giftstomake

GIFTS

for Dads, Grandpas and Uncles

Handprint T-Shirt

For a Father's Day Gift that gives dad, grandpa, or other family guy a hug from everyone, purchase a plain t-shirt and have everyone in the family make handprints on it. We made ours with everyone's hands "thumbs up" so it looked like arms were wrapped around grandpa, giving him a hug. Use paints designed for use on fabric. Wash the t-shirt before painting. Use a variety of colors or just choose his favorites. Place a piece of plastic-wrap covered cardboard between the front and the back of the shirt so paint doesn't "bleed through". Squirt some of the paint onto a flat dish and roll it out thin with a roller or just spread it around with your fingers so that it will cover a surface large enough for the hand being printed. Press each paint covered hand onto the t-shirt. Press hard to leave a good print.

Make Dad "King for a Day" with a Special Father's Day Placemat

Start with a piece of 9" x 12" construction paper. Decorate it in any way you choose, using crayons, paints, handprints, markers, stamps or cut and pasted pieces of paper. When you are finished decorating the placemat, you can either take it to a copy shop and ask them to laminate it for you. (There is a charge for this service.) As an option, you can cover both sides of the paper with clear ConTact_® paper to protect your artwork from spills at the dinner table.

GIFTS

for Moms, Grandmas and Aunts

Give Mom a Cookie Bouquet

Bake some cut-out cookies in flower shapes. (Start from scratch or use refrigerator dough purchased from the grocery store.) Decorate the cookies with frosting and pretty sprinkles. Glue green construction paper leaves to some green pipe cleaner stems. Use frosting to attach the cookies to the stems and place your cookies in a box that has been lined with tissue paper. (The stems won't connect well to the flowers, they are really just for "presentation".) Add a bow. Wrap the box and give mom a dozen cookie flowers. (It can be less than a dozen depending on the size of your box. They will look best if the box is not overcrowded.)

Butterfly Clip

Materials: Spring-Clip clothespin, Felt scraps, Felt Marker, Giggly eyes (optional), Pipe Cleaner, Beads or Sequins (optional), Craft Glue, Magnet (a piece of magnetic strip with a sticky back is best)

Directions: Cut butterfly wing shapes from felt scraps. Make 2 sets of two wings. Decorate felt wings with felt markers or by gluing beads or sequins on the wings. Using the clip clothespin as a body (with the open side down), glue the felt wings in place. Use markers to make eyes or glue giggly eyes to the head. Cut a pipe cleaner and glue two pieces in place at the top of the head for antennae. Place the magnetic strip on the back and your butterfly is ready to hold notes or special drawings "made for mom" on the refrigerator door.

Make a Bracelet

Most children love to string beads. Give children a length of dental floss and let them string pretty beads to make a bracelet as a gift. Younger children can string beads onto a pipe cleaner. It's easier for them.

Decorate a Flower Pot

Decorate a flower pot for mom or grandma. Use paint or glue decorations to the pot. Fill the pot with soil and plant some flower seeds in it. Or make paper or craftfoam® flowers, glue them to craft sticks and "plant" your paper flowers in the pot.