Kids Craft: A Cute Handprint Apple Tree

After a quick search on easy kid related apple crafts, I came across a version of this apple tree! This is a super simple craft using real apple prints and your child’s handprints. I already had everything on hand that I needed so we had some apple fun today and made this keepsake!

Apple Tree Handprint Keepsake

Now, I am not a big fan of having lots of paper crafts lying around **I’ve got too many kids for that and keep the ones I want to keep in shirt boxes**. So, I thought it would be cute to paint it on this piece of wood. I have literally had this wooden plaque lying around my house for YEARS!! I have finally put it to good use, and it will be nice to hang it in my future schoolroom or in the kitchen during fall/apple season. So grab your tools. You will need acrylic paint, paint brushes, a painter’s cup of water, paper towels, a painting surface **you could use paper, wood, a t-shirt or even a brown paper gift bag**, an apple sliced in half in its upright position, and your child.

During nap time mommy time I painted this tree. I mixed my brown and black paint to get the varying shades of brown. If you have an older child, appoint this task to them. You could even claim it as a nature study, send them outside and have them paint a real tree.

My Painted Tree Trunk

Once the tree dried, I painted each child’s hand with the green acrylic and let them print the tree. Note: Acrylic paint is permanent! Make sure they are wearing paint worthy clothing! We started with the larger/oldest child’s hand in the middle and worked our way to the outside.

Be sure to allow each handprint to dry for ten minutes before moving on to the next one. This will make for a clearer and cleaner print. Once all of the prints have been painted on. Let your child paint their apple half with a color of their choice, and stamp it on the coordinating handprint.

Apple Stamping!

Once this is dry feel free to name and date your apples! I had great luck and more definition with a thin Sharpie marker. Allow to sit overnight and then cover with a clear coat of water based poly. I went to poly mine tonight and realized it hadn’t been open in four years and was full of rust. But knowing me, it will probably be another four years before I get around to buying another can of polyurethane. Once this is finished it will be a treasure and something that everyone can be proud of!

Be sure to allow each handprint to dry for ten minutes before moving on to the next one. This will make for a clearer and cleaner print. Once all of the prints have been painted on. Let your child paint their apple half with a color of their choice, and stamp it on the coordinating handprint.

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