Post by Maggie Terryn of Mom Colored Glasses
Again, all props for this craft must go to my mom as she was the first person (and only really) that I’ve ever seen make these.  I don’t know if she ever used them as Valentine’s Day cards but she made Christmas ornaments out of them and little framed pictures for our bedrooms.  It’s a super simple craft to do with your kids and really, what’s more basic for our “back to basics” month than your finger-prints.

We’re posting this prior to February so you have plenty of time to make these for Valentine’s Day cards if you want to.  You can mount the fingerprint cards on different colored pieces of paper, blank cards, or leave them as is.  I’ve included pictures for you to reference that detail a number of different ways the finished product could look.  I don’t know about you but I think these would make adorable Valentine’s for your child’s school Valentine’s Day party—if your child is lucky enough to go to a school where they still do that! Otherwise, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and all kinds of special friends will love these.

What you need:

• Valentine’s Day colored paper
• Valentine’s Day colored ink pads
• Glitter…the more the better!
• Fine tip black marker
• Glue
• I also recruited Martha Stewart glitter photo corners, stickers, borders, and glitter glue….but really, it’s completely up to you.

Step One:

If you’re doing this with someone as little as my Georgia….almost two….make sure you pick a very “agreeable” time of day…like one where she won’t mind getting her fingers dirty, sitting still for a few minutes, and not bolting out of her seat as soon as possible  to touch other stuff with her inky fingers.

Cut your papers to size.  Decide how big you want your Valentine’s cards to be and cut your colored papers appropriately before you ink them up.

Decide on a few thumb print ideas….love bugs, love monkey, love birds, hearts, etc.

Step Two:

I decided on four sayings for my cards and printed those on the paper I wanted to use.  I made sure they were spaced far enough apart that when I cut the paper to size it would be a reasonable size for a card.  And then…… I started the thumb-printing.  This in no way was meant to be a topless craft, however, not ruining Georgia’s favorite “birdy” shirt necessitated it in the end.  Also, please note….the finished products that I include below are not the ones that Georgia “helped” with.  She ended up just playing with stickers.  However, should you have kids that are a bit older they can take part in 100% of this craft….and will do just fine!

Step Three:

Once your thumb-printing is complete begin the decorating.  Add whatever you need to to the thumb-prints to finish what they are; antennas, eyes, legs, polka dots, glitter of course… your choice.  And then…mount them on a different colored paper to complete the cards!  Happy Valentineing!

P.S. My finished product pictures are a bit dim…I thought it was a brighter day out than it actually was apparently.

Post by Maggie Terryn of Mom Colored Glasses