Hand-print Spider Art

If there's any one thing that I LOVE to do, it's crafting. Give me a pile full of craft supplies, a hot glue gun, and an hour and I'm one happy girl. It's a very convenient hobby and trait to have when you're raising children, especially younger ones. My walls are covered in Henry's 'masterpieces' and I love seeing his artwork on a daily basis. However, I know that I cannot keep every finger-painting and doodle that he will do over the years. This has caused me to take great care to plan certain projects that I know I can hang up and keep on my walls year after year without feeling like I'm going to be that silly mom in 20 years who still has her son's finger-paintings on the wall.

So when I saw this pin, I knew I had to do it! It would be perfect for the fall season every year and would also capture those small precious hand-prints that we all adore so much. 

The best part? It's super simple to do and SUPER fun too!

We used an 8x10 canvas but you could use any size and you could also use paper and then frame it. Canvas can be pricey at most 'big' craft stores, but you can often find it now at other places for pretty cheap. I paid $1.50 for mine!

I used regular old latex paint for the orange and craft paint for the silver and black. Lowe's has samples of paint for $2.98 and if you find a mistint, they're sometimes sold for as little as a dollar. I bought my orange as a mistint and I had the craft paints around the house, but you can buy them for fairly cheap at any craft stores as well.

(On a side note, I'm sure you could use regular finger-paints or 'kid's' paints for this project. Henry and I play with paint quite often and we have a certain routine to where I really don't have to worry about him flinging paint across the room or getting it all over the floor/furniture/etc... Once dried, you're going to have a heck of a time cleaning this up, so just be aware if you choose to go this route!)

I let Henry finger-paint the orange onto the canvas until it was covered and then we smoothed it out together. Then I blow-dried the canvas with my hairdryer on low heat. I only did this because (hello, I have a toddler) I didn't want to lose the attention of Henry and risk him moving on to another craft. After the orange was dry and our hands were washed, we moved onto the silver. I coated his hand with paint, pressed it gently but firmly onto the canvas and then we washed hands again. We then painted the webs and name on together. This is something we do often so Henry is totally okay with both of us holding the paint brush and allowing me to guide the strokes. If your child isn't so used to the 'help', you could have a major issue with paint flying and a temper-tantrum. It may be best if you just allow them to move on while you paint on the details.

Let your canvas dry and WAH-LAH! a pretty new piece of artwork that is perfect for display every fall and a ton of fun for both you and your kiddo!