way is this fabric paint takes quite a while to dry! I expected it to be like regular acrylic or tempera paint and dry in a couple of hours but it took overnight to dry, and was even a little tacky still after almost 16 hours – so plan accordingly.
- Get mom involved! I decided to make my own flag t-shirt to match my kids and used both of their handprints as the blue in the flag instead of my own. They loved seeing their hands on my shirt (this time in intentional paint instead of just using me as a napkin like they usually do!).
- Keep a cleaning rag handy – this fabric paint does stain surfaces easily so keep some cleaning supplies handy for spills and make sure kids wash their hands right away after painting.
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