American Flag Hand print Heart Art

The older I get, the more I appreciate the men and women that serve in the armed forces.  They are much braver that I will ever be, and I'm so thankful for the sacrifices that they and their families make.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  In honor of this Memorial Day, I tried to come up with an easy, kid-friendly craft that could somehow capture my love of America and my thankfulness for those who sacrificed their lives to protect our country. 
    

American Flag Hand print Heart Art

The hands are painted like an American flag and placed in a heart shape, representing my love for America.


 

How to paint American Flag Hand Print Heart Art 

To create this image, I simply painted my left and right hand as such:

(Note:  These photos were taken AFTER I placed my hands on the paper.  So be sure to use way more paint than shown in the photo.)

I used the lines on my hands as guides for how wide the red and white stripes should be.  I also decided to forgo painting the stars on my right hand because it would come out too messy.

To ensure that the hand print would come out looking as clear as it could, I painted one hand first, then pressed it down, then washed that hand, and then repeated the process with my right hand.  I also made sure to press down firmly on each finger and palm to ensure adequate contact between my hand and the paper.

And then once I printed both hands, I painted on stars and fixed up any fingers that didn't quite show up.

And just so you know, here is an image of my first attempt at this craft.

  (Can you spot the three things that went wrong?)

 Heh heh heh. I painted the blue part on my left hand instead of right.  Oops! I used white paper and the white paint didn't stand out.  Oops!  And I painted the stars on my hands first, making them kinda blurry and crazy looking.  Oops!   So if you do the craft, don't make my mistakes, ok?

Ok.  That's all for today.  Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!