Whether the fathers in your life are self-proclaimed comedians, handy fixer-uppers, sporting enthusiasts or Jacks of all trades, we love and appreciate all they do to enrich our lives and the lives of our children.
For many, our fathers are our very first hero, teacher and supporter. This Father’s Day, chuckle at dad’s cringe-worthy “dad joke,” tell him you love him, and work with your kids to make him a gift he will cherish forever.
Try these fun and easy hand-crafted gifts that dad will love!
DIY Handprint Keychain
What You’ll Need:
- Shrinky Dinks Plastic (preferably clear)
- GLOSS Acrylic craft paint
- Paintbrush
- Sharpie
- Detail Scissors
- Hole Punch
- 10mm Jump Rings
- Split Ring Keyring
- Gloss Mod Podge
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
Directions:
- Paint your child’s entire hand. Coat it well enough to be all wet, but not so drippy that you lose the details of their fingerprints.
- Gently guide their hand onto the Shrinky Dinks plastic. Firmly press down all their fingers and palm to get a good imprint. Press the plastic against the table with your free hand while you carefully peel your child’s hand off. If you mess up, don’t worry! It can take a couple tries to get the paint thickness just right. Good news is that you haven’t wasted your plastic, just remove the mess-ups with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel.
- After you have good handprints, wait for the paint to dry completely. Then, flip the plastic over and add the year or your child’s name or age to the other side with a Sharpie. A child that is old enough can even write their own name. If your Shrinky Dinks plastic is frosted, do the handprint on the rough side and write on the shiny side.
- After the Sharpie dries, carefully cut out the handprint with small, sharp scissors.
- Punch a hole in the handprint before you bake it! One standard-size hole punch will shrink to the perfect size for your jump rings.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Place your handprint paint side up (sharpie side down). Try shrinking just one or two handprints at a time—that way you can keep a close eye on them in the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (a conventional or toaster oven is fine—do not use a pop-up toaster or microwave). Once the oven is preheated, place your cookie sheet and handprints inside. DO NOT FREAK OUT when the handprints start to curl and flip and do all manner of crazy things. This is normal. Typically they need to cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on the oven. You’ll know they’re done when the handprint stops moving and has gone mostly, if not completely, flat again
- Once the handprint has cooled, it is nine times thicker than it was when you started and very durable. Coating the painted parts with glossy mod podge will help protect the paint from scratching off. Try to apply the mod podge only atop the paint and not the clear areas. Let dry.
- Use small pliers to loop a jump ring through the punched hole and onto your keyring!
Source: Grey House Harbor
Fingerprint Dish
What You’ll Need:
- Clay
- Pencil
- Washable Ready Mix Paint
- Rolling pin
Directions:
- Take about a fist-size ball of clay, lay on flat surface and roll it out flat with a rolling pin. To create a good edge, be sure to not flatten the edges too much.
- Have your child use a pinching motion with their fingers, like a crab claw, to roll the edges slightly up. Do this all around the edge of the clay. You can smooth out the fingerprints or leave them on for a more home-made feel.
- Using a pencil, gently write your message in the middle of the clay.
- Leave the dish out for a few days so that it can dry.
- Apply a first coat of white paint and let dry. When dry, add whatever color you think Dad would like. Let dry.
- You’re done! Dad will love it.
Source: What Katy Said
Paper Plate Tie Craft
What You’ll Need:
- Paper plate
- Craft paints: yellow, blue and green
- Colorful twine
- Hole punch
- Foam paint brush
- Black sharpie
- Scissors
Directions:
- Draw a tie outline on your paper plate with your black sharpie. Make sure the top width is 2.5 inches, and the top angled sides are 1.5 inches. The bottom angled points should be 2 inches.
- Paint your tie with your foam paint brush and yellow paint and let dry.
- Dip the skinny part of your paint brush into the blue paint to stamp angled stripes onto the yellow tie.
- Dip the handle into the green paint and stamp it onto the tie to create polka dots. Let dry.
- Once your tie is dry, use scissors to cut it out.
- Use your hole puncher to punch out a hole on each side of the top of the tie.
- Weave your twine into the holes and tie into a necklace for your dad. Tada!
Source: About a Mom
