MAMA Children’s Activity Post; We LOVE footprints!

With Valentine’s Day coming up it’s a great time to get messy making some lovely cards and gifts for those whom you love! We did this footprint activity last year together with our previous posts “Will you be my Valentine” Parts 1 & 2 – so don’t forget to check those ideas out again too!

This idea is quick and simple but as it uses paint and tiny feet it can get quite messy!!! It is also a good add on activity to incorporate into an experimentation afternoon where you just give your child paints and let them run wild or together with other Valentine’s day crafts like above!

Equipment you will need;
– Plastic activity mat/towels/tuff tray to make your painting space.
– Painting clothes/apron.
– Red paint (water based, non toxic).
– Paint pots/paperplates.
– Brushes/sponges.
– Card.
– Red felt tip pen.
– A small person’s feet!
– Frame (If you wish).

First set up your painting space and squeeze your paint into a pot (an older child may enjoy doing this bit!) Then get ready in your painting clothes/aprons – If you have a small baby it maybe best to do this when they are fed and a bit sleepy and wrapped up in an old towel with one foot free! Don’t just leave them in a nice little outfit like I did the first time I tried doing footprints then have paint all over them and their clothes – I always learn from my mistakes! Also I was unable to do the footprints and take a photo at the same time (I tried and failed!!) so sorry theres no picture for this stage.

You need to paint your child’s foot/let your child paint their foot with not too much paint – otherwise the image will be distorted and smudged. I often put the paint on and do a few practice ones on some scrap card/paper till they started looking good then print on the card you want as best.

For younger children you can either press the child’s foot down on the card which is on a firm surface or put the card on a firm surface (like a placemat) and bring it up to the foot. For older children they can often stamp onto the paper or allow you to place it in the correct place (depending on how far your child is into the “I can do it myself” stage!). The most important thing is they have fun so if they’re not into it and want to just mess around it’s easier to let them play with the paint etc first then try again later.

You need to make the foot prints on your card into a ‘V’ shape – you can either position this ‘V’ in correct position straight off or do lots on a piece of card then cut out best one and stick it in place. It is up to you but I prefer the latter!

Making good footprints can take some practice – I have had many a failed attempt so don’t worry if it doesn’t go well first time round just keep going till you have prints you like.

Once you have your footprint ‘V’ in place you then write the rest of the letters around it to make the word ‘LOVE’. An older child may want to help with this! I framed our final product but you could make cards from them to send to people too!

Don’t forget to check out our Instagram, Facebook and twitter accounts and follow us at http://www.megaawesomemessyart.com where there are other ideas for Valentine’s inspired crafts as well as other fun ideas!!