How to Make a Fingerprint Busy Bee

First off, let me give credit where it is due. I got this idea sometime ago by Amanda Formaro. It is called a "Fingerprint Busy Bee." This is a great piece of art work that children can do on as a rainy day craft. They can then use them as a gift for their parents or grandparents. Since you will be using paint, have clean up materials ready. You also want to work on a table or work bench that has old newspaper on it for possibly absorbing any liquids.

For this art project, you will need; a large sheet of white construction paper for each child, an old plate, paint, (sunflower, yellow, or tan), a fine print black marker, paper towels, #2 pencil, ruler.

Put a small amount of paint on to a plate. Set the plate where it won't get knocked onto the floor or spilled. Take your ruler and #2 pencil and draw a lightly marked line through the center of the paper. This line doesn't have to be very long. four to five inches is long enough and be sure to center it in the middle of the paper. Next, press the finger into the paint and dot off the excess. Start to the left or right side of the line and go across making prints. After you are across the line start below the line but between the top two finger prints and go across stopping between the last two prints. Do this down until you have sort of made a triangle with one final print on the bottom.

Now turn your paper upside down and do the same thing going the other way. Notice you are always working from up to down. This way the knuckles or hand won't drag through the paint. When you are finished, you will notice that it looks like a honeycomb bee nest. This paint color should be tan or sunflower in color. Give it a few minutes to dry. While it is drying, clean the fingers and the plate. Use the paper towels first for cleaning off the excess paint before washing the fingers or plate. Half of the art project is done.

You are now ready to make your little Bees. Put some yellow paint onto a clean plate. Take a clean finger and start dabbing little bee bodies around the outside of the nest. If the first paint is dry, you might even want to put a few on the Bees nest itself. However, it must be totally dry to do this. Put the Bees all around the nest area but, if you want to leave an area for writing, leave that at the very bottom of the construction paper.

When you are finished with the Bees bodies, use the paper towels and clean off the excess first and then wash the plate and the fingers and dry them. Let the paint dry. You may have to set the papers out of the way.

Now comes the hardest part of the project. Take your fine print black marker and start drawing the black bee lines through the bottom part of the Bees bodies. Do all the line first. Now you can add eyes to each Bee, legs, and or wings as well. Children will have some problems with the wings. You might want to do one that they can copy to finish the craft. Let the children be creative. Don't be surprised to see a smiley face on a Bee. As long as the paint is dry, the ink won't run on the yellow.

Now, if you left a spot open on the bottom for printing, you can write the inscription that you want. If it is a gift, write to Grandpa from Timmy or something like that.

Tips; You can draw a limb at the top of the Bee hive if you want, but it isn't necessary. Dotting on the flight trails with a different color is optional. Just use a different color, preferably a lighter color. If you don't write at the bottom, you can add some flowers.

That's it. Your Honeycomb Busy Bee craft is finished.

sources; Amanda Formaro

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