Putting The Pretty In Preschool

Finding Beauty In Everyday Early Childhood Experiences

keepsakes

Dish Wand Print Flower Art

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This dish wand print flower art project is so easy to do. Grab some round sponge dish wands at a dollar store and a few basic art supplies and you are good to go.

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Supplies To Collect

Gather the following for this dish wand print flower art activity:

  • round sponge dish wands
  • tempera paint in a variety of colors
  • fade-resistant cardstock or construction paper
  • paint dishes
  • markers
  • table cover

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Follow me on Pinterest for more early learning ideas.

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The Dish Wand Print Flower Art Project

To begin this pretty flower art project, pour tempera paint on paint dishes in colors of your choice. Add a little bit of white or yellow paint to your hues to lighten and brighten them if desired.

Next, place a round sponge dish wand in each paint-filled dish.

Then set out 9-inch x 12-inch sheets of construction paper by the paint trays. 8 1/2 x 11-inch cardstock paper works fine too.

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Invite participants to make flower prints with the sponge dish wands by dipping them in a color of paint and pressing them on the art paper.

After the dish wand flower prints dry, ask children to use markers to draw a stem below each sponged flower.

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Two different paint colors for each flower look nice. In the art piece above the two-toned flower prints are created by using yellow paint first. Afterward, each flower gets an additional color with a wand dipped in orange paint.

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Swirling a little magenta and purple paint into white paint before using a dish wand is another way to create two-toned flower art.

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Finishing Touches

Enhance this dish wand print flower art project by adding a saying or including paper embellishments.

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Add a “Happy Mother’s Day” greeting for a beautiful Mother’s Day keepsake craft.

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Glue on a few paper-punched butterflies in a complementary hue for an elegant look.

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More Activities With Flowers

Contact Paper Flower Art

Petunia Flower Sensory Tray

Flower Stand Dramatic Play Center

Lilac Flower Sensory Tray

Flower Planting Sensory Tray

Flower Theme Activities

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New Year’s Crafts

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This post has been updated for New Year 2025.

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2025 is just around the corner, and who doesn’t mind having some easy-to-do New Year’s crafts at their fingertips. These activities double up as 2025 keepsakes. You can choose from several glitzy versions.

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2025 Collage Craft

Supplies Needed:

  • glitter gold cardstock
  • tan cardstock
  • 8 ½ x 11-inch cream cardstock
  • gold sequins, stars, balls, and confetti
  • gold glitter glue
  • glue paddle
  • collage containers
  • adhesive gems
  • black or gold metallic felt pen
  • pencil
  • scissors
  • glue stick or glue gun

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Making The 2025 Collage Craft

Trace your little learner’s hand on a piece of tan cardstock, or let your child do the tracing.

Help your child cut out the hand.

Add gold glitter glue and craft bits to small containers. Simply collect any gold-colored craft items you have around for the collaging.

Set out the gold bits, glue, glue paddle, and paper hand on a table.

Gold craft supplies to decorate traced hands.

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Invite your little one to glam up the hand with the collage items, using glitter glue as an adhesive.

Let the collaged hand dry.

Cut a number five and a pair of number two shapes from gold glitter cardstock or a gold gift bag. Download the printable in this post to use as a template if desired.

On cream-colored cardstock, help your little learner use a glue stick to tack on a number two, the decorated hand, another number two, and a number five. Reinforce the shapes with a glue gun if needed. Add a greeting with a black or gold metallic felt pen.

Gold-themed traced hand 2021 keepsake craft.

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The glitzy hand takes center stage in this craft.

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Related: New Year’s Countdown Activities

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Traced Hand 2025 Keepsake

A simpler version of this activity is to trace your little one’s hand on glitter gold or glitter silver cardstock. After cutting it out, have your child glue the glam hand onto a gold or silver numbered 2025 template (downloadable below.)

A gold glitter traced hand completes this 2021 keepsake craft.

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Adhesive gems enhance the craft.

Gold cardstock traced hand and adhesive gem 2021 craft.

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Silver glitter cardstock and adhesive gem 2021 keepsake craft.

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Golden Hand Craft Printable

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2025 Here I Come Gold PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Silver Hand Craft Printable

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2025 Here I Come Silver 2 PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Related: New Year’s Sensory Tray

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Rhinestone 2025 New Year’s Crafts

Skip the hand art and invite your early learner to add adhesive gems to a metallic numbered 2025 printable.

