Christmas Dove Art

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Angels are often my “go-to” theme for a Christmas craft keepsake, but this holiday season I have doves on my brain. Doves are symbolic of peace and love, which is welcome inspiration at Christmas, or any time of the year. So here are two Christmas dove art projects that make touching keepsakes… and display beautifully. Bonus: I’ve included a free downloadable printable to use for the crafts.

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Squish Painted Dove

Create a symmetrical dove pattern or download the printable in this post to use as a template. Cut out one bird from white 8 ½ inch x 11-inch cardstock paper for each child completing the project.

Dove printable to download for a craft project.

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Dove TemplateDownload

This printable is for individual and one classroom use only.

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Set the doves out onto a table along with red and green paint and spoons.

Invitation to spatter paint paper doves with red and green paint.

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Invite your little learners to spatter paint their dove.

Spatter painted dove using green and red Christmas colors.

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Then help them fold the dove, and smooth their hand over it. Placing newspaper underneath and overtop the folded birds helps absorb excess paint.

Ask your little ones to unfold their birds. They are bound to be excited to see the art they have created.

Squish painted dove art project in red and green colors.

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After the doves dry, hot glue a sprig from a Christmas stem underneath each beak.

A sprig from a Christmas stem is the finishing touch for this squish painted red and green dove.

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Cuttings from a stem with berries, pine cones, and leaves in different tones give the doves a unique finishing touch.

Christmas stem to use as a finishing touch for festive dove art.

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Sprigs cut from one Christmas stem for a craft project.

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Displayed together on a wall as a triangle and topped with a star, the painted birds make a unique Christmas tree shape. Or mount on a complimentary patterned paper background.

Christmas dove art utilizing a squish painting technique.

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View a Squish-Painted Christmas Dove video tutorial here:

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Papercraft Christmas Dove

Supplies To Collect:

8 1/2 x 11-inch white cardstock
sturdy paper in white, green, red, and turquoise hues
12-inch x12-inch cardstock or Christmas-themed paper
flower, leaf, snowflake, and bird paper punches
glue sticks
holiday greetings
self-adhesive pearls
double-sided tape

Supplies needed to make a papercraft dove Christmas keepsake.

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Cut out white cardstock doves, and set them out on a table with glue sticks and festive paper punched shapes. I used bird, snowflake, leaf, and flower shapes in turquoise, red, and green hues. Feel free to choose your own color scheme.

Set up with adhesive pearls and snowflake, leaf, flower, and bird paper shapes to glue onto a paper dove.

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Invite your early learners to glue colorful punched shapes to their doves.

Tips:

A muffin pan works well as a shape sorter for group art.
Paper or foil Christmas scatter purchased from a store could replace the punched shapes in this craft.

A twelve cup muffin pan works well as a shape sorter for group art.

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Afterward, glue a paper punched leaf or Christmas sprig underneath each beak. Mount the birds onto 12-inch x 12-inch solid colored complimentary cardstock with a few pieces of double-sided tape for a raised look. Invite your charges to add self-adhesive pearl gems to the flowers and background paper.

Words such as Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joy, Peace, or Noel add a seasonal greeting to the pictures.