Cactus Handprint Craft

How cute is this cactus handprint craft? I have always loved crafts where I get a handprint from my child to keep as a keepsake. I always love to compare their hands to these crafts as they grow.

This craft can come together easily with items you may have at home. Even if you don't have the items, they are very inexpensive to purchase. I think you could definitely use some alternate flowers for the cactus and decorations for the pot. Take our some markers and let your child create their own design on the pot. I suggest using sharpies for less smearing, with careful supervision.

I suggest combining this craft with some amazing literature. This helps kids form memories and helps them remember details of texts they read. This is a great reading skill for your child to develop as they grow.

Here are 5 books about cacti that I recommend reading with or to you child.

1. "Cactus Hotel" by Brenda Z. Guiberson: A story of the growth of a cactus from seed to becoming a hotel for a woodpecker. Soon, many other birds make a home in the cactus as well.

2. "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus" by Lucille Colandro: This series of books are always great for a laugh! Your child will be shocked at all of the silly things they old lady swallows. These books are so great with a rhythm that is fun to read and easy to predict the words that will come. Let your child read along with you as the words repeat.

3. "How to Hug a Cactus" by Emily S. Smith: A little girl want to hug her cactus to help it grow. She seeks the advice from all of her family to help her solve this problem. Read to find out how she solves her problem.

4. "Cactus and Flower" by Sarah Williamson: Read about the friendship of cactus and flower in this adorable book.

5. "Nobody Hugs a Cactus" by Carter Goodrich: Hank the cactus is pretty grumpy to all who come by him in the desert. Maybe he just needs a hug, but nobody hugs a cactus, right?

Supplies:

1. Green and brown craft foam
2. Green tube confetti ( I purchased this from the Dollar Tree)
3. Pom poms
4. Craft gems
5. Scissors
6. Felt and Foam Tacky Glue

Instructions:

1. Trace you child's hand on green craft foam. Have your child cut out if they are able.

2. Sketch a pot on the brown craft foam. I used the handprint as a guide to make the pot an accurate size.

3. Glue the colored pom poms on the fingers to act as flowers. Let your child choose any colors they want. Be sure to flip the green handprint over so the traced edge is not shown.

4. Next, glue the cactus to the pot. Again be sure to flip the pot so the traced edge is on the back side.

5. Make diagonal lines of glue and place the tube confetti onto the glue. I placed 3 pieces on each line of glue. This will create the cactus prickles.

6. Finally, decorate the pot. I added 3 flat gems that I had, but you can have your child decorate in any way they choose. Some ideas are using markers, stickers or creating a design out of craft foam to glue on.

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