A Quick and Easy Father (or Grandfather) Gift

I always struggle with gifts for my husband, father, and father-in-law. Men are usually just harder to buy for: they already have everything they need, and when they need something, they just go buy it. All the men in my life do appreciate it when my daughter makes them something, though, so I always try to find something cute that she can do herself (with maybe just a little help from me).

In the past, we have made a hand print tree, battery gardens and hand / foot print tees, and filled out the "All About my Granddaddy" page. This year, my daughter made my father tee shirt with his "picture" on it, and it turned out really nice! This would also make a great gift for a Grandma, mother, teacher, or anyone in your child's life!

What You'll Need:

- Fabric paint (I used Scribbles. It looks and works great and they last forever!)
- Plain t-shirt (pre-washed)
- Chalk
- Cardboard or newspaper

First, place the cardboard or newspaper inside the shirt. This will prevent the paint from soaking through to the back.

Spread the t-shirt flat, then give your child the chalk, and let him or her draw a picture of the recipient.

It doesn't have to be perfect - my daughter got frustrated because the chalk kept "skipping" on the fabric. I explained to her that we'd smooth it all out with the paint, and the chalk would wash away so it wouldn't really matter in the long run. Also, the chalk is great because you can just rub away any errors and re-do them until it looks they way they want it to look!

Once the picture is finished, I asked my daughter to write "Granddaddy" underneath, but obviously, your child can write anything he or she would like! I also think it would be cute to have a picture of "Ganddaddy and me", but my daughter just wanted to draw her Granddaddy.

Next, you can paint over the chalk with the fabric paint. Older kids can do this themselves, but my daughter is still a little young, and I worried about her accidentally smearing it with her arm and hand. She told me which colors she wanted to use, and I filled in the picture and letters.

She wanted to use glitter paint for the gray hair, which I thought was a nice touch. Let the paint dry completely (according to the label), then wash and dry the shirt. All the chalk will be gone, and your child's design will really look great!

An Easy Gift For Your Man

It's always hard to find a good gift for a man - all the men in my life buy something the minute they want it. My husband was in need of a small box to place the items from his pockets at the end of each day, though, and I was lucky enough to find this pretty wooden box at a local thrift store.

It was in great shape but had a couple of nicks and scratches in the wood. I wish I'd taken a before picture, so you could see how easy those were to fix using Restor-a-finish by Howard. 

I can't say enough good things about this stuff - it rocks. I use it for any real wood - on our bedroom furniture, dining room table, wooden trim on the stairs...it really just works great, with no sanding or refinishing. 

I cleaned up the inside of the box using a lint roller, and I added a photo of my daughter and me to the little indented spot in the lid, for a personal touch.

We gave it to my husband for his birthday, and it was a big hit!

Another Quick and Easy Hand Print Gift - Framed Art!

If you're still looking for a quick and easy Father's Day gift, this isn't very difficult and is another fun craft for you and your kids: a hand print tree, as framed art!

What You'll Need:
-Posterboard
-Tempera Paint
-Pencil
-Colored Pencils
-Poster Frame

I used the pencil to sketch out a tree like the one below. If your kids like drawing and art, though, they could draw it themselves.

I wrote, "Happy Father's Day 2012" at the bottom in block letters, although my lettering needs quite a bit of work. A paintbrush probably would have been a better choice here, but this was my result:

Then, I rounded my up niece, nephew, and daughter, and let them add their hands to the branches. If I do this again in the future, I'll be sure to make the tree outline darker so it shows up more.

I then let it dry and place it into a poster-sized frame, and that's it! I picked up the frame for $25 at Big Lots, but lightweight poster frames can be found at Wal-Mart for even less than that.

Have fun with it, and to all the Dads out there: may you have a Happy Father's Day!

Quick and Easy Father's Day Crafts for Dads and Grandpas

It's nearly Father's Day, and if the men in your life are anything like mine, they already have everything they need. This leaves me searching for new ideas every year. Here are a couple of gifts we have made that the Dads and Grandpas loved:

Battery Garden


One Christmas, we gave my father-in-law a pack of batteries to power a new lantern that was separately wrapped. He opened the batteries first and went on and on about how he loved them and always needed batteries. Even after he opened the lantern, he told us how much he loved the batteries. So, it made me realize that men really do always need batteries, so why not make a cute little garden out of them and give them as a gift? My four-year-old decorated it herself and it was a fun project. I just helped cut holes in the boxes to hold the sticks, and added a little glue at their bases to hold the heavier batteries.

She had fun making it, and the Grandfathers both thought it was really cute. Be sure to tell them that they're new batteries so they'll be able to use them!

Painted T-shirts with Hand Prints and Footprints


Painted T-shirts are are a fun and simple gift, and my daughter always loves getting paint all over her, so be sure to wear old clothes if you make them! All you need is fabric paint (available at most craft stores) and plain T-shirts (they're cheaper at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, or a similar store than they are at craft stores).

Here are a few hand print / footprint designs:

"World's Best Daddy, Hands Down" with hand prints

"Best Granddaddy, Hands Down" with hand prints 

"My Granddaughter Walks All Over Me" with footprints

The best part of painting your own T-shirts is that you can customize them with whatever you call the Dads and Grandfathers in your life: Papa, Papaw, Grandpa, etc. Then, there's the added bonus of just getting messy with paint, so have fun with it!

All About My Granddaddy Free Printable

I love the "All About My..." printables that are popular now - the cute questionnaires that let kids answer questions about their relatives as a gift. My daughter calls my father-in-law "Grandpa," and those questionnaires are widely available and easy to find. I had trouble finding a printable for a "Granddaddy," though, which is what she calls my father.

So, like I always say...if you can't find it free, make it yourself! And make it available to others for free, right? So, here it is - free to download and use as you wish. Enjoy!!