The kids painted one hand, then I painted the other.
I showed them how to press their hand onto the paper evenly and without moving from side to side to avoid smearing. For my preschooler, I held his hand and pressed it down on the paper like a stamp.
After pressing each hand slightly angled to make the heart shape, they wiped the excess paint off of their hands.
Feet were super fun and tickly to paint. I had them sit on a small chair with the paper on the floor in front of them. I brushed some paint on their feet, then helped them place their feet on the paper in a heart shape, one foot at a time.
Once the paint dried, we drew a heart shape onto construction paper slightly larger than the hearts they’d made with their hands and feet. They cut out the hearts on the construction paper. I helped them trim around the hand and feet prints to preserve the heart shape. We used a pinking shears for some of the hearts, just to give it an extra fancy edge. This was my son’s idea and it added a nice touch to the finished Valentines.
Next, the kids glued their prints to the construction paper hearts.
They wrote the names of the recipients on the valentines. You can have them add their names and ages as well.
Our Valentines are ready! Don’t they look lovely, these sweet little hands and feet? I know that mine will be going in my keepsake box.
