- Variety of paint colors
- Several sponge brushes
- Large canvas
- Sharpies (optional)
I used Crayola washable paint; it comes in 8 and 10 packs. I picked out my colors ahead of time, knowing that I wanted my "feathers" to be orange, blue, green and yellow. You can use any colors that you like or that would go well with your decor. I intended our painting to only be up during Thanksgiving but I love it so much that it is up year round. (I think this would be an adorable peacock family hand print craft too!)
I purchased my 24 x 36 canvas from JoAnn's and used a 40% coupon. I'm very glad that I got a big canvas; our hands barely all fit. I found the middle of our canvas and marked it with a pencil so I knew where to work from.
Put all of your colors on a plate and if you can, use one paint brush for each color, instead of washing a brush between every color. Sponge brushes work great for putting paint on hands. TIP: Less is more when it comes to handprint crafts. You need a very thin layer.
Paint the entire hand and then press it on, have the person leave their hand and thumb on the canvas but pick up their fingers and stamp to the left and right to create more feathers. Don't worry about imperfections, a perfect hand print wouldn't look right on this craft and it is the little "mistakes" that make it look good.
For stamping children's hands, I would recommend two adults helping. One adult to hold the canvas and one adult to hold the child's hand. TIP: I always tell my kids to "high-five" the canvas and that works well.
When I was done with the turkeys, I used a sharpie to draw the turkeys legs and I added an eye to each turkey with brown paint. Then I painted grass and a red border to give it a more finished look. From start to finish, this project took 15 minutes and it is one of my most treasured possessions.
