Arts & Entertainment

Getting Crafty for Father's Day

Are you looking for a gift that your child can make for dad for Father's Day?

Father’s Day is Sunday–do you have a gift for the dad in your life yet? If you’ve got little ones who want to make something special for their dad, here are some crafty ideas they can help with. 

Decorate a Frame

What you need: an unfinished frame; paint and paintbrushes or other decorations; a picture of Dad and child

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What to do: Pick up an unfinished wood picture frame–you can get these at Michael’s, A.C.Moore, WalMart and even Ikea–and let the kids decorate the frame. They can use paint, markers, stickers or Mod Podge (be sure to take the plastic or glass out before they decorate) to create their masterpieces. Once they’re done, stick in a photo of them with dad.

Dad Rocks!

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What you need: A rock; paint; and a permanent marker

What to do: Here’s a super-quick and easy craft that a child young enough to play with paint can handle. Head out into the yard and find a nice-sized rock. Wash the dirt off. Once it’s dry, let your little one give it a nice paint job.

Again, it’s time to let the rock dry. Once the paint is dry, use a permanent marker and write ‘Dad Rocks!’ and you’ve got a custom paperweight telling Dad how you feel.


Framed Scrapbook Page

What you need: 12x12 frame; one 12x12 piece of scrapbooking paper; a photo or two of Dad and his kiddos; some decorations; and adhesive.

What to do: Do you have an extra special photo of Dad you want to highlight? A framed scrapbook page is a great way to give that photo some extra attention. Choose a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper for your background. Decide how many photos you want on your page and choose some embellishments. Use your creativity to lay out your page. You can give it a title or print out a poem (there are some links below) or meaningful song lyrics to include, too. 


Footsteps Poem and Craft

What you need: 12x12 frame; 12x12 piece of paper; different colors of washable paint; printed copy of ‘Footprints’ poem; photo of child and Dad; gluestick; and some cooperation ahead of time from Dad.

What to do: The first thing you need to do is convince Dad that you need to paint his foot and make his footprint on your piece of 12x12 paper. After that’s dry, add your child’s (or children’s) footprint on top of Dad’s–they’ll probably need less convincing to cover themselves in paint! Cut your printed poem out and paste it next to the footprints along with a photo. Feel free to decorate your creation and when it’s dry, put it in the frame.

Footprints

"Walk a little slower, Daddy,"
said a child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps
and I don't want to fall. 

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you."

~ Author Unknown


Hand Prints Poem

What you need: A piece of paper, washable paints, glue stick and a printed ‘Handprints’ poem.

What to do: While you’re busy covering your kids’ feet in paint, why not do their hands, too. Many people may recognize this poem and I have a copy in my kids’ keepsake box. It truly is amazing how fast they grow.

Paint your child’s hands and have them make a handprint on either side of the paper. Print the poem and paste it in between the handprints. Of course, it’s always nice to add a photo, too!

Handprints

Sometimes you get discouraged because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints on furniture and walls.
But every day I'm growing, I'll be grown someday
And all those tiny hand prints will surely fade away.
So here's a little handprint just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked when I was small.

~ Author Unknown

Here are some other great ideas using handprints and footprints.

Other Ideas

Does Dad have a sweet tooth? Try this basket of personalized candy bars.

Looking to make a card? Martha Stewart has some great examples.

Looking for just the write words for your Father’s Day card? Making-Greeting-Cards.com has plenty of poems and quotes to choose from.

For more craft ideas, check out All Kids Network and Hummingbird Educational Resources.


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