DIY Halloween Craft... for Moms

DIY Halloween Craft... for Moms

My kids aren't the only ones in this house who enjoy a good craft. I do, too! Maybe it was because I grew up doing crafts. My grandparents always had something for us to do, when they babysat us. Ahh, memories! Of course, I am sure to have my own 3 kiddos do crafts. Yes, all 3 (ages 7, 4, and 1) of them do crafts. However, I still like to do my own sometimes, and well, I like to think of it as my "self-care" time. Even BEFORE the pandemic, us moms still needed time to ourselves doing whatever it is that WE want! However short that time may be.

Some of my crafts are completely kid-free; however, this one only involves painting a few (hopefully clean) feet. Mainly because I am a sucker for memories (did you catch that earlier?), but I enjoy painting their little feet and hands. It's like freezing a moment in time. I've done several over the years for this holiday and that, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

The products- well, most of the products- I used for this were all from the DOLLAR TREE! Besides Target and Amazon, Dollar Tree is my jam! And, that canvas is 11"x14"- to me, that is a great size! The only product shown here not from the Dollar Tree is my black puffy paint. I always keep those on hand, so I normally just happen to have that "lying around." Basically, though, this craft was under $5!

Materials for Project:

*A canvas (or quite honestly, you could use construction paper, as I have done in the past)

*2 paint brushes of any sort

*Orange acrylic paint (if you are using construction paper, you do not need to do the step involving this paint)

*White washable paint

*Black puffy paint (again, if you are using construction paper for this, you can use a black/silver sharpie)

How to Make this Adorable Keepsake:

Let's say you are using a canvas, for now.

You will need to paint the canvas orange with one of the brushes and the orange paint. I actually did 2 coats because I wanted to be sure of the best coverage. You probably can get away with one coat, but it just made me feel better.

Go ahead and let it dry for a few hours. I didn't wait long between coats, but I did wait the few hours before doing the next step.

The next step is my favorite part: adding the feet! Like I said before- total freezing of a moment in their tiny lives. It just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy, knowing I get to look at this every year (even when they grow up and move out... sniffle, sniffle).

So, you literally paint your child's foot (or both feet- your choice- make it your own).

Beware of baby HANDS, when you are painting baby feet. Little missy wanted to touch EVERYTHING in typical baby fashion. Would I have had it any other way? No. Of course, not!

You need to wait maybe an hour or so for the white paint to dry. Unless you're like (impatient) me, and you don't... in which case, just don't dip your arm (or hair tie) into the wet white paint. I swear, I am such an impatient person... for everything EXCEPT children! I (9.5 times out of 10) have patience for them. <3

So, anywho, you let the white paint dry (or don't), but then you get to decorate!

You can leave just their little feet with the faces of ghosts. You can do the faces and write "Boo!" That's normally what I write on their ghost feet. This year, I wrote "Trick or Treat, Smell OUR Feet!" Get it? "Our" because there's more than one? Ok, thanks for laughing for me. Really. Thanks!

I added bows to represent my girls. You can leave it bow-free, or add them with puffy paint or even ribbon. You can also hot glue a ribbon to the back (before you start or after this is completely dry) and hang it up on your wall to admire for Halloween for years to come. You could also leave it as is, and set it on a mantle. I do not have a mantle (it feels weird to me, but I work with what I have), so I will attach a ribbon and put it up on the wall.

Thanks for reading!

Lots of Love!

Katie M.

If you would like to see a video of this in action, check out my video on this craft:

(20) DIY with Me Halloween Craft - YouTube

Also, here's my YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvbOQH-sgVXBp4zQINMAkdA?view_as=subscriber