Handprint art is a simple way for children to create colourful artwork using something uniquely their own — their hands.
With washable paint, paper and a few simple decorations, a handprint can become an animal, flower, tree or imaginative character.
These activities are especially fun because the finished artwork can also become a keepsake.
What You’ll Need
Prepare:
- Washable child-safe paint
- White or coloured paper
- Paintbrushes
- Water
- Paper towels
- Markers or crayons
- Glue
- Googly eyes or coloured paper if available
Have a damp cloth nearby so hands can be cleaned quickly after printing.
10 Fun Handprint Art Ideas
1. Handprint Flower
Paint the child’s hand in a bright colour and press it onto paper.
Draw or paint a green stem underneath.
Add leaves and decorate the centre of the flower.
Children can make several handprints to create a whole garden.
2. Handprint Tree
Paint the child’s hand and forearm brown.
Press them onto paper to create the tree trunk and branches.
Use fingerprints, paint dots or small paper pieces to add colourful leaves.
Try green leaves for spring or orange, red and yellow for autumn.
3. Handprint Peacock
Make a colourful handprint with the fingers spread wide.
The fingers become the peacock’s feathers.
Draw a small body underneath and decorate each feather with circles and patterns.
4. Handprint Fish
Turn a sideways handprint into a fish.
The palm becomes the body and the fingers create the tail.
Add an eye, mouth, bubbles and an underwater background.
5. Handprint Butterfly
Make one handprint facing left and another facing right.
Place them beside each other to create butterfly wings.
Draw the butterfly’s body in the middle and add antennae.
Children can decorate the wings with dots, lines and colourful patterns.
6. Handprint Dinosaur
Use a large handprint as the dinosaur’s body.
The fingers can become legs or spikes depending on how the print is positioned.
Add a neck, head and tail with paint or markers.
7. Handprint Elephant
Make a handprint with the fingers pointing downward.
The fingers become the elephant’s legs while the thumb can become the trunk.
Add large ears, an eye and a tail.
8. Handprint Lion
Use the palm print for the lion’s face.
Add colourful painted or paper strips around the outside to create a mane.
Draw eyes, a nose, mouth and whiskers.
9. Handprint Family Picture
Ask each family member to make a handprint using a different colour.
Write each person’s name underneath.
This makes a simple family keepsake that children can decorate with hearts, stars or drawings.
10. Handprint Love Keepsake
Make a handprint in the centre of the page.
Write:
“My hands may be little, but my love is big.”
Add the child’s name and date underneath.
This can make a lovely keepsake or gift.
Let Children Choose the Colours
The animals and objects do not have to use realistic colours.
A child might create:
A purple elephant
A rainbow dinosaur
A blue lion
A pink peacock
Allowing children to choose their own colours encourages creativity and independence.
Talk While You Create
Handprint crafts can also support language development.
Ask:
What colour did you choose?
How many fingers can you see?
What animal are we making?
What does that animal eat?
Where does it live?
Simple conversations can turn the craft into a broader learning experience.
What Skills Can Children Practise?
Handprint art can support:
- Creativity
- Colour recognition
- Sensory exploration
- Fine motor skills
- Hand-eye coordination
- Vocabulary
- Imaginative thinking
- Confidence
- Family connection
Younger children may need help spreading paint evenly across their hands and pressing them onto the paper.
Make It a Keepsake
Add the child’s:
Name
Age
Date
to the bottom of the artwork.
Over time, these handprint crafts can become a lovely record of how much their little hands have grown.
Keep Creating With PlayPrintGrow
Handprint art doesn’t need to be perfect.
Paint, print, decorate and let children enjoy seeing their own hands transform into something completely new.
Paint. Create. Imagine. Grow.
