Because our fingers are just too boring on their own...

It’s been doing a LOT of thundering and lightning-ing around here lately.  

A LOT.  Ah, the storms of summer... this means that bug has NOT been doing a lot of sleeping.  Today he was too scared to take a nap.  We tried really hard... but no luck.  Finally, I took him outside to watch the rain, hoping that he might develop a fondness for it, as I eventually did when I was a kid.  I would sit on the porch swing and watch the storms roll in with my mom or sister.

While we were sitting out there, I decided to do a simple little craft with bug, to keep him further occupied.  Also, I realized it had been about a millennia since this post - my one and only kid related craft post.  I mean, I make a lot of stuff FOR kids... but I also make a lot of stuff WITH kids... I just don’t always show those off.  And I thought I’d start.

Today’s project was 

Super easy, and lots of fun.  Guaranteed.  (I sound like a car salesman...)

Now, you’ve probably seen variations on this little project a lot. It’s normally done with ink.  When I decided I’d like to try this project with bug, I picked this stamp pad up at Target for a buck. 

But they didn’t have any other colors.  Which was a huge shame.  Because when it came right down to it, I decided that one color just wasn’t going to work.  I needed a RAINBOW of fingerprint puppets.  Since the only ink I owned was on the red stamp pad I’d just purchased, I tried to think of something else I could use...

Da-da-da-da!  (that’s a fanfare, if you couldn’t tell)

Enter my stampin' up markers!  

You will also need some plain old computer paper, plain old scotch tape and plain old scissors.  See?  Easy!

ok.  First, get comfy.  You may need your woody and buzz papasan chair, stuffed buzz toy, and fuzzy car blanket.  If you don’t have those, well, you’re probably out of luck.  I don’t know what you can do, short of going out and buying some.

Now, bust out your paper.  You may need a book of easy science experiments you can do with your kids as a hard surface if you don’t have a table handy.  That’s what we did.

Have your 2 year old pick a color.  Color all over his fingertip. (which WILL make him giggle.  Guaranteed.)

Have him press his finger down onto the paper. 

If he’s like my kid, he will press it down ALL OVER the paper, repeatedly, then get really sad when it stops leaving prints, saying “ohhhhh... it’s broken!”

Repeat this with however many colors you want.

Now, draw on a little face.

Cut it out like this.

Curl it up so the ends overlap and tape them together.

Slip it on your finger.

And there you have it!  Fingerprint puppets!

I think he likes them.

Here’s a little monkey!  (I like this one a lot...)

bug insisted we make some “clues”, because doing the fingerprints reminded him of blue’s clue’s paw prints.

Then he wanted to do some trees.  Which provided the perfect backdrop for our puppet show on the porch.

Look, bug’s found a clue!

Performing, dancing, singing, bowing...

And here’s a close-up of the caterpillar.  Love this guy.  (For him, I just stamped the different colors close together, then cut him out and taped him onto a little strip of paper after I had rolled it up.)

And here's the whole cast for curtain call. 

We've got the wide-eyed, innocent hero and his love - the ingenue - who was held captive by the evil villain (with the mustache there).  Then there's the best friend and the professor (in glasses) who help the hero beat the villain.  Oh, and the monkey.  A beloved pet.  AND the caterpillars... who are just cute and have nothing to do with the story.

Obviously these won't withstand hours of hard play, but they're cute and easy for a little entertainment.  And fun for older kids, too.

And of course, you will be messy afterward.

And maybe I should have thought this through a little better before covering the two of us head to toe in UNWASHABLE marker.  I mean, other markers probably would have worked just fine, wouldn’t they?  Don’t answer that.  I’m going to have to make a run to the store tomorrow for some fingernail polish remover.  Hopefully that will do the trick.

And if it doesn’t, well, bug and I will have a permanent tattoo reminder of our crafty afternoon.

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