Finger Printing Art Set

This adorable finger printing art set will have your kids creating animals, caterpillars, flowers, and who knows what else out of their own fingerprints. So it's kind of like finger-painting, but hopefully a little less messy! This set comes in a metal box that measures 6 3/4 inch long by 3 3/8 inch wide by 1 inch deep. It contains 4 colored ink pads (about 1 inch square apiece), 12 mini rubber stamps for body parts, faces, and accessories for your creations, and 12 colored pencils.

If you're looking for ways to cut costs, what's nice is that you could also make a do-it-yourself version of this kit! You can find a cute tin at the dollar store, or even use an altered Altoids tin or something else you've recycled. Put only one or two mini ink pads in there, and a few colored pencils, and there you have it! Small children aren't going to care if the version they get is less fancy than the one pictured here.

Or (especially for those snow-bound lately who are going crazy with bored kids with nothing to do), you can dispense with the kit altogether. Get out an ink pad and some paper and start your kids creating finger print art on the spot. I'm reminded of an elementary school carnival I once volunteered at when I was in junior high school. Kids would stamp their thumb onto a piece of paper glued into a cocoa tin lid, and I would use colored pens to turn their thumb print into a reindeer or Santa or some other Christmas symbol. It was great fun!

What: Finger Printing Art Set
Where: Spoon Sisters website or elsewhere
How much (as of today's post): $11.50 (plus shipping)