Adhesive gem decorated 2021 keepsake craft supplies.

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Below are silver, gold, and black versions for downloading.

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Gold 2025 Template

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2025 Here I Come Gold PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Silver 2025 Template

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2025 Here I Come Silver PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Black 2025 Template

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2025 Here I Come Black PrintableDownload

This printable is for individual or one classroom use only.

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Adhesive gem decorated 2021 keepsake craft.

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These New Year’s crafts are great for strengthening finger muscles and practicing eye-hand coordination. They facilitate number recognition and pattern making. And your little learner will love the opportunity to use adhesive gems and gold-themed craft supplies in these projects.

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Happy New Year 2025!

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Collage 2021 keepsake craft with a gold theme.

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More New Year’s Activities

New Year’s Eve Sensory Tray

New Year’s All Gold Sensory Activity

New Year’s Countdown Activities

New Year’s Sensory Tray

New Year’s Art and Math Activities

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[Read more…] about New Year’s Crafts

Painting With Chocolate

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You read it correctly: this blog post is about painting with chocolate. It’s easy, it’s fun, and your workspace will smell divine. The activities featured have a process art focus. A few embellishments will make the art display worthy or ready to give away.

Fingerpainting, ice cube painting, and brush painting with chocolate. The process art hearts can be turned into valentines to give away. Art and Science activities for all ages.

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Supplies To Collect

  • hot chocolate powder
  • cocoa powder
  • chocolate sprinkles
  • bowls and spoons
  • sturdy white paper
  • waterproof felt pen
  • ice cubes
  • tray for ice cubes
  • paintbrush
  • container of water
  • doily heart
  • decorative 12-inch x 12-inch cardstock
  • ribbon
  • plastic (or real) rose
  • small plastic pouch
  • chocolates

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Activity One: Painting With Chocolate And Ice Cubes

Freeze different sizes of ice cubes.

Cut a piece of sturdy paper into a large heart shape. Optional: Write the words “You and Me + Chocolate” on the heart with a waterproof felt pen.

Scoop hot chocolate powder and cocoa into bowls. Add spoons.

Set out a tray of slightly melted, very wet ice cubes along with the paper heart and bowls of chocolate ingredients.

Invitation to paint with ice cubes, cocoa, chocolate powder, and chocolate sprinkles. An all-ages art and science activity.

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Start the activity off by saying that the powders are “mystery paints.” Ask your child to guess what the paints might be. Smelling the powders will give the answer away pretty quickly.

Invite your child to scatter hot chocolate powder and cocoa on the heart-shaped paper. (Chocolate sprinkles can be added later.)

Painting activity using ice cubes to swish around cocoa, hot chocolate powder, and chocolate sprinkles.

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Cocoa and hot chocolate added to a heart shape. Ice cubes can be used to swish the powders around.

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Ask your child to swish the powders around the heart with ice cubes, which will make spreadable chocolaty paint.

Offer a paper towel to dab on wet spots if desired. The pattern on the paper towel will add texture to the heart painting.

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Heart painting made by swishing ice cubes through cocoa and hot chocolate powder.

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Optional: Near the end, your child can add chocolate sprinkles to the heart. This will lead to a discovery that they make it harder to move the ice cubes around.

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Activity Two: Brush Painting With Chocolate

Painting with cocoa and hot chocolate powder. The powders are moved around with a paintbrush dipped in water.

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Brush painting is a less messy option if there isn’t much time for cleanup.

Invite your child to scatter hot chocolate and cocoa on a paper heart.

Offer a container of water and a paintbrush. Encourage your child to add water to the dry ingredients and paint the heart.

A paper towel can be used to soak up excess liquid.

Gorgeous chocolate heart paintings made with water and hot chocolate and cocoa.
Swoon-worthy hearts painted by preschoolers.

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Activity Three: Fingerpainting With Chocolate

The ice cube painting project and brush painting activity can both be turned into fingerpainting experiences. Mixing a higher concentration of cocoa and a little less water results in a fingerpaint-friendly paste that is luscious to spread around. Chocolate sprinkles can be added to enhance the sensory experience.

Fingerpainting with water added to hot chocolate powder and cocoa. Chocolate sprinkles can be included in the mix.

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Painted Heart Valentine

Adding a few embellishments will turn a chocolaty heart into a valentine to give away or art piece for display.

The brush-painted version is my favorite for turning into a keepsake. Any extra dry powder can be scraped off with a kitchen scrubber before the heart is added to a craft valentine.

