Make a four seasons fingerprint tree with your kids! Creating four seasons handprint art is a great way to teach children about the changing seasons while making beautiful fingerprint and handprint art. Once finished, this four-seasons handprint tree is a unique fingerprint art keepsake craft and gift idea for mom, dad, or the grandparents.
Create a handprint tree with fingerprint leaves, or snow, in seasonal colors with your children. Handprint and fingerprint art makes a unique homemade gift idea for Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or any other occasion.
Related: Beautiful Gifts Kids Can Make the Whole Family Will LOVE!
Related: Fingerprint Art Magnets
How to Make a Four Seasons Fingerprint Handprint Tree
This fun craft is a DIY keepsake activity and gift that kids of all ages can help make.
In order to make it easier for young children, it is best to work in stages. My 2.5-year-old daughter and I worked on this handprint tree and fingerprint tree together for about 10 – 20 minutes over a five-day period.
Related: Best Art Supplies for Kids and Why Young Artists Should Use Them
Four Seasons Handprint Tree Art Supplies
- 4 wrapped canvas square frames the same size.
- Tempura paint
or acrylic paint best selling colors I, and/or best selling colors II
- Mod Podge
- Paintbrushes
- Foam brush for top coat [In brush set above]
- Artist smock
or apron
- Pencil
- Paint tray (optional)
- Your child’s handprint art and fingerprint art
Four Seasons Handprint and Fingerprint Tree Art Step by Step Video Tutorial
Related: Fingerprint Flower Glass Magnets
Four Seasons Fingerprint Tree Art Step by Step Directions
In order to keep this four-season art project for kids fun, it is best to work on only one step per day.
When we made our four seasons handprint tree art, we completed step 1 on the first day and then put it away for another day.
The next day we worked on our four seasons art project, we traced my daughter’s handprint and painted the handprint tree. (Step 2 & 3)
Finally, we spent a total of four different days creating the four seasons fingerprint tree art. In other words, we only worked on one seasonal square at a time. (Step 4)
Step 1 – Paint each wrapped canvas square a different color for each of the four seasons
- Choose a background color for each of the four seasons.
- At first, we chose a golden-yellow for the autumn square of our handprint tree art. We wanted to use yellow for the fingerprint art leaves in the fall, so we re-painted it a coral color before I invited my daughter to make the fingerprint tree leaves.
- The background colors that we used for each of the four seasons are listed below:
- Spring = celery acrylic paint
- Summer = turquoise acrylic paint
- Fall = coral
acrylic paint
- Winter = bright blue
acrylic paint
- Spring = celery acrylic paint
- Allow painted canvas squares to dry before moving on to the next step.
Step 2 – Trace your child’s hand to make handprint tree art
- Place all four seasons of the canvas squares together with spring in the upper left corner, summer in the upper right corner, fall in the lower right corner, and winter in the lower left corner. We made our fingerprint tree art in the order described above in order to have fingerprint art snow, and fingerprint art fall leaves appear on the ground of the handprint tree art.
- Put your child’s right or left hand and forearm in the middle of all four canvas squares. Make sure their fingers spread across all of the squares and their arm is dividing the lower two squares.
- Trace your child’s right or left hand and forearm with a pencil to create four seasons handprint tree art.
Step 3 – Paint the handprint tree
Use a paintbrush to paint the handprint tree art the colors of your choice.
- We used cinnamon acrylic
paint to paint the base of the handprint tree shown in the photos.
- Next, we added thin lines of espresso acrylic paint
to the handprint tree art in order to create the appearance of bark.
- Don’t forget to paint the sides of the canvas squares to give your four seasons handprint art a wonderful 3-D effect.
- Allow to handprint tree art to dry before moving on to the next step.
Related: Handprint Art Jewelry Dish and Ring Bowl
Step 4 – Invite children to use their fingertips to paint leaves or snow for each of the four seasons to complete this fingerprint tree art project
Arrange your four seasons handprint tree with winter and fall on the bottom so your child can create fingerprint art snow and fingerprint art leaves on the ground. Don’t forget to add fingerprint art to the sides of the canvas squares to give your fingerprint tree art a 3-D effect.
The colors that we used for the four season handprint tree pictured are listed below. You may not have the exact same names of paint colors that we used, and that is just fine. All you need to do is use a smattering of colors in seasonal tones to make four seasons fingerprint tree art.
Don’t worry if your children end up mixing the paint a bit on their little fingertips. Mixed paint will create a mottled leaf effect that looks gorgeous.
Spring corner of four seasons fingerprint tree art
- Acrylic colors we used: green
, apple tart
, pink chiffon
, pink blast
, and fuchsia.
- Use a piece of paper with a semi-circle cut out and taped to square if you want to maintain the shape of a tree. The video shows this step in action.
- Invite your child to dip their fingertips in the spring paint colors to make the fingerprint art leaves and blossoms of spring.
Summer fingerprint art for the four seasons tree art
- Acrylic colors we used: green, kelly green, Christmas green, vineyard green, celery, apple tart, and bright yellow.
- Use a piece of paper with a semi-circle cut out and taped to square if you want to maintain the shape of the tree. (Once again, the video shows this step in action.)
- Allow your child to dip their fingers in the summer paint colors to make the tree leaves of summer.
Winter fingerprint paint colors for handprint tree art
- The acrylic color we used: white
- Invite your child to dip their fingertips in the white paint to create fingerprint art snow. Make fingerprint art snow on the branch of the handprint tree, falling from the sky, and on the ground below your four seasons handprint tree.
