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Here's an easy way to create a cleaver portrait of a crab. Just a quick dip in the paint and a little magic with a marker, and your child's little crab will be looking right at you. Have everybody get in the action and soon you'll have a whole family of crabs. As long as they're not "crabby" we'll invite them to stay!

What You’ll Need

washable orange paint
paper plate
plain paper
markers

Instructions

1. Pour washable orange paint on the paper plate. Dip both of the child's hands into the paint so that the entire palms are covered with paint. Try to have a thinner coating of paint so the fingers don't end up smushed together.

2. Make a handprint on the plain paper, placing the hands with heels together and the fingers extending outwards on opposite sides. The two thumbs will be the stalks for the crab's eyes, while the rest of the fingers are the crab's legs.

3. When the paint is dry use the marker to draw eyes on top of the thumbs.

Tip: Make a crab family by joining in on the fun! If you have more then one child you will end up with crabs of different sizes so add yours to make a Mom or Dad crab!

Another tip is to have a paint station set up so you can easily clean up afterward - use a bowl of water to get the paint off before going to wash up. Be sure to use washable paint in case any of it spills on the floor or table where you are working.

Submitted by Leximom