Write the words: You And Me + Chocolate on a doily heart.

Use a glue gun to attach the doily to the painted heart.

Mount the heart on a 12-inch x 12-inch piece of decorative paper.

Add a bow and a real or crafted rose.

Chocolate heart painting added to a valentine to give away.

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Or add a bow and small pouch with chocolates.

Chocolate heart painting added to a valentine to give away.

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Art, Science, and sensory learning come together in these easy-to-do painting with chocolate activities. Your early learner will certainly be excited to try them.

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[Read more…] about Painting With Chocolate

Valentine’s Day Heart Art

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Valentine's Day heart art picture. A paper craft lipstick print valentine with a personal touch. This project is fun for all ages to make.

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This Valentine’s Day heart art project features an oversized valentine with a very personal touch. Lipstick in “notice me” colors adds to the excitement of making the picture.

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For this post, I purchased low-cost lipstick in as many hues as I could find. If you already have lipstick in a variety of colors, you will save in preparation time.

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Supplies To Collect

  • lipstick colors in a few different shades
  • large white circle or heart-shaped doily
  • foam sticker hearts
  • adhesive gems
  • glue stick
  • sharpie felt pen
  • two sheets of 12-inch by 12-inch cardstock (in colors that complement each other)

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Lipstick shades used for a Valentine's Day paper craft. Lipstick prints are the highlight of the oversized valentine.

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Making The Valentine’s Day Heart Art Picture

Help your child apply lipstick and make lip prints on the doily. You can suggest a different color for the top and bottom lips for added fun.

Invite your child to decorate the doily picture with foam sticker hearts and adhesive gems.

Write some loving words on the doily, or have your child do so.

Assist your child in gluing the doily heart onto the cardstock square of choice.

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Valentine's Day heart art picture. A paper craft lipstick print valentine with a personal touch. This project is fun for all ages to make.

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As an alternative, you can use a heart-shaped doily. Have your child make lipstick prints on it and follow the rest of the instructions above.

Or the cardstock with the decorated doily could be cut into a heart shape and then glued onto a complimentary piece of sturdy paper.

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Valentine's Day heart art picture. A paper craft lipstick print valentine with a personal touch. This project is fun for all ages to make.

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Purple, reds, and pinks are prominent in these arty valentines. Choose materials that go with the lipstick hues you have available. Colors like turquoise and/or gold for lips and complimentary art supplies can be showcased wonderfully in this craft.

To view lipsticks that come in unexpected colors, browse through a post from allure.com. Experimenting with unusual shades or making rainbow lipstick prints will add dramatic flair to this valentine’s keepsake.

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[Read more…] about Valentine’s Day Heart Art

Handprint Angel Christmas Keepsake

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Handprint Angel Christmas craft with silver metallic leaf wings. An easy to make keepsake craft that all children can do.

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There are so many adorable handprint crafts, and the choices for Christmas are incredible. One of my favorites is a handprint angel. It is a cute craft that doubles as an adorable keepsake. It is also a piece of cake to make and can be whipped up at the last minute.

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Supplies To Collect

  • white tempera paint
  • pie plate or small tray
  • grey fade-resistant cardstock
  • cream colored fade-resistant cardstock
  • grey-based patterned 8 ½ x 11-inch cardstock
  • stem with silver metallic leaves
  • circle tracer (juice lid size)
  • pencil
  • children’s scissors
  • craft scissors
  • glue stick
  • glue gun
  • silver glitter

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Making The Handprint Angel

This craft can be done independently by older children, or as an adult-child collaborative project with preschoolers.

Cut individual metallic leaves from the leaf stem with a pair of craft scissors.

A metallic silver leaf stem.

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Silver metallic leaves cut from a stem.

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Have your child make a handprint with white paint on grey cardstock.

Invitation to make a handprint with white paint on grey paper.

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When dry, cut out the handprint or have your child do so.

Invite your child to trace a circle onto cream-colored cardstock and cut it out.

Invitation to trace and cut a circle for the face of a handprint angel.

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Ask your child to draw a face on the circle with a pencil.

Help your child glue the handprint, face, and metallic leaf wings onto grey-based patterned cardstock to create an angel. Use a glue gun to help secure the wings.

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Have your child make an oval swirl on top of the angel’s head for a halo.

Invitation to swirl an oval shape above the angel's head with a glue stick for a halo.