Fall fingerprint tree paint colors for handprint tree art
- Acrylic colors we used: dark yellow, buttercream, tangerine, orange, cinnamon, espresso, tapestry wine, metallic copper, and metallic gold.
- Allow your child to dip their fingertips in autumn paint colors to create fingerprint art falling leaves and leaves on the ground.
Allow Four Seasons fingerprint tree art to dry before moving on to the next step.
Related: The Best Fingerprint Art Ideas for Kids
Step 5 – Apply a Top Coat to Preserve, Seal, and Protect Four Seasons Handprint Tree Art
- Use a foam brush to apply Mod Podge to the surface of your handprint tree art so you don’t ruin your paint brushes.
- Use long top to bottom strokes.
- Mod Podge goes on milky and dries clear.
- Work quickly – it gets sticky.
- Allow four seasons fingerprint tree art to dry.
Related: Best Flower Art Projects for Kids
Give Fingerprint Tree Art as a Keepsake Gift Kids Can Make or Hang and Enjoy!
This four seasons handprint and fingerprint tree art is a unique homemade gift idea that kids can make. You may also like our ultimate family gift guide with DIY and ready-made ideas for the whole family!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
For more handmade gift ideas, check out this gorgeous collection of homemade gifts kids can make. (photo below)
More Handprint Art and Crafts
- Salt Dough Handprint and Footprint Heart
- Shell Frames with Handprint Art
- Four Leaf Clover Handprint Art with Printable Poem
- Handprint Shamrock with Printable Poem
- Valentine Handprint Art Ideas
- Handprint Christmas Carolers
- Christmas Handprint Art Ideas
- Handprint Art Jewelry Dish and Ring Bowl (photo below)
More Fingerprint Art and Crafts
- Fingerprint Art Glass Magnets
- Thumbprint Heart Magnet Craft
- DIY Thumbprint Heart Necklaces
- Thumbprint Heart Keychains
- Easy Fingerprint Flower Magnets
- Fingerprint Flower Necklace and Keychain Pendants
- Thumbprint Heart Crafts and Gift Ideas
- Christmas Fingerprint Tree Cards
- Fingerprint Lights Christmas Tree Cards
- Easy Fingerprint Snowman
- Fingerprint Love Bug Cards for Every Occasion
- Best Fingerprint Art Ideas for Kids (photo below)
Oh those are so cute. Perfect way to decorate my kids room.
Thanks — we love it too 🙂
Love handprint trees!
I’m so glad you like them!
What a great idea!! This would be perfect above our nature table.
It would be lovely above a nature table!
I love how they all hang together to make some great art – good idea!
We love it hanging on our wall! It is a lovely piece of art that my daughter and I made together–best thing ever 🙂
Nice activity! I have a group of 3/4 year olds so i’ll use tempera instead !
That’s great! Have fun!
Peakles loves this idea! It’s very cheerful and fun plus ideal for Father’s Day! Your post has been featured on this week’s Frugal Family Linky via Peakle Pie! Hope to see you joining in again soon and remember to pop by and grab your ‘I’ve been Featured’ badge too!
Thank you so much for featuring my work and thanks for hosting such an awesome link party! I grabbed my button and will be back for sure 🙂
I would really like this child-made artwork hanging on our wall! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot!
This is such a beautiful keepsake idea. I will be featuring this post tomorrow at the Thoughtful Spot. Thanks for linking up your creativity!
This is brilliant! Pinning and all excited, because now I already know what we’re making for the grandparents for Christmas!!
I’m so glad you like it and are as excited as we are about it. I love how it turned out! We are giving ours to daddy for father’s day 🙂
Really beautiful and so creative ! Can’t wait to make it with my boys. Thank you very much. 🙂
Beautiful idea! The perfect Christmas gift for my children’s godmothers and godfather. Thank you for sharing your creativity with us. Your blog is wonderful!
Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it. I would love to see a photo of yours if you would be willing to share. 🙂
Very cute! I love the use of all of the seasons – it is a great keepsake!
Thank you! My daughter and I really enjoyed making it. It took us several days but it was so worth it! We have it hanging on our bedroom wall. 🙂
This is so cute. I teach Pre-K in Orlando, FL and want to have all 20 of my kids do one for their parents as an end of the year present. Now to figure out how to raise money for the canvases. :0)
That sounds like fun Leigh Anne, I’m sure the parents will love such a wonderful gift. 🙂
I work in a combo k/1st grade special ed classroom. We did this art work, but simplified it a bit. I just used construction paper. Cut 4 6×6 squares of different colored paper; one for each season. Placed them together to make one big square.
Then I painted the hand and forearm brown of each child and printed them in the middle of my squares. Separated the squares, let the brown dry before preceding the other painting. So much fun!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Kathy! I love, love, love how you simplified it! Sounds like it was a great success! Your comment made my day 🙂
Oh my goodness, this is such a cute project. 🙂 Kids will love this idea! Can’t wait to try this out for an art project with the kids. 🙂
Thank you!
Love this! Having grandson make for mom for Christmas present. We are using tempera paints. They do not come out a bright as yours but still lovely.
That sounds wonderful, Regina! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this four-season handprint art project. I bet that his mom will love it!
hi, this looks AWSOME and I would love to try it! what I’m going to do is for each season I’m going to give my parents that part of the tree and at the end of the year, they are going to have a full tree. great thinking!
Hi Oliva! I love your idea of making one for each season to give as a gift, I hope they love it!
I just did it for Christmas and it looks AWESOME my parents will love it!
I’m so glad that you made the four-season handprint tree as a gift! Well done!