Contained Chaos: Father’s Day Craft

Just a few more days until Father’s Day! I see it as just another excuse to make more fun crafts with Abby :) Today we made her dad a personalized soccer ball. Not only is it an adorable keepsake, it also encourages playtime between father and daughter. I mean, really, isnt it every father’s dream to play his favorite sport with his little ones? This is a great craft to encourage such bonding on Dad’s special day.

Supplies

• Soccer Ball (just don’t use Dad’s favorite signed one! Go out and pick up a cheap alternative. Even a kiddie ball will do!)
• Paint and Markers

Directions

Be warned, this is a messy craft! Let’s just say, I ended up doing laundry afterwards…for both of us. But it is so worth it – both for the end product and for the fun we had making it.

Start with letting your little one smear their hands in paint. We went with blue..”Dada likes blue” apparently. I didn’t argue. Once you have a little want to be Blue Man, attempt to direct their hands toward the soccer ball for two angled hand prints, making a heart. Luckily we used washable paint, for we had to try quite a few times before Abby’s hand prints looked more like a heart and less like a monster (I “monster” Daddy just was not what we were going for).

Now steal the ball away as fast as possible and place it somewhere out of reach. Let it dry for an hour or so and then add your own hand painted (or drawn) “I” and “Daddy”. If your little one can write, let them do the writing! Sure, it may be messy, but Dad won’t mind. I promise.

One of the most difficult things I found about this craft was directing Abby’s hands while holding the ball still. And on top of all that, I had to make sure we didn’t get the ball blue all over (Yes, I said “we”. Trust me, Abby was not the only one covered in paint). My solution? A small strainer! It fit the soccer ball perfectly and kept it from moving while we worked on perfecting hand prints.