Heart Shaped Prints

To make art with kids you do not need fancy equipment. There’s so many fun things you can do and make at home using everyday items. That’s why we decided to try out a few different methods to make heart shaped prints using things we already had at the house. It was a simple way to paint with kids while teaching them shapes and about the printing technique.

Sounds fancy right? It’s not… it’s simple fun that subliminally teaches a deeper basic form of art – printing.

So what all did we use? We gathered a very old sweet potato that had seen better days and cut it using the potato print tutorial. We also found a carrot with one end cut into a heart shape, a cookie cutter and a toilet paper roll shaped into a heart and held together with a rubber band.

First up was potato prints. We used this printing technique last year to make shamrock prints and loved it. Once again it was a hit and worked well. Potato Prints are great for kids because it’s easy to hold and they can put as much pressure on it as they want without a hurting a potato. It’s also a lot of fun for adults to play with when you have old potatoes and some extra paint.

Honestly I wasn’t crazy about the carrot prints. Carrots have a ton of water in them so the paint was thinner than other forms of printing and it didn’t hold the heart shape that well. Plus it was really hard to get an even cut on the carrot to make the heart flat and good for printing. However the long carrot made a great handle and when she got bored, a great paintbrush.

Printing hearts with toilet paper rolls was something I saw on Pinterest. However it turned out to be the least favorite method. Princess Newbie gave it one try and then put it to the side and never touched it again. Plus you had to press down extra hard on the middle part of the heart or it wouldn’t print a complete heart. The resident 4 year old doesn’t have time for that so it was tossed to the side. I was a bit disappointed. I was really looking forward to finally having a use for all those empty toilet paper rolls that no one around here throws away.

I’ve always loved painting with cookie cutters. The thin edges hold paint so well and they leave almost perfect prints. Using cookie cutters to make prints is a must try rainy day craft for kids if you’ve never done it. It’s easy and the paint washes off easily if you do not let it set.

So which way was voted the favorite by the artist in charge?

Heart prints with carrots! I don’t know if the long carrot making it easier to hold or the fact that she could easily drag it around the page but she used the carrot more than any other technique. Hey I guess if it’s good for your eyesight it only makes sense that it’s good for painting. right? Ok maybe not but she loved it.