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Spring Crafts For Kids Thumbprint Art Painted Flower Pots

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Check out these adorable spring crafts for kids! Thumbprint art is such a cute way to decorate terracotta pots.

Thumbprints can easily be turned into butterflies, bumblebees and ladybugs.

I’ll show you how we made these sweet painted flower pots for Mother’s Day gifts. Grandmas love them, too!

thumbprint art for kids

Spring Crafts For Kids: Thumbprint Art Painted Flower Pots Directions

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the free Printable craft directions card!

Tools and Materials Needed:

How to Make a Thumbprint Butterfly

Use a black paint marker to draw the butterfly body on the outside of the pot (see photo for reference).

butterfly body

Squeeze a dime-sized amount of desired paint color out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in desired paint color.

painted pots dip thumbthumbprint pots

Press painted thumb onto pot four times (as shown in photo) to create butterfly wings.

Repeat these steps to paint colorful butterflies all the way around the outside of the pot. Allow paint to dry completely.

thumbprint butterfly pot

How to Make a Thumbprint Bumblebee 

Squeeze a dime-sized amount of yellow paint out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in yellow paint and press onto the outside of the pot. Each thumbprint is a bee’s body.

Allow yellow paint to dry completely. Use a black paint marker to add eyes (dots), antennae, and stripes on the bee’s body.

bumblebee thumbprint pot

How to Make a Thumbprint Ladybug 

Squeeze a dime-sized amount of red paint out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in red paint and press onto the outside of the pot. Each thumbprint is a ladybug’s body.

Allow red paint to dry completely. Use a black paint marker to color the ladybug’s head, draw a line on the body for wings, add antennae and wing dots (as shown in photo.)

ladybug pots

Note: Although this is an easy craft for kids, most children will need adult assistance to help them place their painted thumbs in the right spot on the pot.

Be sure to check out my other blog post for even more kids thumbprint art painted flower pots ideas. Visit painted flower pots Sunflowers and Bumblebees.

kids thumbprint art

Aren’t these thumbprint art painted pots adorable? What other fingerprint art creatures could we add?

Follow me on Pinterest for more spring crafts for kids. Looking for more fun ideas?

See my blog posts 30 Simple Spring Outdoor Activities for Kids and 30 MORE Fun Springtime Activities for Kids.

If you love thumbprint and fingerprint arts and crafts for kids, check out our latest Spring Craft – Fingerprint Art Butterfly Birdhouses.

Spring Crafts Ideas For Kids - Fingerprint Art Butterfly Painted Birdhouses - Directions @momfindsout

Thumbprint Art For Kids Craft: Spring Flower Pots

Thumbprint Art For Kids Craft: Spring Flower Pots

Painting flower pots is a fun Spring craft idea for kids. Thumbprints can easily be turned into butterflies, bumblebees and ladybugs.

Materials

  • Terra cotta pots (4 inch)
  • Acrylic paints (Various colors - the brighter the better!)
  • Black Paint Marker
  • Miscellaneous: Paper Plates, Wet Wipes (for easy clean up)

Instructions

    How to Make a Thumbprint Butterfly: Use a black paint marker to draw the butterfly body on the outside of the pot (see photo for reference).



    Squeeze a dime-sized amount of desired paint color out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in desired paint color.

    Press painted thumb onto pot four times (as shown in photo) to create butterfly wings. Repeat these steps to paint colorful butterflies all the way around the outside of the pot. Allow paint to dry completely.

    How to Make a Thumbprint Bumblebee: Squeeze a dime-sized amount of yellow paint out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in yellow paint and press onto the outside of the pot. Each thumbprint is a bee's body.

    Allow yellow paint to dry completely. Use a black paint marker to add eyes (dots), antennae, and stripes on the bee's body.

    How to Make a Thumbprint Ladybug: Squeeze a dime-sized amount of red paint out on a paper plate. Dip thumb in red paint and press onto the outside of the pot. Each thumbprint is a ladybug's body.



    Allow red paint to dry completely. Use a black paint marker to color the ladybug's head, draw a line on the body for wings, add antennae and wing dots (as shown in photo.)

Notes

Note: Although this is an easy craft for kids, most children will need adult assistance to help them place their painted thumbs in the right spot on the pot.

Once the paint is completely dry, you can use Modge Podge clear sealant to spray the outside of each pot. This may help the paint last longer, especially if the pots are used outdoors.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gail says

    Thank you for such a great idea for a Mother’s Day gift!
    It was a Sunday School project for 3 young siblings, so we planted marigold seeds and included a photo of the children too.

    • Nicole says

      Hi Gail, Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know! It makes me so happy to hear that you were able to use this idea for a Mother’s Day gift. What a nice idea to plant the seeds and include a photo. I’m sure the children will enjoy watching their flowers grow! –Nicole at Mom Always Finds Out

  2. becca says

    i am doing these with my 3 and 4 yr old sunday school class for mothers day and filling the pots with candy…..using the 3″ pots

    • Nicole says

      Hi Becca, That will be such a cute Mother’s Day gift for the kids to make! Thank you for sharing your idea about filling the pots with candy. Moms will love it. 🙂 –Nicole

  3. Lorelai says

    What a cute memento — treasure the times when they have such tiny hands. 🙂

    #HomeMattersParty
    ~Lorelai
    Life with Lorelai

  5. Nancy says

    We made these in preschool and made the mistake of planting flowers in them. The water soaked through and softened the thumb prints. If I do these again, I would either put something else in or get a plastic liner to go inside. Having said that, they turned out real cute! We may have to redo them if any of them were ruined.

  8. Vidya says

    These look great! I am thinking about getting kids do this at my daughter’s birthday. I was wondering how long the paint will take to dry up so kids can carry these back home after the party?

    • Nicole says

      Hi Vidya,
      The paint on the pots should probably be dry to the touch after about 30 minutes. Of course, dry times vary depending on humidity and paint thickness, but I think as long as you do the craft early enough in the party, they should be dry enough to be carried home by the end of the party. If you want to help speed up the drying, you may want to try using a fan.
      Thanks for your compliments and for such a great question. Have a fun party! –Nicole

  9. Ronda says

    I LOVE this idea and want to use it to make Mother’s Day gifts for my students. Do you use any kind of sealer over the acrylic paint?

    • Nicole says

      Hi Ronda,

      I did not use a sealer, BUT I think that would be a great extra step if you really wanted to do it. My flower pots have actually done really well without the sealer, though, so if it’s too much hassle, I don’t think a sealer is necessary. Thanks so much for your question! Good luck with your pots, I hope your students have fun making these for their moms. –Nicole

    • Nicole says

      Hi Meredith, Thank you so much for including me in your Mother’s Day inspiration board. I truly appreciate it! Have a wonderful weekend, Nicole

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