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Invite your child to shake silver glitter over the glue swirl.

Invitation to add a silver glitter halo to a handprint angel.

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Handprint Angel Holiday Greeting

If you like, a favorite holiday greeting can be added to the craft for a finishing touch.

Handprint angel craft with the caption "Merry Christmas." An easy to make keepsake all children can create.

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Feel free to download this printable and use one of the holiday greetings for your craft.

Printable with the seasonal greetings "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays." This printable coordinates with the Handprint Angel Christmas keepsake.

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Holiday Greeting PrintableDownload

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A handprint angel craft with the caption "Merry Christmas." An easy to make keepsake all children can create.

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This handprint angel picture is made in white, cream, silver, and grey tones. The inspiration was a stem of metallic silver leaves found at a local dollar store. Traditional Christmas colors or your favorite color scheme would work wonderfully for this keepsake.

Handprint angel craft with the caption "Merry Christmas." An easy to make keepsake all children can create.

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For an exquisite Seashell Angel Christmas Ornament craft, view the tutorial at hellowonderful.co.

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[Read more…] about Handprint Angel Christmas Keepsake

Mother’s Day Crafts And Gifts

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Mother's Day paper crafts with jewelry and decorative key chain accents. Art ideas all children can do.

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and every mom deserves to be treated special.  Here is an easy Mother’s Day craft that is bound to hit the mark. A key chain or brooch makes a lovely addition as a gift.

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Supplies used:

  • flower and butterfly paper punches
  • craft paper with cream, gold, and silver tones
  • gold and silver metallic bead stickers
  • white pearl and silver jewel stickers
  • butterfly adhesive shapes
  • template with the word MOM
  • decorative silver key chains
  • glue stick

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Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Making The Mother’s Day Craft

Create a template with the word MOM on it or download one of my templates. 

Decorate the word "mom" with gorgeous paper butterflies and flowers. This craft is suitable for all ages and works great for Mother's Day or word review.

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Mothers-Day-TemplateDownload

This template is for personal or one classroom use only.

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Paper punch small flowers and butterflies from patterned paper with complementary tones.

Add on sticker beads.

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Have children use a glue stick to attach butterflies and flowers, or just butterflies to the lines of the letters that spell the word “mom.”

Add a brooch or key chain gift to the finished picture.

Mother's Day collage craft with flowers and butterflies glued on to the word 'Mom.' A starfish keychain is fastened on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Metallic sticker beads are the inspiration for this color scheme.  I was thrilled to find a scrapbook pad called “Bless Our Home” with paper sheets in patterns of gold, silver, grey, and cream.  The paper theme is perfect for a Mother’s Day craft, and the colors and patterns complement the shiny gold and silver beads.

Mother's Day paper collage craft with butterflies glued on to the word "mom." A silver flower brooch is added on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Leftover paper flowers and butterflies can be used as table scatter for a Mother’s Day Tea.

Tan denim cloth flowers and butterfly and flower table scatter.
Table Scatter And Tan Denim Cloth Flowers

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Other Decorating Ideas

Invite children to decorate the word “mom” with sticker pearls and jewels.  This craft is simpler but just as beautiful.  A sea turtle key chain is added to the picture below.

Mother's Day craft with sticker pearls and silver jewels added on the word 'mom.' A sea turtle key chain is added on as a gift. This craft is suitable for all ages.

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Or have children decorate the word “mom” with jewel and butterfly stickers.  A fish key chain is a finishing touch.

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A sparkly flower brooch compliments the picture below.

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A glitzy shoe key chain enhances this craft.

A pretty key chain gift fastened to the word "mom" in a Mother's Day paper collage craft. This art activity is suitable for all ages.

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Download a template that is easy for little learners to read and decorate here.

"Beautiful mom" printable for little learners to decorate with sticker beads and gems. The easy-to-read letters promote word recognition skills. A craft perfect for Mother's Day.
Beautiful Mom TemplateDownload

This template is for personal or one classroom use only.

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A Handmade Key Chain Option

Michelle (craftymorning.com) features Handprint Shrinky Dink Keychains that would go along well with a rainbow-colored version of this craft.

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Which of the above designs is your favorite?

What color schemes are inspiring you right now? Leave a comment below.

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Try this beautiful Mother's Day papercraft with a choice of jewelry or decorative key chain accents. A keepsake that all children can make.

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[Read more…] about Mother’s Day Crafts And Gifts