Thumbprint Gift Tags
More arty preparations for Christmas, this time in the form of simple gift-tags made with finger or thumbprints. I love finger and thumbprint art much more than that using hand and footprints, which (with some notable exceptions) I often think can look rather contrived. In contrast I love the simplicity of finger and thumbprint artwork, and the fact that you have to embellish them and add detail to turn them into something else.
The robins and penguins were created from a single base thumbprint in black or brown, followed by a finger print on top in white or red. Details such as eyes were added with paint, and legs with pen. I used acrylic paint rather than ink pads to get a good dense colour. It does mean that you don’t get the actual print detail of the finger, but if you’re using a coloured background you need something a bit more substantial.
I also did some reindeer and some Christmas sheep (I don’t care what anyone says, I think that sheep can be very Christmassy!) These also use 2 prints each from a thumb (body) and finger (head) with scarves and eyes added in paint, and legs etc. with pen.
This is of course also a really easy activity to do with children, and I hope to get the chance to do some more with the boys once they finish school for the holidays!
Moving away from Christmas ideas, if you want yet more inspiration for thumbprint art, Ed Emberley’s Complete Thumbprint Drawing Book
