Strawberry Handprint Craft for Preschoolers (Easy Summer Craft)

Strawberry season has a way of making everything feel a little sweeter. We had a bowl of berries on the counter, a stack of picture books, and a very excited preschooler and this craft was a hit. This strawberry handprint craft takes one little hand, a few dollars of supplies, and about twenty minutes start to finish.

Your child presses a red handprint onto cardstock, dots on the seeds with a cotton swab, and glues a green leafy top on. That is it. And when their fingers get too big for the paper someday, you will be very glad you kept it.

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What You Will Need

Almost everything here is probably already in your craft bin. We paired ours with a strawberry book, which turned a quick craft into a whole little afternoon.

• Red and black washable kids paint. We used Crayola, which comes off hands and clothes easily. (Amazon)
• White cardstock. Heavier paper holds up much better than printer paper. (Amazon)
• Green cardstock for the leafy top. (Amazon)
• Cotton swabs for dotting the seeds. (Amazon)
• A glue stick. (Amazon)
• A chunky paintbrush for painting little palms. (Amazon)
• The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood. This one is a classic and it pairs perfectly. (Amazon)
• From around the house: scissors, a marker for their name, and paper towels or baby wipes for the inevitable red palm.
• We also love the idea of framing these little handprints and using as summer decor year after year. Here are some cute gold frames that would be a perfect fit! (Amazon)

How to Make a Strawberry Handprint Craft

1. Read the book together first. It gets everyone excited about strawberries!
2. Cover your table and lay a piece of white cardstock in front of your child.
3. Brush a thick, even coat of red paint across their whole palm and all five fingers.
4. Turn their hand so the fingers point down, then press it firmly onto the cardstock. Press gently on each finger and the center of the palm so the whole print transfers.
5. Lift the hand straight up, not sideways, so the print stays crisp. Then send them to wash up.
6. Let the red paint dry for about fifteen to twenty minutes. It needs to be dry before the seeds go on or they will smear.
7. Dip a cotton swab in black paint and dot seeds all over the berry, including down the fingers. Little ones love this part and there is no wrong way to do it.
8. Cut a leafy green top and a short stem from green cardstock. We cut a simple star shape with pointed leaves.
9. Glue the green top on at the wrist end of the handprint, then write your child’s name and the date somewhere on the page.

Why We Love This Craft

There is something about a handprint that stops us in our tracks every time. Those little fingers do not stay little for long, and this one turns a summer afternoon into something you can actually keep. It costs almost nothing, it works for toddlers and preschoolers alike, and the fingers of the handprint make such a perfect strawberry shape that it feels a little bit like magic when they lift their hand up.

Tips for the Best Strawberry Handprint

• Use cardstock, not printer paper. Thin paper warps and curls as the paint dries.
• Paint the hand rather than pressing it into a paint tray. You get a much more even print and way less mess.
• Have a wet washcloth or baby wipes sitting right next to you before you start. Wet paint on a wandering toddler moves fast.
• Do not skip the drying time before the seeds. Twenty minutes of patience saves you from a smudged pink blur.
• Make two while you have paint out. One for the fridge and one to mail to grandma.
• Work with one child at a time if you have several. Trust us on this one.
• Write the name and date on every single one. You will not remember whose hand was whose in three years.

This little strawberry has been hanging on our fridge for weeks now and we are not taking it down anytime soon. It is such a simple way to hold onto this stage, and it makes the perfect summer keepsake to tuck into a memory box later.

Are you making one with your kids? We would love to hear what your little one thought of the seed dotting part, tell us in the comments!

Looking for more easy kids crafts? Try our Kissing Hand Raccoon Craft for Kids next.