It’s Father’s Day and dads around the country are being acknowledged, celebrated and gifted. Ads across all media channels highlight the latest grilling gear, endless beer paraphernalia, and a gazillion go-to power tools.

Our daughter has been on a monster kick lately so, with some inspiration from our neighbor and a Pinterest search, we put our creative muscle to work.

If you’re ever looking for something personal (and cheap), here’s what we made:

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Canvas (We nabbed a pack of three for $3.99 from Ross, but you can get them in a variety of sizes from your local craft store or Walmart.)
• Paint (We used those small acrylic paints that are like $1.50 a piece at a local craft store or Walmart.)
• A kid or two (for their hand and foot)
• Black marker (We used a sharpie)
• Baby wipes or wet paper towels (to promptly wipe the hand and foot of your little monster(s))

Green hand. Once you have all the materials, start with painting a little hand green. My daughter loved this part because mommy was the one making her messy. 🤪 I found it easier to bring the canvas to my daughter’s hand then let her plop her hand down on the canvas. (She’s almost three.) Use a baby wipe to clean the hand, or not. Depends on how daring you feel!

Blue foot. Paint a left foot blue and bring the canvas to the foot. (My son is two months old and he was harder to capture given how squirmy he is!) Use a wipe to clean the foot.

Let dry. The paints seem to dry pretty quickly, so I just moved right in to the next step.

Paint details. Using the finished picture as a guide, paint on the eyes, mouths, horns and any other fun details you want.

Write a message. Using a black sharpie, you can write your message. It was Father’s Day for us, but this can work for birthdays or any special occasion really.

My daughter loves painting so, while I finished the monsters, she went to town on her own masterpieces. Depending on your kiddos’ ages, they may want to do the same. We ended up with lots of art. 😊

If you give this project a go, I’d love to know and see a pic of the final art. Use #anFtogive.

~H